From Where I Stand

Real Ethics Reform Is Needed

At every level of government there are committees set up to review questionable practices.

An issue not going away is ethics reform that is needed in government. Following this election cycle, we heard from people as they evaluate the reality of many incumbents losing. We are finding more people willing to express their lack of trust in elected lawmakers. There has always been a certain level of distrust for any who serve over long years in elective office. Trust is earned, and once a reason is found to distrust a person, that trust level is hard to build up again.  This is true in the business, education, and church world. It is hard to restore trust when a person or company has proven to be unethical in their treatment of others or by bending the rules in their favor, pushed the envelope their way instead of unbiased fairness…

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Ray Newman

9:54 am on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Jack, I read your article, and you hit the nail on the head. We are moving, I believe toward real reform because the people are tired of just moving stuff around and not getting to the heart of real reform on the issue of ethics, and ethical behavior.   more ›

County on Solid Ground Despite Economy, Nash Says

In the annual State of the County address, Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash says it's been a strong team effort that has helped move county in a positive direction.

  Some 500 came to hear Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairman Charlotte Nash deliver the State of the County address on Wednesday at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth. Nash, who has been at the helm of the county for about a year after winning the chairman's seat in a special election in March 2011, was quick to point out that it was a team effort that has helped see the county through some of the toughest economic times in recent history. "It takes all of us working as a team to move the county in the right direction," said Nash. The chairman acknowledged the challenges of managing through the affects of the nation's recession. "It's tempting to see nothing but the obvious results of a worldwide economic downturn," said Nash …

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Services Dispute Continues Between Gwinnett, Cities

Both parties to double-taxation dispute 'feeling the decline.'

UPDATED SEPT. 9 AT 12:45 P.M. The lingering services delivery dispute between Gwinnett County and several of its cities is ... lingering. Both sides say talks are ongoing, but bottom line is there's no deal. The matter came up again this week during budget-review sessions for the Gwinnett County government, and it manifests itself every time a police officer in the county has to use his instincts rather than technology to try to arrest a speeding vehicle. The double-taxation matter dates to 2009, when the county sued the cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association. The cities do not want to pay the county for services they already provide, such as police. The amount of money at stake has been estimated at $14 million. Lilburn since has …

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'No Illegal or Unethical Conduct' Found in GCPS Land Probe

However, board delays again a formal vote on a new land-acquisition policy at board meeting.

Updated 8:03 p.m., July 21, 2011 A third-party probe of Gwinnett County public schools found "no evidence of illegal or unethical conduct" in land deals from 1999-2009, Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks and Board Chairman Robert McClure said Thursday evening in a press conference in Suwanee. The system received a full report earlier Thursday from former federal prosecutor Joe Whitley, who was commissioned in April to lead the invesigation. Wilbanks and the board acted after a series of articles in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that some developers made large, quick profits on some GCPS land acquisitions since 2004. However, the board delayed again a formal vote Thursday on a new site-acquisition policy, to incorporate …

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Gwinnett County Budget Vote Set for Jan. 4

Cuts to library funding and subsidies for outside agencies are proposed.

Falling real estate values and tough economic conditions have made the 2011 fiscal year budget challenging, according to Gwinnett County officials. In 2010, the county's tax digest decreased by 9 percent. Officials anticipate an additional 9 percent decline in 2011 and further declines in 2012. "Dealing with the harsh reality facing us next year and in future years will not be easy, but the outlook will only worsen unless we continue to implement fiscally sound policies," said 2010 Vice Chairman and District 1 Commissioner Shirley Lasseter. "Simply delaying the difficult decisions that lie ahead will limit viable solutions and threaten the future of our core county operations and infrastructure." Those difficult decisions include budget …

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Dacula Native in Running for Commission Chair

Fight to save a local library prompted run for office.

In 2009, when hundreds of area residents turned out to protest a decision to close the Dacula library, Charlotte Nash was there. Nash, along with more than 200 Dacula residents, fought successfully to save the three-year-old library after the county library board voted to close the branch in order to staff a new $7.4 million library near Hamilton Mill. Nash said she was upset the Dacula community's library would be treated differently from other county libraries. "The very idea that the Dacula community would bear the brunt of a decision about the library system or anything else at the county level struck me," Nash said. "I just can't imagine making decisions that negatively impact one community so much." THE DECISION TO RUN The fight to …

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