Council Approves Change in Sanitation Fee Billing

Beginning in 2013, sanitation fees for City of Dacula residents will be billed along with county property taxes.

The Dacula City Council approved the billing change by a 3-1 margin during its Nov. 1 meeting. Councilman Gregory Reeves was the lone dissenting vote.

“If we don’t do this, we’ll have to raise the garbage bill,” Councilman Wendell Holcombe said prior to Thursday night’s vote.

The city is facing a shortfall in sanitation fee collections for 2012. The City of Dacula expected to receive $200,000. Instead, the city . Some of the shortfall, according to city officials, is the result of residents moving away without settling their sanitation bills. The rest, Mayor Jimmy Wilbanks said, is due to the economy.

City leaders held two town hall meetings -- one on Oct. 25 and one on Nov. 1 -- to gauge public input regarding the proposed change in sanitation billing. Only one person attended. Wilbanks said he also received two emails on the matter, but neither was from a city resident.

“The bottom line is that something’s got to give,” he said.

By adding the sanitation fees to the county property tax bills, the city expects to improve its collection rate of the annual $180 fee per household. The primary change, Wilbanks explained, is that while the resident receives the bill under the current system, the property owner will receive the bill once the new system is implemented.

Wilbanks also addressed concerns regarding whether or not the new system could result in a lien being placed on a home. The end result, he said, is the same since unpaid bills ultimately result in the issuance of liens.

City Attorney Dennis Still explained unpaid sanitation bills resulting in liens would be like other liens against a home in that they would be settled when the property was sold.

“Is it going to take anybody’s home? I doubt it, but theoretically the answer is yes,” he said. Still added that it would be up to the city to pursue the matter since the county would not foreclose on any of the city's liens.

In other business, council:

• voted unanimously not to spend more than $12,000 for a new LED sign for city hall.
• approved a resolution to adopt the revised Emergency Operations Plan for Gwinnett County and its municipalities.
• voted unanimously to increase the hourly rate for the city attorney from $125 to $150 per hour beginning in 2013.
• approved the hiring of a new maintenance worker to fill one of the city’s currently vacant positions.

 You might also be interested in reading:

• Dacula Special Election Set for Nov. 6
• City to Hold Two Meetings to Discuss Sanitation Fee Billing
• ‘Glaring Deficit’ in Sanitation Revenue Collection