Gwinnett Co. Trash Ordinance

[MONICA]

The Gwinnett County Commissioners just can't seem to give up on the trash hauling ordinance.

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/home/headlines/85615627.html


Board to mull new trash plan
After more than a year, officials will try to bring closure to issue


LAWRENCEVILLE — More than a year after a controversial solid waste plan was disposed of in a Gwinnett County court, commissioners will consider a new trash hauling ordinance.
While the ordinance on Tuesday’s commission agenda is billed as an attempt to bring closure to multiple court cases, it contains many of the same provisions some county residents railed against, including making the service mandatory, the county picking haulers for service districts and putting fees for trash service on tax bills.


Attempts to reach officials from hauling companies and What a Waste Gwinnett, which filed petitions against such provisions, were unsuccessful Friday.
The biggest change from the 2008 ordinance is that the implementation and enforcement are not controlled by nonprofit Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, a bone of contention that had caused Judge Michael Clarke to enjoin the previous plan.
“We’re actually very excited about moving solid waste forward,” Chief Financial Officer Aaron Bovos said Friday.
“It goes back to ultimately trying to find the best program to meet the needs of the constituents,” he said, adding that like the county’s millage rate debate a year ago, residents have been divided on the positives of the plan.
The document, which again divides the county into five service districts and allows county officials to choose one hauler for each district, is considered a “foundation” for a new solid waste procedure, spokesman Joe Sorenson said.
Many questions, including fees, are not yet answered, but the plan allows for expanded recycling and disposal of white goods and bulky wastes. Recycling is not mandatory, Sorenson said, but residents are given more options.
Also Tuesday, commissioners are expected to extend agreements with current haulers until the end of June, so the new plan can take effect in July.
In July, residents’ tax bills could include a service fee to cover trash hauling through December 2011. The ordinance stipulates that every residence with a certificate of occupancy must pay for the service, even if the property is vacant.
Sorenson said the matter is not up for a public hearing Tuesday, giving residents an opportunity to voice concerns to commissioners only after the vote during a time for public comment.

[MrBlah]

I'm not from gwinnett, but were any of these commissioners up for election between 2008 and now?

[Troutman]

Kevin Kennerly and Bert Nasuti are not running again because of all the scandals they have been involved in. This group of commissioners is the worst I have ever seen. THey should all be voted out.

[Nikk777]

I'm in DeKalb and we pay $300 per year on our tax bill.... What's the fuss about exactly? $25/month seems pretty cheap considering they come twice a week and will haul just about anything I put out there... including kitchen cabinets, mattresses, etc....

[Troutman]

I'm in DeKalb and we pay $300 per year on our tax bill.... What's the fuss about exactly? $25/month seems pretty cheap considering they come twice a week and will haul just about anything I put out there... including kitchen cabinets, mattresses, etc....

Where did you read anything about $25.00????

[Troutman]

My trash bill went up 15 a quarter the first time they did this.

[RichHenderson]

I'm in DeKalb and we pay $300 per year on our tax bill.... What's the fuss about exactly? $25/month seems pretty cheap considering they come twice a week and will haul just about anything I put out there... including kitchen cabinets, mattresses, etc....

I pay less.

The problem we have is, that it eliminates competition. We do not want government involved in our trash pick up.

[wicked]

Kevin Kennerly and Bert Nasuti are not running again because of all the scandals they have been involved in. This group of commissioners is the worst I have ever seen. THey should all be voted out.+1

[Troutman]

I pay less.

The problem we have is, that it eliminates competition. We do not want government involved in our trash pick up.


The only problem they are solving is their lack of revenues. This plan stands to bring about 6million to the general fund.

[Butthead]

the new rate in alpharetta is $55 per quarter and those bastards only come once per week.

[jkhonea]

What are you whining about? Far as I've found, $67 per quarter here and only once per week.

[wallypiper]

I think the private hauler setup is pretty rare around here. I'm in the City of Smyrna and my trash is picked up by them. I don't have a utility bill handy to look at but it's billed along with water and sewer. There is a surcharge for large items and you have to call them to set it up. But overall I have no real complaints. When my sister moved to her current residence outside of Griffin, they had no trash pickup. Had to drop it at a dumpster.

[ga_skyline_rydr]

I live out in the county and we get to decide how to deal with our trash, we don't need the govt coming in to foul it up.

[Nikk777]

Mine is $300/year on my taxes.... $300 divided by 12 months in a year comes to $25/month.....

[Troutman]

Mine is $300/year on my taxes.... $300 divided by 12 months in a year comes to $25/month.....

Im sorry. I misread your post. I still think that the government shouldnt be putting commercial services on our tax bill. I also was paying far less than 300 a year before Big Brother got involved.

[Ablev1]

I throw my trash in the 'hooch. LOL

[impalanar]

$17/month 1 pickup per week, they provide the can, everything has to be in bags.

[MONICA]

Here we go again.......

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/home/headlines/86012217.html

Commissioners approve controversial trash plan

LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett commissioners will choose trash haulers for residents, according to a controversial vote Tuesday.
More than a year after a similar plan was thrown out in court, officials adopted a new solid waste plan, dividing the county into five districts for haulers to bid for the jobs.
<!-- $cms.websiteSection.disableStory --> Commissioner Mike Beaudreau said a study commission of residents last year fully supported the idea, which would cut down on garbage truck traffic in neighborhoods and wear and tear on roads, while forcing county residents to pay for a service instead of illegally dumping trash.
“I feel like this is going to be fairer for taxpayers because we won’t be subsidizing service,” he said. “I don’t think it’s perfect at all but I do think it takes care of the vast concerns.”
But after a public outcry over the issue, several residents said the decision will re-start recall efforts against the chairman.
“If any one of you as much as run for dog catcher, you are going to have to answer for this,” said Charles Grizzle of the Gwinnett chapter of Americans for Prosperity. “Principle and consciousness would dictate ... that you listen to your constituents.”
Despite a public engagement process as part of a study that led to the plan, residents were angered they could not address commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting prior to the vote.
“You are ignoring the will of the people, just like those clowns in Washington,” said Debbie Dooley of FreedomWorks, who said a public protest is in the planning stages.
“This is socialism at Def-Con 1,” said Buford man John Westmoreland.
An official with Waste Industries, which is involved in one of four lawsuits with the county over the issue, said the plan showed officials worked behind closed doors to satisfy members of the first lawsuit, which was filed after all the residential hauling was assigned to two vendors by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful.
The nonprofit is not involved in the newest version of the solid waste plan, which goes into effect July 1.
Officials have not determined the contracts or how much service will cost residents.
But Tuesday’s vote does map out an expanded recycling program and dictates that every home deemed habitable will be subject to the service — even if vacant — with charges coming on county tax bills.
Details on the plan can be found at www.gwinnettcounty.com (http://www.gwinnettcounty.com).

[MONICA]

One resident is trying to get the chairman recalled.

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/localnews/headlines/86296012.html

Resident calling for recall again

LAWRENCEVILLE — After months organizing the effort, disgruntled residents began an application for recall proceedings against Gwinnett Chairman Charles Bannister.
Randy DeVault, who withdrew applications against Bannister and two other commissioners last December, filed the paperwork a day after commissioners reignited angry protesters by approving a controversial trash collection plan. His last effort began a week after commissioners voted to raise taxes.
<!-- $cms.websiteSection.disableStory --> According to state law, DeVault has 15 days to gather 100 signatures for the first step of the process. If the application is verified, he has another 45 days to collect signatures from 30 percent of the electorate, or 127,000 registered voters.
“We have several hundred people who are already volunteering their time,” said DeVault, who registered his campaign as an LLC this week.
Later this month, he plans to announce hours and locations where people can come to sign a petition at one of eight sites across the county. DeVault said he plans to use churches that also act as polling precincts, which will be manned by volunteers.
DeVault said he is pursuing the recall because of Bannister’s “spend, spend attitude.”
Bannister, who has been involved in politics for three decades, including time as Lilburn’s mayor and nearly two decades in the General Assembly, said his feelings aren’t hurt by the effort.
But he added that he has no authority alone in the county, as any action requires three votes from the Board of Commissioners.
“It’s not that anything has been done wrong. People are upset, period,” he said, adding that the garbage proposal has a long list of issues including state mandates and several lawsuits. “We’ll deal with (the petition) as it comes forward.”