7/18 – Citizens overwhelmingly spoke against a new government-run trash plan in Gwinnett

With only 2 hearings left, more than 100 concerned citizens attended a hearing held on July 18, by RW Beck, the public relations firm Gwinnett County has hired to hold hearings and present recommendations for a trash plan to  the Board of Commissioners.

Members of What a Waste Gwinnett attended the meeting today and witnessed an overwhelming majority speaking in opposition to any plan run by Gwinnett County government.  People also spoke in opposition to Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful ever having a role in any trash plan in Gwinnett County.

Despite the fact that Gwinnett County’s citizen advisory committee already held meetings and took public input, one must wonder why the BOC finds it necessary to use taxpayer dollars to fund yet another series of hearings…this time conducted by a professional PR Firm.  They knew how the citizens felt before, and they feel the same way now.  They want the government out of the trash business.

Comments from today’s meeting came from across unincorporated Gwinnett county, including a comment from a former member of the Citizen Advisory Committee, who stated that Gwinnett County is ALREADY in compliance with a state mandated trash plan system, and that there is no need to have a new one.    One citizen commented that the Board of Commissioners is trying to come up with a solution to a problem that does not exist.

At the end of the hearing, the PR Firm representatives had an “exercise” for people…they placed posters along a wall and asked people to put blue stickers on what was most important to them.   This has been done at other hearings, always resulting in the most stickers being put on “freedom to choose your own hauler.”  This time, the posters were placed so that when people went through the line, the poster with “freedom to choose” was last.  Despite the location of the posters, “freedom to choose” was the overwhelming victor, while “everyone has the same service” had only one sticker.  See photos…. 

Despite the fact that more than 100 citizens took time out of their Saturday morning to attend this 10 AM hearing, not ONE member of the Board of Commissioners was present to hear concerns from citizens.

***One more hearing Saturday, July 25th at 10 AM at George Pierce Community Center in Suwanee.  Please attend and be heard!

Gwinnett Daily Post Article – 7/16/2009

7/16/2009 12:01:00 AM

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Activists form group to protest trash plan By Camie Young Senior Writer Forget tea bags. Take your trash bags out in protest. Members of the FreedomWorks Georgia Grassroots group are forming a new activist group, this one to oppose Gwinnett’s solid waste plan, which was thrown out in court late last year and is still in limbo. The group “What a Waste Gwinnett!” was formed by the grassroots’ director Debbie Dooley, former planning commissioner Julianne Thompson and political consultant Jeremy Brand. “We oppose the Gwinnett County Solid Waste Plan and the (Board of Commissioner’s) effort to remove Gwinnett County citizen’s freedom to choose their own carriers,” Thompson said. With a new proposal being hammered out, she added, “the debate now is over details like number of districts and which department will oversee the plan, but the only real difference is the fact that Clean and Beautiful is not involved.” Dooley, who organized tea parties with Thompson to protest a proposed millage rate hike earlier this summer, said she hopes a similar effort to band together residents will help resolve the trash issue. “We have learned when we stand together as citizens, we will have an impact on our government, and a say in their actions. We waged a battle against the tax hike, and held a successful rally against it, and we will wage a campaign to fight this trash plan,” she said. “We support free enterprise, and personal freedom. Gwinnett citizens are very happy with their current trash removal systems.” Hearings over the proposal will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center and at the same time the following Saturday at George Pierce Park Community Center in Suwanee. Brand, who worked on Chairman Charles Bannister’s campaign last year, encouraged people to attend. “We must stand together and be heard. Attending the hearings is the first step.” he said. For more information contact the organization at whatawastegwinnett@yahoo.com or visit www.whatawastegwinnett.wordpress.com.

What a Waste

Gwinnett County is resuming its efforts to implement a new trash collection plan for the County.

Currently, Gwinnett County homeowners have the option to choose from dozens of companies to collect their trash based on who offers the best price for them, and they are also able choose whether they even want to have trash collection services or take it to the dump themselves. 

Earlier this year, Gwinnett County proposed a plan to takeover trash collection services by using private companies to collect. In that plan, the county would MANDATE that every Gwinnett homeowner have weekly garbage collection. It would have divided the county into 8 districts and would have only allowed one hauler per district, eliminating your freedom to choose a hauler. And, under the plan, the county would have begun billing for garbage collection on your property tax bill, which would have resulted in a $6 million dollar a year total property tax increase. This program would have been run by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful. The Gwinnett Superior Court threw this plan out. 

The county is now in the process of resuming work on a new plan. The new plan they are working towards is exactly the same as the last except Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful would not be running the program. They have had a series of public hearing to take suggestions on minor details of the plan, but the basics are the same as the last: FORCING YOU TO HAVE TRASH COLLECTION, ENDING PERSONAL CHOICE, LIMITING PRIVATE ENTERPRISE and ADDING A NEW TAX ON YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL. That is just wrong. 

In times of intense budget problems and budget cuts, they need to leave the current trash plan as it currently is and deal with the issue later. 

We need to attend the public hearing and let our voices be heard. We need to stop this new program. 

In Summary the new trash program would: 

1. Destroy Freedom by mandating everyone to have trash collection services without the choice of your hauler. 

2. No Choice- forbid many private companies from operating in Gwinnett. 

3. Charge homeowners on their property tax bills resulting in potentially a $6 million tax increase. 

4. Waste of money and time. 

Let’s leave it as it is and address the issue later!

POLL ON GWINNETT COUNTY GARBAGE PLAN

Last public hearings held July 18th and 25th.

Please attend the following meetings and be heard.  It is NOT over in July.  The BOC is set to vote on the trash plan in October.  We must remain active in the entire process, if we are to defeat it.  Please check back and stay informed. 

Saturday, July 18
10:00am to 11:30am
Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center Auditorium
75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville
770.822.8000
Enter building at main entrance, make first right. Auditorium is on right.

Saturday, July 25
10:00am to 11:30am
George Pierce Community Center
55 Buford Highway, Suwanee
770.831.4173
Once you enter the park, the community building is located on le