Bannister Land Deals Claim First Victim
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A string of outrageous land deals documented at TalkGwinnett and by a recent AJC investigation may have claimed its first victim, even before the special Grand Jury impaneled to examine the deals held its first meeting.
A Superior Court judge in Gwinnett County abruptly cleaned out his office last week and left the bench — Jim Oxendine, father of Insurance Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate John Oxendine.
Apparently, the judge facilitated the sale of land to the county by signing paperwork as the attorney representing the seller, and his secretary notarized the signature. Superior Court judges are prohibited from practicing law while serving on the bench.
Judge Oxendine’s name has been included in a tangled web of connections surrounding the sale of land to the county at inflated prices by political cronies. John Oxendine, candidate for Governor, is a close personal friend of Chairman Charles Bannister. The judge’s wife, Phyllis Oxendine, is Bannister’s appointment to the Library Board.
Kevin Kenerly calls for Tax Hike
District 4’s lame duck Commissioner, Kevin Kenerly, has called for the Commission to consider a tax increase to restore cuts to public safety and other services. On Tuesday, Kenerly asked county staff to tell him how much of a millage increase would be required and to report back in a week:
The commissioner cited several examples of increased fees and inconveniences that he calls “nothing more than a hidden tax increase.” Examples include youth athletic associations collecting higher fees from participants so those groups can pay to light ballfields during night games or property owners facing higher insurance premiums because new fire stations that have been built to fill coverage gaps in their neighborhood are not opening.
A first round of tax bills have already been sent to Gwinnett property owners, but only because it was ordered by the Superior Court. When the County Commission failed to adopt a tax rate (citing the ongoing dispute with the municipalities over a service delivery agreement). The court ordered a temporary collection based on last year’s rate and left the door open for the Commission to adopt a “reconciliation” rate later.
Without a tax increase, the cuts proposed to public safety, fire and other essential services will go into effect. However, we disagree with Kenerly’s assessment of what is “essential.” Gwinnett property owners may reluctantly accept a slight increase to avoid the closing of fire stations but Kenerly, a little league football coach, should find another way to pay for ballfield lights for now.
Library Board Slowly Responding to Public Pressure
The Gwinnett Daily Post is reporting that the Library Board is reconsidering its decision to convert the libraries in Snellville, Dacula and Lilburn into computer centers. Sorta.
On Tuesday, three Commissioners (Bert Nasuti, Kevin Kenerly and Mike Beaudreau) sent a letter to the Library Board, imploring them to apply service cuts across the board rather than follow a plan that narrowly imposes the cuts on specific communities. The Library Board has also been under intense pressure by citizen groups including the Dacula contingent which has established a petition at a web site and amassed almost 6,000 supporters on a Facebook page.
Conspicuously absent from the call by the Commissioners for a more reasonable solution to budget cuts are Chairman Charles Bannister and District 1 Commissioner Shirley Lasseter whose appointee, Babs Wagoner, reportedly yelled at the crowd attending the 9/22 Library Board meeting, “We don’t care what you think!”
Be Informed! Get Involved!
There is no lack of opportunities to get involved in local issues—from the groups organizing to oppose library closings to the “Tea Party Patriots” opposing tax increases, you have a number of ways to affect public policy in a positive way.
To stay up to date on how these issues affect you, you should subscribe to The Gwinnett Gazette today. The Gazette, read by thousands of Gwinnett residents, brings you the “story behind the story” on the hot issues of the day.
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Several folks in the Lilburn end of the county are anxious to hear that the books will be staying in our branch of the the library system. http://www.savethelibrary.weebly.com
I hope we can be posting specific good news very soon!