Community Corner

Three Questions With the Mayor: Busy Week in Dacula, Workout Playlist and Garbage Billing Issues

Dacula Mayor Jimmy Wilbanks answers questions about our community.

In this week's "Three Questions With the Mayor," Dacula Mayor Jimmy Wilbanks provides an update on the latest city news and discusses sanitation fee billing.

Dacula Patch: What's new in Dacula this week?

Mayor Wilbanks: The Dacula Business Association is sponsoring a Business Expo this Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p. m. at the Trophy Club (1008 Dacula Road). This is a chance to meet local business people -- the people in your own community that provide services, products and jobs for the local community. Come out and meet these folks.

Find out what's happening in Daculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There will be a Town Hall meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 at 6 p.m. to discuss a proposal about placing the sanitation billing on the County property tax bill and to get public input on this issue.

On Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012, the Dacula Fall Festival will be happening near Olde Mill Park and the gazebo in Historic Downtown Dacula from 3-9 p.m. There will be fun and games for all age groups. Admission is $3.

Find out what's happening in Daculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Also, early/advance/absentee voting continues at the Dacula City Hall for the special election referendum through Nov. 2. Busy week in Dacula.

Dacula Patch: What is something Dacula residents need to know?

Mayor Wilbanks: From Wired Magazine, Tip 3: Make a Sport-Specific Playlist. Wired claims music is the ultimate motivator. A 129 beat per minute rhythm, they say, is practically engineered to push you harder in a workout. Have you found music to be useful in working out either at home or in a group situation? Do you listen to music during your workout? What kind or does it matter?

Dacula Patch: What is the benefit to the taxpayer of adding the existing sanitation fees to the city property tax bills?

Mayor Wilbanks:  Part of the discussion surrounding the issue of including the sanitation billing on the Gwinnett property tax bill centers around the nature of garbage collection and enforcement matters. The City has determined that garbage collection is not simply a matter of getting garbage collected and disposed of, but it also is a matter of public health, and thusly falls under the police powers of the municipality. This generates several problems. Firstly, it means that the City cannot simply stop picking up garbage if a resident stops paying for the service. Secondly, failure to pay is in violation of the laws and ordinances of the City, and failure to pay means that others funds have to be found meaning that those who do pay, pay double. We don’t have “debtor’s” prisons in this country, and that means that even though a non-payer is technically out of compliance with the laws and ordinances of the City, it is practically and politically difficult to haul a violator into court. The method of collection for the City for these violators is to lien the property just like a tax matter. So in essence, those who fail to pay ultimately have these bills and interest tacked onto their tax bills. The only problem for the City is one of cost, inconvenience, creation of hard feelings, and the length of time it takes to get paid, as the time frame is when the property changes hands and the lien is satisfied. Currently, the City charges the customer who in many cases is not the property owner. Billing by the City is quarterly. So there is the matter of overhead in these billings and the uncollectible amounts that occur as people move in and out of the City.

For the customer, there would be other considerations. If the property tax is paid by escrow account, increasing the amount due each year means that the owner must supply the additional funds. If this is a rental property, the owner must increase the monthly rental fee to cover the costs of the sanitation bill. Since the bill on the property tax would be for a service rather than part of the city tax rate, under current federal tax law the sanitation amount would not be a tax deductible item. And there are other concerns.

Please take time to drop in at the town hall meetings to discuss these and other matters with City staff and elected officials. The second and final Town Hall meeting on this matter will be held on Nov. 1, 2012 at 6 p.m.

If you are a city resident, have you voted in the referendum yet? Do you plan to attend one of the town hall meetings regarding the question of how sanitation services will be billed? Let us know in the comments.

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