Politics & Government

Gwinnett BOC OKs Balanced 2012 Budget

Commissioners also make some appointments to a new I-85 advisory panel.

Gwinnett County's elected leaders unanimously approved Tuesday afternoon a $1.3 billion budget for 2012 that does not require the use of reserve funds.

Because of about $5 million in reductions identified since the planned budget was announced in November, the county does not need to dip into reserve funds to balance the budget, which was necessary in 2011.

Gwinnett BOC Chairman Charlotte Nash issued "a hearty thank you" to county staff that made the final cuts. The budget planning process began with a revenue shortfall of over $30 million.

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Also Tuesday, commissioners created and made appointments to a Gwinnett County Policy Advisory Committee for the I-85 Alternative Analysis Study. Each of the commissioners and the chairman gets one appointment.

The county authorized last year spending $1.1 million to study transportation alternatives and opportunities in the I-85 corridor from I-285 to Gwinnett Center. 

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 that the study would include public hearings with advisory committees on policies, technical issues and community concerns.

“Gwinnett’s population has increased so much over the last few decades,” Nash said in the release. “Today’s commuters need more transportation options.” 

Also, Kim Conroy, acting Transportation Director for the county, said in a document to the BOC: "In conjunction with the grant awarded from the Federal Transit Administration, this resolution would establish an ad hoc lay panel made up of various sectors of the County’s citizenry to review and provide advice on documents and policy recommendations that may result from the study. This committee is being formed solely for the purposes of this study effort and will meet throughout this process only."

The new county budget is about 12.4 percent smaller than the current spending plan, and commissioners say revenue is expected to continue to decline in coming years. This has led to talk of finding new revenue sources to fund programs, which include such service as police, fire/emergency protection and water.

So far, the county has received no proposals for privatizing Briscoe Field, the county-owned airport. The deadline is Feb. 8.


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