Snellville councilmember-elect Bobby Howard endorses Barbara Bender for mayor

By: Bobby Howard

The City of Snellville is poised to make great strides forward this coming November 8th, leaving all the “old Snellville politics” behind and becoming a “City of Leadership” by electing Barbara Bender as Mayor of Snellville. As one of the NEW incoming City Council Members I am honored to serve you, the citizens of Snellville and look forward to working with other NEW Council Members Diane Krause and Dave Emanuel and current members Witts and Sabbagh. The future of our fine city has never looked brighter and with Barbara at the helm the NEW Mayor and Council will have the focus of “what’s best for Snellville and its citizens” as the driving force for the future. The future begins November 8th…..VOTE and be a part of it. Serving the Citizens of Snellville with PRIDE.

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Editor's note: Barbara Bender has also received endorsements from current council members Tom Witts and Tod Warner, former Snellville council member Kurt Schulz, as well as from councilmembers-elect Dave Emanuel, Diane Krause and Bobby Howard.

More on the proposed Snellville Occupational Tax Hardship Ordinance

Or, why I think the Occupational Tax Hardship Ordinance should be crumpled up and thrown in the trash can like the clutter it is.

A little more information about the occupational tax hardship ordinance to follow up on yesterday's post. Snellville City Council Member Kelly Kautz is not proposing eliminating the occupational tax, but suggesting the city offer a discount not to exceed 20% of the tax.

Rather than making this sound better to me, this sounds worse. It doesn't create much of an incentive. In my case, my occupational tax is $45 a year.  So that would mean a reduction of $9. I would need to go to Snellville City Hall to apply for this waiver. By the time I've driven to Snellville City Hall, taken the elevator or staircase, caught my breath after taking the stairs, talked to a city employee & filled out the form, I've easily wasted time in excess of the value of my discount. True, my tax isn't a high one, but it's all relative. 

• Any time you clutter up things with yet another ordinance, you're using the resources of time and money. 
• Any time someone goes into city hall to file the paperwork, it's using resources of time and money for the citizen/business owner and the city employee. (Since we pay the city employee with our taxes, you see.)
• Just having a Snellville employee run copies of the forms and file them so they're ready when a business owner comes in for them, it's using resources of time and money, even if the forms just sit there and nobody ever asks for one.

I hope you are picking up on a theme here. It's TIME and MONEY.  I think that Snellville is probably over-regulated as it is. Simplicity saves us money, so I say just keep things simple. Change for change's sake isn't necessarily an improvement.

The following excerpt is from a Gwinnett Daily Post article:

"Councilwoman Kelly Kautz asked to postpone a vote on the proposed occupational tax hardship ordinance Monday, citing further necessary changes to the proposed law before taking action. Kautz introduced the idea of allowing small businesses to apply for a hardship exemption with respect to the tax, but she presented some changes to other council members Monday and wanted to give them a chance to review the changes before voting.

The matter will be brought before the mayor and council again at the April 25 city council meeting."

"Citing further necessary changes to the proposed law before taking action..." ??? Well, how about this for a radical idea  -- How about thinking things out fully before presenting them? I get annoyed that again, so much time is wasted on something that's not vote-ready. But maybe that's just me.

Political Machinations in Snellville

Citizens of Snellville, I really try to keep this blog non-political, but it really burns my biscuits when someone seems to have their own interests ahead of what the city and community needs. Therefore, I really need to speak out here. I don't mean to be unkind. But unfortunately, some people don't seem to care what damage they do to Snellville's image as long as they can "win" or be elected.  I keep trying to give one of our council members the benefit of the doubt, but put a fork in me, I'm done doing that. There's a part of me that doesn't want to even bring attention to this, but this kind of nonsense has happened time and time again and I'm very tired of it. I think citizens should be informed.

Snellville City Council member Kelly Kautz sent an email to some media outlets this afternoon, outlining how she would like Snellville business owners to attend the city council meeting this evening to show support for an ordinance Ms. Kautz is proposing that would allow business owners to apply for a financial hardship and not pay their occupational tax.

In the email, Ms. Kautz entreats small business owners to support the ordinance. Several things about this just don't sit right with me, and I'll go into them after you read an excerpt of her email in the blue area below, as posted on Patch. Even Patch's editor had to say she was posting the email in its entirety (which I take to mean loosely "We aren't taking responsibility for all the errors in this hot mess.")

"Of course I do not have the support of the majority of Council because "the timing is not right." As the Mayor stated he would hate for me to be able to put that I helped small businesses on a campaign flyer.  This is the same excuse that was used when I tried to pass an Ethics ordinance for the City. Unfortuantley, [sic] the Council has been supportive of the ordinance up until now so it has drawn very little attention.

When talking with our local businesses they feel that in this (tough) economy the one thing that the City could do to help them is to lower their business taxes. In looking at the numbers a small business really does not pay much in occupation taxes. The ordinance could have the potential to assist over 1000 businesses in Snellville without costing the City a small amount of money.

The top 10 businesses (who would not be eligible under this ordinance) actually pay almost half of the revenue collected by the City."

Portions of this make absolutely no sense, but the last line should open everyone's eyes. If this ordinance is to "show goodwill to our small businesses that make up our community," why would we want to essentially punish 10 really great, strong businesses in Snellville for their success?  The larger businesses employ more people in Snellville and help our economy a lot too. Where's our goodwill toward them?

If I was on the city council and I wanted Snellville business owners to support an ordinance like this one, I would certainly make an earlier effort to get the community and businesses educated about the measure. I wouldn't email the media the day of the meeting. As a business owner who pays Home Occupation Tax myself, this is the first I've heard of it. If I wanted this ordinance to pass, I would be contacting every business owner on Snellville's rolls. She should know how to access the information, after all she's a trial attorney [Kautz Law Firm - there you go, a free ad. Enjoy.]. Defense attorneys have to know how to do research, and this certainly wouldn't be a difficult public awareness project to undertake.

What's interesting to me is that although I'm sure a Snellville City Council member of Ms. Kautz's caliber would know about the City of Snellville's Communication Survey that was conducted recently. She would know that My Snellville Blog was the local media source most read by the survey's respondents. Seems to me she would sure My Snellville Blog knew about the ordinance as well as her opinion on it, to promote the ordinance to people in Snellville. I mean, if you REALLY wanted to promote it so the measure would pass - not just so that your name would be online showing something you attempted to do, so you could look like a great champion?

It probably doesn't matter (to Ms. Kautz) if the ordinance gets passed or not. It's on the books and on the web now. Just like she's drawing attention to the ethics ordinance (by the way, it was shown later we didn't need a special ethics ordinance, we already had a suitable ordinance on the books thank you very much, it just needed to be tweaked [see how] and one could say she's really milking the ordinance, but that would be the original ethics ordinance Ms. Kautz brought forward, which was flawed and that's why it didn't pass.

I have some questions about all this -

• Who are the business owners who want this ordinance? 

• Business owners, did you go to Ms. Kautz about this need, or did she go to you? 

• Are you aware that City of Snellville employees have not had a raise in THREE YEARS? 

• If you supported the ordinance previously, would you still support it knowing about the employees not receiving raises for three years?
• Do you not feel, as I do, that occupational taxes are just another part of doing business? - A normal business expense (It's deductible on my business taxes too)

HINT: We need some good folks with Snellville's best interests at heart to step up and run for a city council post. Ms. Kautz is up for re-election in 2012.

We've all worked too hard to repair Snellville's image to allow someone (who should be on the side of both the city and the citizens) to destroy it. We can continue on the positive path we've begun, but clearly we all need to participate and step in to protect Snellville.

UPDATES/RELATED LINKS

More on the Occupational Tax Hardship Ordinance - I say Snellville can operate lean and mean by keeping things simple.

Improvements coming to McGee Rd & US78 Intersection

There has a false rumor floating around that McGee Road would be widened and go all the way to Highway 124. What is really going on is a road alignment, so that McGee Road will line up better with Cambridge, the street on the other side of US-78. There will also be an opening in the median, turn lanes, and safer pedestrian features.

If you're uncertain where McGee Road is, think of the Fountain Square shopping center that houses The Clogging Connection, the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, Archery Learning Center and the Business Center. Treasure Chest Thrift Store and South Gwinnett Park are also nearby.

These road improvements have a huge price tag ($636,800 paid with SPLOST funds), but I think it will be a good investment as the area grows. That side of Snellville has kind of run downhill in recent years, and something like this could be a real "shot in the arm" to get business jumping there again in an area of Snellville that I think has a lot of potential.

A view of S. Gwinnett Park & Sign for Fountain Square

An intersection on U.S. 78 will be rebuilt and Pine Road and Jim Moore Road will get sidewalks by next fall. The Board of Commissioners approved the two transportation contracts on Tuesday using SPLOST sales tax funding.

West of downtown Snellville, construction crews will relocate Cambridge Street so it lines up with McGee Road on the opposite side of U.S. 78. The new intersection will get a traffic signal, an improved left turn lane, a median opening and full pedestrian access. In addition to County funds from the 2005 SPLOST program, the City of Snellville, the Evermore Community Improvement District, and federal dollars through the Georgia DOT will help pay for the project. The lowest of six bidders was ISC, Inc., at $636,800. Construction should be finished by next fall.

Pedestrians benefit from road upgrades
Duluth Weekly

Dorothy, We're Not in Bangladesh Anymore

We can all learn from the storm. Today I found out we're not in Bangladesh!

Snellville resident Marlyn Tillman would have just liked to get out of her home.

“Everyone wants to shift the conversation to equipment and funding,” she said. “They could have had 200 trucks, but if they implemented the plan that they had, we'd still be in the situation we’re in.”

Snellville spent about $15,0000 responding to the storm this week, including $9,000 on fuel, labor and equipment.

A native of Philadelphia, Tillman said Snellville, Gwinnett County and the state had no strategic plan going into the storm, which led to an after-the-fact response she finds “unacceptable.”

“For the amount of taxes I pay and overpay every year, I expect better service," she said. "I’m in metro Atlanta, not Bangladesh.”

From: AJC: Atlanta Weather - Winter weather costs adding up for metro cities, counties

According to Nationsencyclopedia.com, "The population of Bangladesh was estimated at 129,194,224 in July of 2000, making Bangladesh the tenth-most populous state in the world."

Have you ever noticed that almost everybody wants government to be smaller until they want something from the government, and then they wonder "why couldn't they do this?"

We had several days to be prepared for the incoming storm. Could local government done a better job? Probably, but they did what they could with what they had available. Many residents don't know that our Public Works Department has a very small maintenance crew --  Only 5 people, and they get an incredible amount of work done.

Did all Snellville residents do the preparation for extreme winter weather conditions that they could? I'm sure residents could have done a better job too. I should have bought more rock salt and canned ravioli, and I could have had a snow shovel. I didn't do everything as advised on Ready.gov. I should have done a better job for my family.

This storm was extreme. I don't think we really want to pay for a bunch of equipment that's only going to be used once every 10 years, when some patience and sunlight will do the job.

I think that one of the most important lessons of the "Snowpocalypse" was that we humans are not God. We can't control every aspect of our lives. Sometimes we have to just wait.

Snellville is not Atlanta

I've noticed that at least online, people in Snellville avoid sharing they're in Snellville. On Twitter, for instance - many accounts will list location as Atlanta when the person really lives or works in Snellville.

Ethics Ordinance is an albatross Snellville doesn't need

We do NOT need an Ethics Ordinance in the City of Snellville. It's one of those things that sounds really good on the surface.

We The People tend to be lazy (Commentary)

I received an email full of complaints about Congress. The forwarded email's solution to all America's problems, according to the email, is to vote every incumbent out. I am surprised that anyone emailing that would think that the email would circulate enough times,

Snellville councilman thanks citizens for being involved

I would like to thank everyone who took the time out of their lives to come and vote at City Hall yesterday.

Regardless of which way you voted, you took part in the decision and did not remain silent. That is what this country is all about and that is what I and many others fought for, your ability to voice your opinion without retribution.

It now falls on us as your elected officials to use this decision wisely and to fulfill our commitment to improve our City. We didn't wait for this decision to start making positive changes in Snellville, that started last November; this does however give us the ability to compete with the surrounding areas to make Snellville, once again, the jewel of Southeast Gwinnett.

~Tom Witts

Snellville's economy, individual liberty at risk - please VOTE

“The record shows that alcohol sales does not prevent profit or keep restaurants out of Snellville,” Jenkins said. “We have ... businesses belly-aching because they’re not able to make 300-percent profit on Sunday.”

From:
Snellville's Sunday alcohol debate faces closing time
Atlanta Journal Constitution

Wow, wouldn't it be terrible, just terrible if Snellville restaurants were able to pull in a profit, stay in business, purchase from suppliers, hire more employees, etc. What a burden it would be on all of us if quality businesses were drawn to Snellville, able to stay in Snellville and stimulate our economy? Wouldn't that be a terrible nightmare for all of us? (I'm hoping you have sensed the sarcasm by now)

If you'd like to read more about Robert Jenkins and what he's done to 'help' the City of Snellville's reputation, click here. It's enlightening. Why such an anti-business, anti-profit stance? I think that there are some people who really don't want business growth. The AJC didn't give you the back-story that you need to put the Jenkins quote they used into perspective.

I think that Snellville's alcohol ban does cause restaurants to go outside the city limits of Snellville. Whatever his "record" is. I don't need a "record."  I say good people, look around you!  I'm sure you're aware of the development called The Avenue at Webb Gin on Scenic Highway. Nice, upscale shops - like a Barnes and Noble Bookstore, Ann Taylor, and so on.The nice shops anchor upscale restaurants like Chili's, Bonefish Grill, Ted's Montana Grill, Longhorn, and Gary's Bistro (opening soon).

What you may not realize is that those stores and restaurants are technically in Unincorporated Gwinnett. They are under the city of Lawrenceville's laws - laws that allow for Sunday sale of alcohol in restaurants. Notice that the development is as close as you can get to Snellville without actually being physically IN Snellville. They have a lot of Snellville customers, and part of the development even has a Snellville mailing address, but even those don't give back to Snellville in the form of business taxes. But you like shopping there and eating there, don't you? I know I do! The Avenues would love to have Snellville Police protection, but won't be annexed into Snellville unless the liquor laws are updated. We'd like to see developments like The Avenue within Snellville city limits. Lifting the Sunday alcohol ban will help create an atmosphere that promotes business growth in Snellville.

So that's the economic aspect of this issue...here's the religion part of the issue...and oh believe me, it is there.

I still say, as long as the religion that's in power and has the huge congregation in town matches YOUR religion, you are in the clear. However, watch out if another religion becomes stronger than yours someday. Maybe it could be a non-Christian religion that you wouldn't agree with. That's why we have (or should have) separation of church and state. It's to protect everyone, including Christians!

Anybody of any religion who wants to keep your Sabbath day (whatever day that might be) holy, I back you all the way. Feel free to practice any of your religious or moral beliefs. But to want to force others to follow your religious view is not cool. Show them by example, but don't expect everyone else to do exactly as you do.

Before it was approved by voters, many churches were strongly opposed to the Georgia Lottery and preached against it. The argument was that to win the lottery, you'd have to take money away from someone else, so that is breaking one of the Ten Commandments, because you would be coveting your neighbor's money by wanting to win the Georgia Lottery. Have terrible things happened because of the GA Lottery? I have found some littered lottery tickets, and that's kind of annoying, but we also have a fantastic Georgia Pre-Kindergarten program. It has kids so ready for Kindergarten that Kindergarten is now what First Grade used to be. The lottery may be a game for people who can't do math, but I haven't noticed that society crumbled because of it.

Read this article and let me know what you think. I'm thankful the Sunday alcohol issue is coming to a vote. I know you will be too - you're probably tired of hearing me rant about it.  Early voting ends July 16th, so please get out and vote at Snellville City Hall...and of course, I'm recommending a YES vote, but of course you will do what you like, and that's your right! This voting thing is sweet. :)

Snellville's Sunday alcohol debate faces closing time

Atlanta Journal Constitution

By Shane Blatt Jamie Dempsey's dream of opening an Irish pub in Snellville comes down to a vote. If residents decide that restaurants can serve alcohol on ...

Related Links:
Committee for a Better Snellville brings issue to the streets