Monday, June 22, 2009 by GwinnettViews.

Take a look at Mack Perry’s blog, he attended the meeting this past weekend.

GDP Article by Jamie Ward: Residents offer input on trash

The eight public hearings to gather public input on residential trash pickup kicked off this week with two, 90-minute sessions.

At the Saturday morning session at Lenora Park’s Activity Room, Deputy Director of Financial Services Chuck Huckleberry and Senior Director Abby Goldsmith of R.W. Beck explained to about 30 onlookers what the county was hoping to obtain as a result of the public forums.

OK all together now!!! Same song second verse same as the first!!!

So the new $131,000 consultants are doing the same thing the MBSCT did earlier this year. They are holding 8 public hearings (Did everyone get their invite?) over the next however many months. Then once they are done with their internet surveys, phone calls, benchmark surveys, and public hearing they are going to present their recommendations to the BOC. Now everyone realizes that the MBSCT was just ordinary citizens but didn’t they pretty much do the same thing? Maybe they should have gone high tech and done some internet surveys. Would that have gotten them listened to?  Or anyone else for that matter? There was all kinds of issues with the MBSCT but at least it wasn’t costing the county (county as the citizens of the county) $131,000.

R.W. Beck is the consulting firm hired by the county at a cost of approximately $131,000 to lead these sessions. In the fall, it will issue a report to the Board of Commissioners stating its recommendations. It’s also conducting 2,000 Internet surveys, 300 telephone surveys and will be performing a benchmark analysis to compare Gwinnett with other, similar places.

She said those issues included whether the county should require mandatory collection of trash, what types of service levels should be offered, should the county be divided into collection districts, should the billing appear on property tax bills and what the management structure should be.

Here is list of places and times for the remainder meetings as we know them to be:

1. June 25 6:30pm - 8:00pm GJAC Auditorium - Lawrenceville
2. July 9 6:30pm - 8:00pm George Pierce Park - Suwanee
3. July 11 10:00am - 11:30am Pickneyville Park  - Norcross
4. July 15 6:30pm - 8:00pm Dacula Park Activity Building- Dacula
5. July 18 10:00am - 11:30 am GJAC Auditorium  - Lawrenceville
6. July 25 10:00am - 11:30 am George Pierce Park - Suwanee

Posted in GDP, Special Trash Committee, BOC, Gwinnett Trash | Print | No Comments »

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 by GwinnettViews.

Commissioners hold millage rate public hearings

OPEN LETTER TO GWINNETT TAXPAYERS                      MAY 22, 2009

As mayor of Suwanee, I can attest firsthand that local governments are profoundly affected by these challenging economic times. I can also promise that the Suwanee City Council is doing everything in its power to hold the line on taxes.

People are hurting. Many have lost jobs or taken pay cuts. Businesses are facing unprecedented challenges. Nonprofits are trying to survive. Everyone seems to be doing whatever they can keep costs down. Well, not everyone.

Earlier this week, our Gwinnett County Commissioners announced their plan to raise your property taxes by more than 25 percent - 30 percent if you live in a city - so they can expand their 2009 budget by about 10 percent over their 2008 budget. We don’t have the exact figures because they still won’t publish the budget they adopted March 3.
You see, even though we’re nearly halfway into the fiscal year, without their budget document, the public is being kept in the dark. Our commissioners are ballooning county government in the worst economy anyone can remember.

Forty-three million of this enormous $87 million property tax increase isn’t even planned to be spent in 2009 - they’re socking it away in something called “working capital reserve.” Our commissioners have decided it’s better to overtax you and hoard those dollars than for you to pay your mortgage, health care or for your kids’ education.
Under the guise of public safety, our commissioners have hatched a curious plan to hire 170 more officers to start patrolling inside cities that are already policed effectively by the cities. This wasteful and dangerous duplication will require another $17 to 20 million of your money in new taxes - can’t know for certain without the budget. Sheriff Butch Conway calls their scheme a “terrible mistake.”

Growing the size of government in these economic times is exactly the wrong thing for any elected body. It’s quite obvious that our commissioners are oblivious to the reality that the rest of us face. We’re cutting back, yet they’re expanding their county largesse and sending us the bill. And it’s going to be a whopper.
State law requires our commissioners hold three public hearings at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center before they set these new tax rates. Two are scheduled for Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day. The third is June 2, after which the county will vote on the new tax rate.

I plan to attend all of them, and hope you will, too.

Have we learned anything from the county’s recent “trash plan” episode? This time, will we make our voices heard to our elected commissioners before they take action on this outrageous tax hike?

If not, brace yourself for a doozie of a county tax bill.

Dave Williams, Mayor
City of Suwanee, GA

Posted in Property Taxes, BOC, BOC Meetings | Print | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 by GwinnettViews.

AJC Article by Tim Eberly: Gwinnett commissioners under fire over trash stations

Posted in AJC, BOC, Gwinnett County, BOC Meetings, Gwinnett Trash | Print | No Comments »

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by GwinnettViews.

GDP Article by Camie Young: County cuts ties with Clean and Beautiful

Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful staffers have moved out of the county annex building in Lawrenceville and are operating out of the Recycling Bank of Gwinnett, where the nonprofit has a lease until 2020, Wiggins said.

“It does not impact our mission or the board we have in place,” she said, acknowledging that all phone calls on graffiti eradication by inmates, garbage hauler complaints, roadside clean-up or illegal dumping are all being referred to the county.

Anyone want to know who owns the property the GCB leases? Yep you got it the County (BOC). So did you really cut ties?

Posted in GDP, BOC, Gwinnett County, Gwinnett Trash | Print | No Comments »

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 by GwinnettViews.

Hauler files suit against county:Company wants more than $40M from county, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful due to trash pla

This will be interesting to see played out over the next months and months.  This one will drag on forever.  The BOC tried to wash its hands of GCB because they knew this would never end pretty.

On Nov. 7, 2008, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful awarded contracts to Advanced Disposal and Waste Pro, two Florida-based firms that submitted low bids for residential trash pickup. Six other haulers that were serving Gwinnett residents were to lose their service areas beginning Jan.1 when the new plan was to take effect.

On Dec. 18, 2008, Gwinnett Superior Court Judge Michael Clark granted a temporary preliminary injunction, ensuring that for now the county’s garbage service for unincorporated residents will remain as-is.

Now the BOC has hired a consulting firm to start all over. As bad as the OLD-NEW plan was it amazes me how the BOC thought the people the GCB/BOC signed a contract with would just go away quietly.

Advanced Disposal alleges that the county has taken no action to mitigate the damages caused by its actions or those of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful or to amend the county’s solid waste ordinance to allow the new plan to be implemented as per the contract…
Christian Mills, general counsel for Advanced Disposal, said the company believes filing suit is the “most direct and just means” of getting relief.

“While we find it unfortunate to have to resolve this issue in court when administrative processes are readily available to resolve the matter, we cannot allow the county and (Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful) to ignore their fiduciary obligations to the citizens of the county and their contractual obligations with Advanced Disposal,” Mills said.

Posted in GDP, BOC, Gwinnett County, Gwinnett Trash | Print | No Comments »

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 by GwinnettViews.

AJC Article by Patrick Fox: Gwinnett plans solid waste study

Gwinnett County commissioners approved a $131,000 study to redraw the county’s failed solid waste ordinance — a measure that generated a firestorm of protests and a rash of lawsuits last year.

The action follows a series of meetings held by a citizens panel to collect public input and make a proposal that would increase residential collection, encourage recycling and possibly reduce truck traffic in neighborhoods…

R.W. Beck is expected to make its recommendations based on a set of tasks:

• Review past, current and enjoined ordinances.

• Establish criteria based on counties with comparable populations and demographics.

• Conduct a series of public forums and surveys to gauge community priorities.

Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said the commission has not discussed the issue in detail, but he expects the board to focus on state mandates and the judge’s objections when a new ordinance is crafted.

Good thing they haven’t discussed it in detail especially since they think they need to spend 131k to make a plan.  Does that money come from the rainy day fund or petty cash?  Goes to show the MBSCT was nothing more than a pretty show.

Posted in Special Trash Committee, AJC, BOC, Gwinnett County, BOC Meetings, Gwinnett Trash | Print | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 by Don S.

Mack Perry Blog: Gwinnett Trash Committee Recommendations
Posted by mack on April 7th, 2009

Link above is fixed.

Hello all:

It has been a while since I last wrote but I have not given up on this crusade.

This says it all about what Mike Beadreau is all about and what this group was organized for, “window dressing.”

I can only think that this is the beginning for more information to follow.

I would like to thank Mack for his time and effort in trying to do the right things for us in Gwinnett but the politician behind this is less than honest in his intentions.

Mike Beaudreau is a grandstanding politician and only cares about his own personal views and nobody elses.

The BOC is this county does not care about us who elected them into office. We need to let them know how we feel about this travesty that the trash committee was lead right into.

Don

Posted in GDP, Special Trash Committee, BOC, Gwinnett County, Gwinnett Trash | Print | 2 Comments »

Thursday, April 2, 2009 by GwinnettViews.

GDP article by Jamie Ward: County expected to name new waste consultant; Firm will apply plan to state rulings, evaluate options with hauling service

Today the county is expected to name the consulting firm it has chosen to complete its solid waste program assessment study. And it won’t be the same one used by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful last year.

According to Mack Perry, who served on Commissioner Mike Beaudreau’s trash committee, nobody on the 15-member citizen’s board had a clue about the county searching for a consulting firm.

“It was unbeknownst to us,” Perry said. “Not a soul was aware of it.”

He also said the report of recommendations prepared for the Board of Commissioners to consider in drafting a new solid waste plan has been completed, and would be released to the public as soon as the commissioners had a chance to see it.

“The public needs to know that we as a committee listened,” he said. “And there were differences of opinion on lots of things.”

Perry said two things he took away from the five meetings were that the people want a choice with regard to who their garbage hauler is and don’t want garbage charges appearing on their property tax bills.

Posted in GDP, Special Trash Committee, BOC, Gwinnett County, Gwinnett Trash | Print | 1 Comment »

Thursday, April 2, 2009 by GwinnettViews.

GDP article by Jamie Ward: GCB seeks new home
County cuts ties with body

“We laid off two of our recycling staff, four of our administrative staff and there’s the possibility for more in the future,” Wiggins said. “Some of us have also taken a reduction in salaries, too.”

Wiggins said the administrative layoffs were a direct result of the court ruling, which made the county’s 2008 solid waste plan invalid. She said some of the staff let go from the Satellite Boulevard recycling center could be reassigned to the commercial facility in Lawrenceville. After the layoffs, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful employs four administrative staff and four recycling center employees, Wiggins said.

She also said Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful plans to keep operating as a nonprofit once it completes its move in May. A large part of those efforts moving forward, Wiggins said, will be in keeping the group’s “Keep America Beautiful” programs going. Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful has been administering those programs in the county for 28 years, she said.

“We’re going to continue delivering those programs because we feel they’re important and because they do good things in the community,” Wiggins said. “And like many organizations going through tough economic times, we’ll come out leaner, meaner and more efficient.”

Posted in GDP, BOC, Gwinnett Trash | Print | No Comments »

Sunday, March 15, 2009 by GwinnettViews.

GDP article by Jamie Ward: Trash plan may get more time: County may allow current haulers to continue pickup until next year

So what does this mean? Since I read the article yesterday I went back and forth on my thoughts.   Maybe they are taking their time to get it right.  Then I laughed at that thought because of how bad the Old-New Plan was screwed up.  Maybe they have have no idea where to go next. Seems plausible especially if you have no real new ideas and the Old-New Plan was screwed up. Maybe they are still trying to figure out how to spin all the other great ideas lately like the stadium and the new budget and the raise in water rates and they just don’t have time for this and of course they really know that the Old-New Plan was screwed up. So maybe they defer and delay and maybe people’s anger and concern will be directed in another direction like the stadium and the budget which in all honesty we can do nothing about.  We have heard here on this  site “it’s just trash what’s the big deal.” The big deal is the way our county is being run. The big deal is the decisions that are being made just don’t make sense. The big deal is the county thinks they know what is best for the citizens and from the things they have done lately do you really think that is true?  The big deal is the erosion of my choices.  Today it’s trash what’s next?

Let’s revisit the last meeting of the MBSCT:

What we need to think about is who knows better what is best for us at the end of the day?  The BOC?  Really?  When the MBSCT was created we asked more than once for them to be sanctioned.   However, after attending the last meeting of the MBSCT I am pretty sure I don’t want this group to be speaking for me.  I had high hopes for this committee that they would come away from these meetings listening to the public and come up with ideas that would make sense and be some ideas that the BOC could agree was in the best interest of the people who live here Gwinnnett County.

1. The majority of the MBSCT want each of us to have mandatory pickup with limited exceptions. The exceptions would have to be defined and I guess you would have to have a written note from someone somewhere to qualify for it otherwise you have to pay for the trash service.

   My only issue with this one is that this is one more thing the government is mandating like we don’t know that picking up trash is important.  Most of us are going to have trash service whether the BOC tells us to or not because we don’t want the trash to stay at our house. I am sure I am naive in thinking most people want trash service whether at their home or their business because they want their trash picked up. I really find it hard to believe that because someone does not have trash service that automatically makes them an illegal trash dumper. Again I am probably naive but I hope we live in a better county than that.

2. The majority of the MBSCT are in favor of moving haulers into districts and allowing them to bid on the districts. IE: There would be 8 districts and a hauler could bid on one or more of these districts. This would allow for “one hauler one neighborhood” thus allowing for less traffic on the street. One thing I did not understand is how this allows for residents to choose. Does this allow for the pricing to be set in the bids through the county instead of through the residents themselves?

   Where is the free choice of the residents in this?  Again to hear the MBSCT say we need to go to a “One Hauler One Neighborhood” sounds great in theory but who is getting to choose the hauler. Not the residents. Yes I am happy the local businesses get the opportunity to bid again and stay in business but if I were them I would be wary of this approach as any. Why? Because what’s to stop them from getting undercut on their bid by bigger companies with more resources. What’s to stop one company from having more than area? What will that do to service? According to Commissioner Beaudreau having a SLA (Service Level Agreement) will keep performance high. What will keep the service at a high level is my ability to fire someone if I don’t like their service. Seems to me a business listens a lot better when you hit their pocketbook than if you hit their customer service line. I heard more than one trash hauler say this in the meeting. The ones that were there have no problem being held to that standard. For most that’s how they got where they are today

3. The majority of the MBSCT believe the only way to make sure that all of us residents are toeing the line is to put the trash bill on our tax bill.

   This is how you stop illegal dumping? Nope, sorry but if you think making something mandatory that the majority of the people use anyway is going to stop illegal dumping then you are losing it. The people who dump illegally won’t give a rip and will continue to do what they do. If you really want to stop illegal dumping then get serious about stopping the people who do it. Don’t interject the government more in our life and punish us because the majority of the county do what we are supposed to and a small percentage don’t.

The findings of the MBSCT were supposed to be presented today. In the end it will be interesting to see what their findings end up being. Will things change? There was nothing on the agenda for the working session of the BOC. Where will the county go and what decisions will the make at the end of the 120 days?

Posted in Property Taxes, GDP, Gwinnett Water, Special Trash Committee, BOC, BOC Meetings, Gwinnett County, Gwinnett Trash | Print | 4 Comments »