Gwinnett Daily Post

DACULA — A work session has been scheduled for Sept. 14 that will serve as a kind of brainstorming session for city officials. The topic is how to pay for residents’ sanitation services. Currently, the city pays about $310,000 for solid waste costs and collects only about $150,000 to offset that cost.

According to City Administrator Jim Osborn, “That means the general fund has to help out the sanitation fund every month.” Mayor Jimmy Wilbanks added that the need to figure out a way to offset the city’s cost has been brought about by the recession. The city is simply spending too much money on solid waste collection and disposal, and city leaders will likely look to taxpayers as a source of additional funds. Nothing has been proposed or decided yet.

Two public hearings have been scheduled to follow the work session, giving residents an opportunity to weigh in on the matter. The first is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sept. 28, and the second will be held at 6 p.m. on the same day. Both will be held at City Hall.

Occupational tax ordinance changed

Council members voted Thursday to approve a change to Dacula’s Occupational Tax Ordinance. According to Osborn, renewal notices will be sent out in mid-February and due May 1 of every year beginning in 2011.

Previously, renewal notices were sent out in mid-January with a due date of Feb. 15, but those dates conflicted with business owners’ federal income tax filing and reporting.