Gwinnett taxpayers give over $1 million per year to the Gwinnett Chamber. In return for the millions of taxpayer dollars given, we were told that the Gwinnett Chamber brought 280 businesses to Gwinnett, created 12,000 jobs, and generated $800 million in economic activity. Where can I get a list of those 280 businesses, the companies that hired the 12,000 employees, and what methodology was used to determine that the Gwinnett Chamber generated $800 million in economic activity?
The Gwinnett Chamber has a registered lobbyist who regularly lobbies for issues that benefit their members, including the failed TSPLOST referendum. Who lobbies for Gwinnett taxpayers?
The marketing people behind the Untie Atlanta advertising campaign would never be able to figure out how to untie all of the tangled relationships between the Gwinnett Chamber and the elected officials who give them taxpayer money. Can someone please explain why the following relationships should give taxpayers comfort that our leaders are only looking out for our best interests?
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The school superintendent sits on the chamber board. The school system pays the salaries of chamber employees with tax funds designated for education. The total to date on a no contract, no bid basis? Over $900,000.
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The chamber CEO sits on the board of the Gwinnett Conventions & Visitors Bureau (GCVB), which gives $100,000 per year to the chamber. The GCVB CEO sits on the board of the chamber. A county commissioner sits on the board of the GCVB.
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The county commission gives $500,000 per year to the chamber, and the commission chairman sits on the chamber board.
These are just a few examples of the tangled relationships. There are many more…
I have been asking questions since February. I haven’t received any answers; only comments such as, “We’ll work on it,” “We’ll look into it,” “We’ll get back to you," “Thanks for asking,” and, “Those are good questions.”
If those are good questions, why are there no good answers?
What is the most politically influential group in Gwinnett County? The Gwinnett Chamber. Who among our political leaders is holding the Gwinnett Chamber accountable to the taxpayers? No one. Where are Gwinnett’s leaders? Nowhere to be found. The silence is deafening.
"Other than what was provided in the district's statement I do not have any additional information on this topic."
Our teachers are overburdened, our school board members are silent, and our Superintendent sends $900,000 to the Chamber. It does not have to be this way. Our kids deserve - we deserve - so much more.
children’s education funds. Show us how this investment paid off Show us where in the budget these salaries are disclosed, don’t hide it I asked Mr. Cost where this line item was in the budget. He kindly responded to me. It is : Reporting department - Financial Services (300002-9990) on page 648. Here is the link if you want to look it up yourself: http://votejenfalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/General-Fund-Budget-Book-FY2013.pdf Continued on Next Comment ... Keep Reading ... This is Good Stuff....
Page 648, item 3000002-9990 reads like this: FY2012 FY2013 FY2013 Financial Services actual proposed Supt. Recommended (3000002-9990-NA) $258,771 $245,687 $245,687 Description: Banking fees and services for central office and local schools (includes investment advisor) ________________________________________________________________ It is my opinion that this budget should be transparent and honest. If it is a great idea then disclose it. If it isn’t a great idea then get rid of it. We are in a fiscal CRISIS. Our kids deserve good schools and good teachers. Our class sizes should NOT have increased by an avg. of 2 per class. The Chamber Salary could put 2 or 3 teachers back in the classroom. Look at the budget … there are plenty of places to choose our kids over bureaucracy. Give our kids the best schools in Georgia. Great Schools will attract many from other counties. People will move to Gwinnett in droves if we give our kids the education they deserve. Our empty homes will sell, our tax digest will increase and good things will follow.
Thank you for your detailed posting. Because my organization advocates for openness and transparency in government, you show exactly why this issue raised so many red flags for us when we first started to inquire about it. I have to admit that I am surprised that GCPS believes that they can just ignore this and it will go away. My organization and the others in our coalition intend to continue to work on this until we get satisfactory answers.
One more thing we need to do is show up at Board Meetings and make our concerns heard. http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps-mainweb01.nsf/pages/BoardofEducation. You can go here for a list of meetings. I do all these things..... These are easy things we can all do to help our children. Pass on this info to your friends, family and neighbors!
They circled the wagons. Instead of a return call from Laura Nurse, I received a phone call Jan. 31 from Rick Cost, CFO. Rick Cost told me that the School System sponsors two Business Development positions for Partnership Gwinnett. The amount varies from year to year and includes salaries and benefits for the two employees. Currently the amount is between $150,000 & $151,000. I asked what benefit the students receive from the donation to Partnership Gwinnett. He claimed Partnership Gwinnett Business Development procured $800Million in new capital development in Gwinnett County resulting in approximately $6Million in new tax revenue to the school system—and the students and taxpayers benefit from that revenue. He alleged that the school system does not have to increase property taxes to make up the shortfall. I asked if it was proper for the school system to take money by force from taxpayers (who are hurting financially) in order to donate to non-school entities, since the public believes the money is for benefit of the students. He said the extra revenue exceeds the outlay.
It seems just slightly more insulting that they try to hide the advertising dollars in this manner. It is illegal for government entities to advertise in favor of a referendum from which they will receive revenue, so they launder the money through Progress Gwinnett, and the Progress Gwinnett employees advocate in favor of the SPLOST referendums. The Chamber is an organization of businesses that develop business climate within the community. I cannot believe that they would not carry on this purpose without the forced donations from taxpayers. I also find it impossible to believe that the Chamber is uniquely responsible for every commercial building built within the County since the inception of Progress Gwinnett. That seems to be an exaggerated lie. Their claim seems to be based on the idea that because they exist, full credit belongs exclusively to them. This is a logical falacy!
I asked Mr. Cost whether it was proper for the school system to take money by force from taxpayers (who are hurting financially) in order to donate to non-school entities, when the public believes the money is for the benefit of the students. He said the benefit in extra revenue exceeds the outlay. I asked why the donation cannot be found in the online budget. He stated that the size of the budget prohibits them from itemizing by line in public releases, but the budget is available for inspection at their offices. I asked why they do not make the budget available online, rather than a public summary of the budget. The recent land purchases did not create a lot of confidence in the school system, since they chose to hire their own investigator who conducted a superficial investigation by only talking to less than ten percent of those involved with the land deals. The investigator did not have subpoena powers. The school system chose the private investigator rather than the D.A. or a Grand Jury which would have subpoena powers. Combined with us finding out about this hidden expenditure through news sources, the school system is not creating public confidence. It seems that they would want openness by putting the budget online for all to see. He said the budget can be seen in their office. I asked how we could change their policies—by replacing all of the elected school board officials? He said that option is available to the public.
The argument that the additional revenue could only be achieved through the contribution of the school board is a logical fallacy. Any public relations firm could contact a business considering expansion, and make a similar claim that they are to be credited with the capital expenditure resulting from the new building. That assertion excludes many other factors involved in the decision of a business to build a new facility. Similar outlandish claims were made regarding the potential revenue of the Gwinnett Braves stadium and the vast sums of tax revenue for the County. The claims made by those associated with the Chamber of Commerce and Progress Gwinnett were overstated. Claiming that their efforts alone are responsible for the entire $800Million in capital development is similarly an overstatement. Please read regarding the struggle of others who have attempted to obtain answers on how Progress Gwinnett spent taxes and whether public funds were used for illegal lobbying and advocacy of policy: http://www.gwinnettpetition.com/About_Us.html
Their explanation that they get a good return for the investment it totally unacceptable.