Service Delivery News

After another day of wrangling with Gwinnett County, I thought to give you a general update. Gwinnett County has finally decided to put their Service Delivery Strategy on paper. The main items you should understand are listed below:

Generally, the County wants to split the county into three service districts. One would be all of unincorporated Gwinnett County. Another service district would be made up of six cities to which the county provides uniform patrol services. These cities include Berkeley Lake, Buford, Dacula, Grayson, Rest Haven, and Sugar Hill. The remaining service district would be the nine cities who currently have their own police departments.

Additionally, the County wants to have three different millage rates, one for each service district. These millage rates will not be the same in 2009, and certainly not in the nine out years of the agreement.

What does this mean for you. As a general rule, where you live will determine how much your tax millage rate is. Your tax assessment multiplied by you millage rate will determine how much total money you will pay the county.

Let's take a moment to study the effect of these districts on your tax bill. It looks like there may be a differential of about 2 mills between the unincorporated district and the district that Dacula may be in. For our tax digest, this means about $80,000 more per year than a similar portion of the unincorporated district. Over a ten year period, this means that Gwinnett County will take $800,000 more dollars from you than from your neighbors who lives across the street in the unincorporated district.

You need to understand that these are your dollars, and that the Cities of Gwinnett County are fighting for your dollars. If we are successful in battling off this proposal, perhaps even going to court, this money will be in your pocket. None of it will go into city coffers. It will be in your pocket, for you to spend as you see fit.

While none of this is rocket science, you need to ask youself, "Does it cost Gwinnett County more money to provide services to me in incorporated Dacula than it does to provide services to my neighbor across the street in unincorported Gwinnett County?" If you believe the answer to that question is "no", you should be talking to your County Commissioner. Otherwise, you will find that your taxes will be going up unreasonably in 2009 and beyond.