Lawrenceville Police Chief to Head Proposed Gwinnett Drug Task Force

LPD Chief Randy Johnson will lead the task force. Several other Gwinnett agencies are also involved, as a result of the SDS settlement.

The Lawrenceville Police Department and several other Gwinnett law enforcement agencies are planning to form an inter-agency drug and vice task force, as a result of the Service Delivery Strategy Settlement. Plans call for Lawrenceville Police Chief Randy Johnson to be the board chairman. The Gwinnett Metro Task force will investigate and prosecute the offenders through mutual aid where violations occur within the named cities in the agreement. Any case that occurs outside the city or leads to violations outside the city will be turned over the Gwinnett County Police. The cases made by the Gwinnett Metro Task force will be turned over to the appropriate court system. -- How do you feel about this agency? Tell us in the comments below. …

• Photos (1)

Gwinnett To Pay Cities Over $25 Million in SDS Agreement

Payments are in annual and one-time forms. The new deal also creates Special Service Districts for various functions.

The talk was of compromise Tuesday from both Gwinnett County and various city officials when an agreement was announced to end the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) dispute that began in 2009. But you probably won't see any of the 16 cities in the agreement turning down any of the money coming their way. An estimated $28 million will be going from Gwinnett funds to the cities over a matter of years as a result of the agreement that was accepted Tuesday. Formal approval also must be granted by Judge David Barrett of Blairsville, who presided over the legal matter and handed down a ruling in September that strongly favored the cities. But Tuesday's deal was crafted with the idea of making the judge's decision easy. The issue was double …

• Photos (2)

Seen on the Scene

Gwinnett Mayors, Commissioners Sign Historic SDS Settlement

Mayors from the county met at the Historic Courthouse to sign the documents.

Mayors from the 16 Gwinnett County cities, including newly formed Peachtree Corners, signed an agreement to bring an end to the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) lawsuit. The mayors and County Commissioners in attendance posed for a photo at the Historic Courthouse after each city and County Board of Commissioners Chairman Charlotte Nash signed the agreement. Lawrenceville Patch will have more on this story.

• Photos (3)

UPDATE: Gwinnett, Cities OK SDS Deal; Cities Stand To Receive Millions in Funds

A joint city-county ceremony was held Tuesday evening in Lawrenceville.

Updated Feb. 8, 2012 Suwanee, Loganville, Lilburn, Norcross and Dacula added their approvals Tuesday evening to the Service Delivery Strategy agreement. Earlier Tuesday, the Gwinnett County Board Of Commissioners approved the deal with cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association (GwMA), doing their part to end a multimillion-dollar dispute that began in 2009. Showing the fluidity of the situation, the agenda item on the SDS matter was added by the BOC after its afternoon meeting began. "This is still active litigation," noted BOC Chairman Charlotte Nash after the commissioners' approval. However, terms of the settlement strongly favor the cities, and are in the $20 million range. For instance, some terms call for Gwinnett to make a $5.1 …

• Photos (1)

Read Mayor Johnson's State of the City Address

Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson delivered the address at January's City Council Meeting.

On Monday January 9th, Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson delivered the State of the City Address prior to the January City Council meeting. Lawrenceville Patch obtained a copy of the address and is publishing it in it's entirety for residents to read: STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS It has been an honor to serve as your mayor this year and I am mindful of the responsibilities as the leader of this community. Each week there are important decisions to be made but these decisions are not mine alone. As mayor, I have a role in these decisions but I also depend on my council for advice and support. Mrs. Marie Beiser, Mr. Bob Clark, Mr. P.K. Martin, and Mr. Tony Powell will help me determine the needs of Lawrenceville and set a course for the direction of …

• Photos (1)

Gwinnett Cities Discussing SDS Situation

Conference call Monday is the latest development in the continuing legal dispute.

The lingering Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) situation between Gwinnett County and many of its cities continues, with cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association holding a conference call Monday on the matter. Randy Meacham, executive director of the Gwinnett Municipal Association, said Monday afternoon that cities in the GwMA held a conference call earlier in the day about the SDS issue. Gwinnett County officials were not involved in the call, Meacham said. However, settlement talks between the GwMA and Gwinnett County have continued since a court ruling in September was issued strongly favoring the cities. A settlement offer apparently is not on the table, as Meacham said Monday's conference call concerned what the cities might be …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Bob Williams

10:26 pm on Monday, December 19, 2011

As both a county and city tax payer I'd like to see this issue resolved in 2012. We are not the only place in the state (and country) where local cities operate inside counties. Systems for agreements and cooperation are setup in other places and they work. Why is so difficult in Gwinnett?   more ›

Gwinnett County's SDS, By The Numbers

The recent Service Delivery Strategy court ruling has some interesting statistics.

It's not hard to find a Top 10 list, but the recentService Delivery Strategy court ruling for Gwinnett County provides some interesting material for one. Judge David Barrett of Blairsville included much numerical research in his ruling; the matter had been in his hands since August 2010. So let's take a look at some of what the judge included:

• Photos (1)

Gwinnett Service Delivery Ruling: What Happens Next?

County is ordered to set up special service districts to fund some services. Police radar use remains unclear.

Now that the ruling in the long-running Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) legal dispute between Gwinnett County and many of its cities has been issued, the question is: What happens now? Also, when will the Gwinnett Police Department and several of the police departments in affected cities be able to use radar to track speeders again? The answers: The SDS ruling favors the cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association on key matters. Barrett's order expressly said that the county has no authority to levy a tax or fee on residents of a city whose municipality does not accept and jointly fund an SDS service, such as police. The county now must set up by Nov. 1 Special Service Districts to handle funding for some services, such as transit, tax …

• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)