Effective on March 1st, the issue between Gwinnett and 15 of its cities has been upgraded by the State of Georgia.  The 15 cities and Gwinnett are now listed with the state as No Longer Qualified Local Governments.

The cities are: Auburn , Berkeley Lake, Buford, Dacula, Duluth, Grayson, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Loganville, Norcross, Rest Haven, Snellville, Sugar Hill, Suwanee and Braselton.

At issue are parallel services being offered by Gwinnett County and the individual cities.  Things like police services…  Several of the cities have local police departments, but Gwinnett County Police (one of the largest departments in the state) patrols the same areas.

In effect, the various cities and the county need to come to agreement on exactly who is going to provide which services in which locations.  And they need to do it quickly.  While the cities and the county are on this list, none are eligible to receive state grants, permits or loans.  Stimulus money could be held up or lost if there is a continued stalemate between the parties.

Hopefully they will be able to get this worked out prior to the end of the month and we can be restored before April.

Tags: gwinnett, news, politics, taxes  |  Posted under all posts, buford, duluth, gwinnett, lawrenceville, lilburn, loganville, news, norcross, snellville, sugar hill, suwanee, taxes  |    View Comments

Cramming, not just for exams anymore.

Tags: financial crisis, financing, investment, mortgage, politics, real estate  |  Posted under all posts, business of real estate, foreclosure, investment, real estate  |    View Comments

I have a reputation for swimming against the tide.  I kind of like it.  Just when someone thinks I am on their side politically, they find out that I’m not always on that side…

Tags: business of real estate, financial crisis, foreclosure, investment, politics, real estate, taxes  |  Posted under all posts, business of real estate, buyers, foreclosure, honesty, investment, real estate  |    View Comments

As I write this, the special election in MA is tomorrow.  I’m on vacation, and pre-wrote this post.  So, I am wondering what tomorrow holds for the voters of MA.  It could be a major change for that state.

Tags: life at home, politics  |  Posted under all posts, life at home  |    View Comments

I generally don’t get very political on this blog… it isn’t about that.  I wade into politics as they relate to real estate… but this was too funny to pass up.

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