OPINION: Karma catches up to Gwinnett leaders
It was bound to happen. After years of rumors about the close relationships between Gwinnett County developers and the county government, the truth is starting to emerge. One Gwinnett commissioner has been indicted and the chairman of the board has resigned in exchange for not being indicted.
The situation in Gwinnett involves allegations that county commissioners paid more than fair market value in an effort to help friendly developers and that one commissioner took bribes from a developer.
What a mess.
What’s amazing, however, is that it took so long for a grand jury to get to the truth. The Gwinnett government has long been known as dominated by developers; it was just a matter of time until greed took over.
There is a large moral to this story that applies to Jackson County. It wasn’t long ago that developers took control of the Jackson County government for a few years, a period when all kinds of insider deals were alleged. That administration got the boot, but not before some damage was done.
While anyone has the right to run for political office, those with close ties to the real estate and development community should get extra scrutiny by voters. County government officials make a lot of critical decisions that directly impact developers and it’s easy for those decisions to be influenced by friendships, it not by dollars. Land use decisions, water line decisions, zoning decisions and road decisions all affect development projects. Public officials have to remain neutral on those items and not let their own real estate interests, or the interest of friends, determine the outcome.
The situation in Gwinnett was partly due to individual greed, but it was also affected by the county’s tendency to allow individual district commissioners to decide issues without board oversight, the so-called “courtesy” issue. Jackson County has toyed with this some as well where the full board defers to the commissioner of a district if there is a rezoning in that district.
But that kind of practice is ripe for abuse and should never be done. The BOC isn’t just a group of individual commissioners, it is a board that is responsible for all of Jackson County. “Courtesy” has nothing to do with it.
Although the economic crash has quelled much of the real estate and development boom, the danger of insider wheeling and dealing persists.
Let’s hope Jackson County will avoid the kind of ugly spectacle now taking place in Gwinnett County. Voters, beware.
What a mess.
What’s amazing, however, is that it took so long for a grand jury to get to the truth. The Gwinnett government has long been known as dominated by developers; it was just a matter of time until greed took over.
There is a large moral to this story that applies to Jackson County. It wasn’t long ago that developers took control of the Jackson County government for a few years, a period when all kinds of insider deals were alleged. That administration got the boot, but not before some damage was done.
While anyone has the right to run for political office, those with close ties to the real estate and development community should get extra scrutiny by voters. County government officials make a lot of critical decisions that directly impact developers and it’s easy for those decisions to be influenced by friendships, it not by dollars. Land use decisions, water line decisions, zoning decisions and road decisions all affect development projects. Public officials have to remain neutral on those items and not let their own real estate interests, or the interest of friends, determine the outcome.
The situation in Gwinnett was partly due to individual greed, but it was also affected by the county’s tendency to allow individual district commissioners to decide issues without board oversight, the so-called “courtesy” issue. Jackson County has toyed with this some as well where the full board defers to the commissioner of a district if there is a rezoning in that district.
But that kind of practice is ripe for abuse and should never be done. The BOC isn’t just a group of individual commissioners, it is a board that is responsible for all of Jackson County. “Courtesy” has nothing to do with it.
Although the economic crash has quelled much of the real estate and development boom, the danger of insider wheeling and dealing persists.
Let’s hope Jackson County will avoid the kind of ugly spectacle now taking place in Gwinnett County. Voters, beware.
This may warrant more than an opinion piece.
"Voters beware?" Yes! It's doubly important to vote for the right people in office who consider these decisions. As I recall there was NO vote regarding the courthouse.
Is this not the same thing that happen during the Bush/Chenny reign of error. When Haliburton made millions on war profits, When gasoline was 4 to 4&1/2 dollars per gallon.
This kinda makes one think.....at least till they are red in the face.