Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Read what the Norcross City Council passed and tabled at its May city council meeting.
------- Aside from the Norcross City Council passing the measure to increase their pay and the mayor's salary, another main topic of the evening was the public hearings on two land acquisitions. One of the acquisitions, the vacant lot on Mitchell Street and Britt Avenue that is directly behind the Norcross Community and Cultural Arts Center, was approved by the council 5-0 for the purchase of $300,000 through SPLOST funds. The purpose of the purchase is for future parking, according to the city's Economic Development Manager Rusty Warner. "We've been looking at this property for years," Councilman Keith Shewbert said. "It's an incredibly important piece of property because of its location," he continued, adding that it's strategic to …
The council passed a measure Monday that will increase their salaries and the mayor's by 50 percent. The new pay would be entitled to those who are elected on or after January 2014.
------- After a lengthy discussion during the May city council meeting Monday (May 6), the Norcross City Council approved a measure to raise their pay and the mayor's by 50 percent. The vote was 4-1, with Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Hixson voting against it. The pay raise comes after nearly 18 years of no increased salary. According to City Clerk Susan Wuerzner, the elected officials have not received a raise since Sept. 5, 1995. After comparing many of the surrounding cities' salaries for their councils and mayors for the past few months, the city created the following proposal: Mayor: Current salary is $6,900; approved to $10,350 Mayor Pro Tem: Current salary is $6,000; approved to $9,000 Councilmembers: Current salary is $5,400; approved to $8…
Monday, May 6, 2013
The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Norcross City Hall.
The Norcross City Council and Mayor Bucky Johnson will meet Monday (May 6) for the May city council meeting and regular work session. The work session, which sets the agenda for the evening, will take place in the second floor conference room at 6:30 p.m., and the city council meeting will follow at 7 p.m. One of the major items of the evening is the mayor and city council's pay increase. The elected officials haven't seen a raise in 17 years, so last month's policy work session detailed a 50 percent increase for the mayor and council. The mayor's annual salary would jump from $6,900 to $10,350; the mayor pro tem would be paid $9,000 instead of $6,000; and every councilmember would be increase from $5,400 to $8,100. If the item passes, the…
Monday, April 15, 2013
Pay increases for elected officials, land acquisitions, shade structures for Lillian Webb Field and more are on the agendas for the two meetings.
The Norcross City Council and Mayor Bucky Johnson will meet Monday, April 15, for a special-called meeting and their monthly policy work session. The special-called meeting will start first at 6:30 p.m. on the second floor conference room of Norcross City Hall. The elected officials will discuss the purchase of three parcels of land: 250 Pinnacle Way, Britt Avenue and Mitchell Road. The Britt Avenue and Mitchell Street properties are under the same agenda item because they are contiguous to one other, according to the agenda. The reason for the acquisition is to "provide additional parking and expansion of the development around Lillian Webb Park," according to the agenda. The agenda also includes an appraisal detailing that each lot has …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Considering the elected officials haven't had an increase in compensation since 1995, higher salaries are being proposed.
----------- Edited, 9:54 a.m. Some members of the Norcross City Council have proposed that their salaries, in addition to the mayor's, should be increased by 50 percent. Related Content: The topic has been discussed at two previous council meetings, and it's also on the agenda for the upcoming policy work session Monday, April 15. The agenda item details the mayor and council's current and proposed pay rates, which are as follows: According to City Clerk Susan Wuerzner, the council and mayor have not received a pay increase since Sept. 5, 1995. Considering it's been more than 17 years since they've had a pay bump, Norcross looked at the compensation for councils and mayors in other metro Atlanta cities when the raise was first proposed in …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The vote was unanimous in the April city council meeting Monday.
Updated, 9:15 a.m. In its third public meeting regarding the topic, the Norcross City Council voted 4-0 in favor of selling its water and wastewater system to Gwinnett County. Only a few comments were made in the April meeting before the council cast their votes. Former Mayor Lillian Webb went before the council to address concern on the city's water employees who will be displaced. Two employees are currently working the city water system, and while they won't be working for the city after the switch, they do have the option of applying for positions with the county, according to City Manager Rudolph Smith and Alisha Voutas, the customer service manager for Gwinnett's Department of Water Resources. The county has agreed to purchase the …
Read what happened in the April city council meeting Monday.
Aside from Monday night's big news, which was the approval to sell Norcross' water and sewer system to the county, the city council had a large agenda for its regular April meeting. One of the major topics of the evening was the purchase of the Old Cotton Gin at 125 Lawrenceville Street, which is located between the Norcross Welcome Center and the Norcross Police Department. The item was passed 3-1, with Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Hixson voting against it. Councilman David McLeroy was absent from the meeting. According to the agenda notes, the city will use the historical building for connectivity, parking expansion and future expansion for other things. "This is a good property, primarily because of its strategic location," said Councilman …
Monday, April 1, 2013
Making a women's only bathroom near Thrasher Park and increasing the mayor and city council's pay are also on the agenda.
It may be April Fools' Day, but April 1 will be business as usual for the Norcross City Council. Members of the council and the mayor will commence Monday for its April work session and city council meeting, at 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. The meetings will take place at Norcross City Hall, located at 65 Lawrenceville St. A number of items are on the agenda, including: The intergovernmental agreement between the city and Gwinnett County on the Norcross water-sewer system: The county has approved a proposal to purchase the city's water and wastewater system, and the final step to move forward with the agreement is for the city council to approve it. The item will be up for discussion and possibly a vote Monday. The acquisition of …
Monday, March 18, 2013
The council has a packed agenda with the water and sewer agreement, the purchase of the Old Cotton Gin off Lawrenceville Street and more. They also will revisit the proposal for the city to financially support the arts.
The Norcross City Council is holding a special called meeting and policy work session at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 18, in the second floor conference room of Norcross City Hall. The special called meeting, which will take place first, will cover three issues: The March policy work session will be held afterward with several agenda items, including: The proposal for city arts support: The council has been juggling this issue of the city financially supporting the arts for some time now. It was brought up last at the council's annual retreat in January with no resolution in sight, and the council denied the proposal of forming a city-paid arts commission in November. The new proposal takes a slightly different approach and includes dedicating …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The EB-5 project and the change in rezoning conditions for building homes at 152 Thrasher Street were tabled.
The big topic of the evening may have been the filming of a TV series in downtown Norcross, which was discussed in a special called meeting Monday, but the Norcross City Council still covered a number of items on the agenda for its regular monthly meeting later that night. Here are some of the highlights: -The change in rezoning conditions for building homes at 152 Thrasher Street was tabled 2-1 by the council. (Councilman Keith Shewbert and Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Hixson voted in favor of it, while Councilman Craig Newton voted against tabling. Councilmen David McLeroy and Charlie Riehm were not present at the meeting.) The original concept to build six homes was passed in December, but because the plan was revised to better fit the concerns…
Sarah Bakhtiari
9:01 am on Thursday, May 9, 2013
Hi Heidi, Thanks for your comment. Usually I put the next meeting's information in the article, but this time I left it out because I simply forgot. They'll talk about the issue next at the policy work session Monday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the second floor conference room of city hall. The public is allowed to speak at the beginning of the session. I hope this helps! more ›