Three Questions With the Mayor: Sanitation Billing Change, Maintenance Facility and City Goal Setting

In this week's "Three Questions With the Mayor," Dacula Mayor Jimmy Wilbanks provides an update on the latest city news and discusses the council's 2013 goal setting session.

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

Mayor Wilbanks: Letters to property owners about the sanitation billing change (on the county property tax bill starting 2013) began to go out last week and will continue through this week. Points for property owners and sanitation customers to remember:

• There will be no change to the sanitation service.
• The same crews will pick up your trash on the same schedule.
• There will not be a bill directly from the city for the basic sanitation service.
• The price is the same, $180 per year.
• That $180 will be on the property owner’s tax notice and will be due to be paid at the same time as property taxes.
• The bill will go to the property owner, not necessarily to the customer of the service.
• If you have a senior exemption, you will not be billed.
• For special services like leaf or limb pickup, the customer or property owner will need to call Dacula City Hall and make arrangements for those services, and those services will be billed or charged directly by the city.

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

Mayor Wilbanks: The city is about two weeks away from opening our new maintenance facility on Drowning Creek Road. Then the process of moving equipment and cleaning up the area downtown on Winder Highway can begin.

Dacula Patch: What, in your opinion, was the most significant item discussed during the city's 2013 goal-setting session?

Mayor Wilbanks: I believe that the most significant things that happened at our goal setting work session on Saturday, Jan. 12, was the discussion we had on open, transparent, content-driven governance. The Mayor and Council and the city staff appreciated Commissioner Tommy Hunter’s discussions on this issue. I foresee open working relationships with the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in the future. This was a work session and, as such, decisions on specific goals were not voted on. Specific goals will be adopted at regular business meetings throughout 2013.

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