Mayor Praises Teamwork on SDS Deal

At a special called meeting Tuesday evening, the Norcross City Council has added its formal approval unanimously to the pending Service Delivery Strategy.

"We had a tremendous group working for us, and everybody rolled up their sleeves when they needed to work," Mayor Bucky Johnson said. "We've had good legal representation, good staff support [and] good collegial work among all the cities to bring us to this point."

With Johnson also being a major figure in the SDS ordeal since the beginning, many who attended the meeting congratulated and gave him kudos for his hard work, too.

Earlier Tuesday, the Gwinnett County Board Of Commissioners approved the deal with cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association, doing their part to end a multi-year, multimillion-dollar dispute.

"The bigger picture is that the relationship between the counties and the cities will be normalized," said Johnson.

Under the agreement, Gwinnett will make a $5.1 million, one-time payment to the cities (excluding Lilburn) and $1.5 million yearly through 2018 to the cities (excluding Lilburn).

Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Charlotte Nash said the 2012 tax rates will not be affected by the settlement. "We think it's good for everyone," Nash said.

The entire settlement still has to be approved by Judge David Barrett of Blairsville. Payments would begin in May, if the judge and all cities approve.

The proposal establishes new unincorporated districts for services including 911 services, police, fire, planning and zoning, and roads and streets. For example, with police services, Johnson explained that the funds and taxes from those districts will pay for those services in those districts, and the nine police cities outside of them, including Norcross, will not be taxed for those services.

One major issue caused by the SDS ordeal was that police departments for the cities and county could not use radar or laser guns to track speed last year. The new settlement means to fix it, however. 

While the amount of revenue lost due to the lack of radar gun use can't be accurately calculated, Johnson said that it's one of the first items to go into effect if the judge approves the settlement.

"I guess the real news is the people of Norcross have to slow down," joked Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Hixson.

The SDS matter dates to 2009, when the county sued cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association (GwMA). At issue is whether the cities should pay the county for services they do not use.