Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - A judge, a former county chairman, a former county administrator, three planning commissioners and a host of residents and business leaders will study Gwinnett's budget woes.

A list of the 42-member Engage Gwinnett Citizens Committee was released Wednesday.

The group, which includes Magistrate Judge George Hutchinson, former Chairman Bill Atkinson and former County Administrator Charlotte Nash, will begin meeting next month for a six-month study on the county's services and finances.

The committee, led by Bill McCargo and Mike Levengood, was created after public outcries first over a proposed budget increase and then, after that was defeated, cuts to county services.

"Engage Gwinnett is an opportunity to inform county citizens about how the county budget works, including revenues and mandated expenses, and get their views on how government should prioritize county services and spend tax dollars," McCargo said. "Our objectives are to serve as a collaborative group targeting both broad-based and specific constituency groups and audiences to offer a means to help citizens understand complex problems and engage those who normally don't become involved in policy debates.

"The constituency or stakeholder groups were identified as a 'broad stroke' attempt to ensure that the committee was a general reflection of our community. Now that we have the publicly self-selected members, we feel good about beginning our educational and citizen-led public involvement process."

Information about the study can be found at www.engagegwinnett.com, and residents will be allowed to submit feedback at the site.

SideBar: Engage Gwinnett Citizens Committee Members

Stakeholder Group, Representative

District 1, Kelly Kelkenberg

District 2, Kevin Kovalchik

District 3, Bob Griggs

District 4, Jeff Mahaffey

HOA, Paula Hastings

Citizens for Responsible Government, Lan Nguyen

FreedomWorks, Julianne Thompson

Environmentalist, Carol Hassell

Not-for-profits, Demetrius Jordan

Unity Gwinnett, Herman Pennamon

Asian Community, Cookie Lee

Hispanic Community, Jose Perez

Faith-Based, Norwood Davis

Young Professionals, Asif Jessani

Seniors, Bill Atkinson

Rotary, Scott LeCraw

Gwinnett Municipal Association, Randy Meacham

BOE, Rick Cost

Post Secondary, Julie Post

Community Improvement Districts, Chuck Warbington

Hospital System, David McClesky

Partnership Gwinnett, Mark Tibbetts

Council for Quality Growth, Michael Sullivan

State Delegation, Charles Swain

Constitutional Officers, Jim Pack

Courts, George Hutchinson

DA and Solicitor, Charlotte Nash

Athletic Association, Chris Whitlock

Small Business, Dave McMullen

Large Employer, Renee Byrd-Lewis

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Millicent Crawford, Duluth

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Dick Goodman, Suwanee

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Dan King, Duluth

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Paula Krone, Norcross

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Laurie McClain, Suwanee

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Jack Mason, Buford

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Keith Roche, Lawrenceville

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Keith Shewbert, Norcross

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Kip Stokes, Auburn

Publicly Self-Selected Citizen Representative, Glen Williams, Snellville