Lasseter's in the Loop

By Shirley Lasseter, District 1 Commissioner
Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners

I'm delighted to report that the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners adopted a balanced budget for 2012 that preserves core services and maintains access to
amenities like parks and libraries. We’re planning to spend a total of $1.3
billion, compared to $1.5 billion last year. This is a far cry from the $58
million we were short when I got here three years ago. We’ve come a long way
baby!)  And you are still well protected by our Public Safety men and women!

The budget complies with all new state and federal mandates but otherwise includes no new or expanded services, no new positions and no pay raises. Daily
operation of the county government will total $898 million, and capital
improvements will add another $430 million.

We expect an 8.3% drop in the property tax digest this year that will lower our property tax revenue in the General Fund by $24 million this year. The total value of property in Gwinnett is now about where it was in 2005. Fortunately, though, we eliminated a $35-million deficit between projected revenues and expenses that existed when the 2012 budget planning process began. Kudos to the five citizen
volunteers who again worked with Chairman Charlotte Nash and county staff to help review needs and allocate resources.

In other great financial news, Moody's Investors Services reaffirmed the county’s “Aaa with stable outlook” credit rating. Only about four percent of all
Moody's-rated state and local governments have that rating. We have maintained
the highest bond ratings from all three rating agencies since 1997, which has
lowered our cost to borrow money for construction projects.

A detailed study is underway of various transit options for the I-85 corridor to
find ways to relieve traffic congestion on this major artery through Gwinnett County. Two public meetings will be held this month. I appointed Trey Ragsdale to represent District 1. Trey is a young businessman with a Gwinnett health provider that certainly has the citizens concerns at heart. He will do great for all of us!

The next meeting is February 9 – 5 to 7 p.m. at the Gwinnett Place Marriott, 1775 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth, GA  30096 Short notice but hope you can make it. If not, I will let you know what Trey comes back to us with.

We've extended our very successful toilet rebate program to provide rebates for
replacing original toilets in homes built prior to a 1993 building code change.
Older toilets use as much as eight gallons per flush while newer models use as
little as 1.28 gallons. Rebates have helped Gwinnett homeowners replace close
to 9,500 inefficient toilets, saving more than 600,000 gallons of water a day!
YEA for us! For details, visit www.northgeorgiawater.com.

Valentine's Day is just ahead and I wish you a lovely day with lots of love from everyone. It is a great day to renew friendships, call a neighbor or just to remember those you so dearly love. Happy Valentine's day to you all!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me at 770-822-7000 or  shirley.lasseter@gwinnettcounty.com if there’s anything I can do for you. Have a wonderful February!