(Lawrenceville, Ga., Dec. 15, 2009) - The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved a contract on Tuesday to collect taxes and fees for the Planning and Development and Police Departments.

As part of the Revenue Discovery and Revenue Audit Program, this 12-month contract with CH2M Hill, Inc. will help the County identify businesses or individuals that owe business occupation taxes, alcohol excise taxes, E-911 fees and cable television franchise fees and collect these outstanding revenues.

"This is a step in the right direction for Gwinnett County to recoup what's been owed to us," said Board Chairman Charles Bannister.

"Under this program, CH2M Hill will only receive compensation after the new revenue is collected by the County; therefore, this contract is a low-risk effort to seek revenues owed to the County," said Bryan Lackey, Planning and Development Acting Director.

"Because of these challenging economic times, I'm charging our staff to seek effective measures to increase our revenue sources," said County Administrator Glenn Stephens. "This discovery and audit program will assist us in collecting fees and taxes that are rightly owed to Gwinnett County."