County Budget Review Underway

Planning for Gwinnett County's 2012 budget is well underway.

Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash, county staff and a five-member citizens panel will review the county's proposed budget over the next week to set priorities and make recommendations.

County officials will hold planning sessions on Tuesday, Sept. 6, Wednesday, Sept. 7, and Monday, Sept. 12 at the Justice and Administration center in Lawrenceville.

The budget review sessions will be videotaped and will be made available to the public on TVgwinnett, its cable TV channel, and on the county website: www.gwinnettcounty.com.

The budget is scheduled to be presented to commissioners on Nov. 15. At that time, it also will be presented to the public and the media, and a public hearing will be held in December.

During the planning process, each county department and agency will present their proposed spending needs to Nash and the review committee (Herman Pennamon, Southern Company’s Community Relations Manager; David Crews, CFO of Viewpoint Health; Lois Love, a Gwinnett County retiree who was the county’s capital budget manager; Laurie McClain, a CPA with McClain & Company, PC; and Norwood Davis, CFO of 12Stone Church).

“Despite decreased tax revenues resulting from the decline in property values, we were able to balance the 2011 budget due to hard work and sacrifices across the entire county organization," Nash said in a released statement. "The coming year promises to bring similar challenges. The budget review team will have a tough job recommending spending priorities, but I have every confidence we will be successful.”