Tuesday, November 20, 2012
In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion piece, Michael Adams and G.P. "Bud" Peterson say the federal government should be careful where it trims spending.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
As Congress and President Obama work to settle on a budget deal and avoid the self-imposed "fiscal cliff" of mandatory spending reductions, they must take care not to undermine university research, UGA and Georgia Tech's president's argue in a recent opinion column. "Much of America’s competitive advantage in innovation can be linked back to university research," the University of Georgia's Michael Adams and Georgia Tech's G.P. "Bud" Peterson write in a guest column published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "In our increasingly global environment, if we reduce our investment in education and research while other countries increase theirs, we could compromise the very advantages that have made America strong." The presidents call for …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Total figure of $1.7 billion is virtually same as 2012, thanks to E-SPLOST.
Updated 12:57 p.m., March 27 The proposed total budget for the Gwinnett County school system will be virtually unchanged for fiscal year 2013, at $1.73 billion. However, the general fund budget, which is "the crux of day to day business" for the system, will decline by $60.6 million, or 4.8 percent, in the coming year, Chief Financial Officer Rick Cost said Tuesday in Suwanee. Officials had to overcome an $89 million shortfall to balance the budget as required by law, with increased costs ($53 million) and the continued decline in the Gwinnett property tax digest ($36 million) the chief reasons. The E-SPLOST measure approved by voters last November is the reason the overall budget is largely unchanged from FY 2012. However, those monies …
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Commissioners thank county staffers for finding additional cuts to avoid using reserve funds.
It will require leaving open positions unfilled for awhile, and not filling some public safety jobs at all. But Gwinnett County officials were feeling a sense of accomplishment Tuesday when they adopted a balanced budget for 2012 that did not require dipping into reserve funds. "The credit goes to the staff and officials throughout the county," said Charlotte Nash, chairman of the Board Of Commissioners, at the business meeting where the budget was passed. Various department officials kept whittling away and prioritizing even after the proposed $1.32 billion budget was unveiled in November. At that time, officials projected using about $5 million in reserve funds. But since then, officials identified savings that included: "It's a huge …
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
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. 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 …
Friday, December 16, 2011
Protecting 'instructional time' also is stressed as an $89 million fund shortfall looms for FY 2013.
The Gwinnett County school system warned Thursday that "programs and services" are at risk in the next budget year, as it expects an estimated $89 million revenue shortfall. The state's largest school system (162,000 students) said Thursday in a website posting that the system is committed to, among other things, "continuing to avoid layoffs to the extent possible." "The district has reached the point where it can no longer do more with less funding without affecting programs and services," the GCPS said. "The cost-saving measures implemented in the past will not be enough to balance future budgets. Additional cost-saving measures will have to be implemented in the FY 2013 budget ... measures that may be more painful to implement as they …
Monday, December 5, 2011
Find the agenda for tonight's meeting of the Mayor and Council here.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Monday, December 5, 2011
The Mayor and City Council will hold a regularly scheduled meeting tonight at City Hall at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. A work session will be held briefly beforehand at 6:30 in the 2nd floor conference room. A new police officer will be sworn in and a public hearing will be held about the $7.8 million 2012 fiscal year budget, which can be found attached to the meeting agenda. Other items on the agenda include: An update of the mission of the Norcross Development Authority, the annexation of part of a parcel in the Indian Village Shopping Center and a revision to the city ordinance on Commercial Filming, among other items.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Talk of finding new revenue sources comes with $1.3 billion proposal for FY 2012.
The heavy lifting is done on Gwinnett County's budget for fiscal year 2012. But the charts and graphs already show that it won't get easier anytime soon. During a presentation Tuesday on the county's proposed $1.3 billion budget (operating and capital) for next year, District 1 Commissioner Shirley Lasseter suggested that the county begin looking at new sources of revenue in future years. "That's a great idea," Chairman Charlotte Nash responded. "We need to take the initiative on identifying other revenue sources. I hope that new revenue ideas can get put into this and future budgets. The thing that prompted Lasseter's suggestion was the continued decline in the county tax digest and the strain that it puts on budget planners, and …
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Gwinnett Public Library's new plans call for 'non-tax' revenue of millions of dollars annually.
Don't be surprised if you soon see one of those chicken-loving cows in your local Gwinnett Public Library branch. Advertising in libraries and business marketing initiatives are part of the GCPL's effort to make up funding cuts by reaching out to the private sector. Philip Saxton, chairman of the Gwinnett library system, said Monday that he hopes the library can raise at least $4 million annually through private initiatives as it seeks to become less dependent on tax revenue. "We're not the same library we were a year ago," he told Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash and other county government leaders during the final day of budget review sessions. The Gwinnett government is preparing its fiscal year 2012 budget and is facing a $…
Monday, September 12, 2011
County budget review sessions enter final day.
The Gwinnett County court system is requesting slightly less money for 2012 than under the current budget. But Superior Court Judge Tom Davis made it clear Monday that any further reductions are not recommended. "We've gone about as far as we can go," Davis told Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash and other county government leaders in Lawrenceville. The system that handles criminal, civil and domestic cases wants about $11.3 million, about $41,000 less than the current fiscal year. And Davis outlined cost pressures and workload figures to support his claim of a system stretched very thin. "If our system breaks, there's no way to throw enough money at it to fix it," Davis said. He noted two areas in which the county's 10 Superior …
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
County begins planning for fiscal year 2012.
Gwinnett County had to close a large budget gap in the current fiscal year, and it won't get easier for fiscal year 2012. County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash said Tuesday that budget planners are looking at a revenue shortfall of about $30 million as they plan for the next fiscal year. Nash cited the continued decline in the Gwinnett tax digest and uncertain funding from the state as factors for the shortfall. Nash, speaking Tuesday as budget review plans began in Lawrenceville, said that revenue projections are "not hard and fast." Also, planners have to deal with both the operating budget and capital expenditures. "Capital spending is the wild card," Nash said. "It's harder to tie down." This is Nash's first budget since she was …
Laura Sullivan
11:55 am on Monday, December 5, 2011
Ha! Fishing for compliments really works... : ) more ›