Gwinnett Standard
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The Gwinnett Standard
The Gwinnett Standard is an expectation of excellence in service, stewardship, and integrity in everything we do. It is a connecting thread that runs throughout County government and is reflected in the excellence of our schools, libraries, businesses, community organizations, and residents.
Read more about our most recent accomplishments below and find an archive of achievements by our award-winning government in the left navigation.
2022 Accomplishments
Read about accomplishments from our various departments below.
County Administrator’s Office
Economic Development
- Hosted six roundtable discussions with multiple bilateral chambers and business associations including 90 small businesses representing many cultures (African American, Liberian, Korean, Vietnamese, Laotian, Tai Dam, Filipino, South Asian, and Latin American)
- Hosted 3,243 attendees during 66 events and programs conducted at the Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center
- Fielded 1,276 inquiries from the small business community
Community Outreach
- Graduated 44 participants from the Gwinnett 101 Citizens Academy and 27 participants from the Gwinnett Youth Commission
- Participated in more than 334 events, festivals, and programs, engaging more than 12,000 residents and community stakeholders
- Offered 11 public tours of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center to provide a civic learning opportunity for 80 Gwinnett County residents and local community organizations
Internal Audit
- Completed audits in the areas of billing, construction management, information technology, and human resources
- Ensured team members obtained one or more professional certifications and continued professional education requirements for their licenses.
Communications
- Achieved 448,591 email newsletter opens, increasing open rate by 12 percent compared to 2021
- Ended 2022 with more than 82,000 Facebook followers, 12,400 LinkedIn followers, 9,300 Instagram followers, and almost 24,000 Twitter followers across County-owned pages
- GwinnettCounty.com had 5,464,405 users, a 25.75 percent increase over 2021
- Built photo library of more than 239,000 photos for County staff to use for presentations and marketing materials
- Branded more than 4,000 touchpoints
- Completed 12,338 communications project-related tasks compared to 7,568 in 2021
- Conducted media training for 112 people
- Worked with the Department of Transportation to develop a new name and bus design for Gwinnett County Transit: Ride Gwinnett
- Served more than 1,300 walk-in customers daily at Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center and Nash Court Building desks and responded to 1,600 requests for language translations in the five most popular languages during 2022
- Performed almost 12,000 notary acts
- Processed 544 print service requests for Gwinnett County administrative departments and elected offices
- Responded to more than 550 email requests for information through Gwinnett County's info inbox
- Reached an average of 400,000 people through social media monthly
Community Services
Animal Welfare
- Impounded 7,150 animals, found adopters for 4,360 animals, and transferred 717 animals to rescue partners from the Bill Atkinson Animal Welfare Center
- Continued the Return to Community Cat Program, which trap-neuter-returned 1,228 cats, preventing 9,824 kitten births
- Achieved a live release rate of 96 percent of impounded animals saved
Community Resource Support
- Opened warming stations at five locations serving 1,713 residents
- Launched the Gwinnett Veterans and Family Services Office with a dedicated veteran community navigator and served 700 residents
Countywide Interpretive
- Processed 231 artifacts and recorded 28 new oral histories
- Offered walking tours of Gwinnett’s Historic and Cultural sites welcoming 3,103 people to experience the county’s heritage
Early Learning
- Conducted 147 Building Brains Anywhere programs impacting 7,135 participants
- Distributed 55,531 early learning books through the G.R.E.A.T. Little Minds Book Exchanges in partnership with the Gwinnett community
- Facilitated all afterschool and out-of-school time enrichment programs eligible for Child and Parent Services program to eliminate a financial barrier so all can enjoy a safe, livable, and healthy community
- Provided 90,564 education hours through afterschool programming to 27,866 participants
- Expanded afterschool services to include nine total elementary schools
Food Security
- Transported and distribute than a million pounds of food, supplies, and personal care items for community partners and residents
- Conducted 50 mobile food distributions, providing 519,506 pounds of food to 88,868 residents
- Provided 22,730 mixed produce boxes to 249 community partners, impacting more than 79,000 residents
- Hosted four pop-up grocery stores with Goodr serving 26,670 meals to 800 families in addition to providing 43,283 meals to early learners, afterschool, and veterans through snack packs and grocery deliveries
- Harvested 7,022 pounds of food from nine community gardens which were donated to emergency food providers
- Distributed 184,234 summer meals with the help of 677 volunteers
- Deployed 9,290 shelf-stable food boxes to residents facing food security challenges and senior residents in case of inclement weather
Live Healthy Gwinnett
- Visited 190 communities with the Be Active Gwinnett mobile recreation program, impacting 8,948 participants
- Facilitated more than 2,060 service hours for student interns assisting with wellness programming
- Launched Live Healthy Gwinnett Community Health Dashboard
Parks and Recreation
- Offered 6,096 classes, programs, camps, and events
- Provided opportunities for 32,866 youth athletes to play a sport thanks to the dedication of 8,330 adult volunteers who contributed more than 583,295 service hours
- Conducted 912 playground inspections for the safety of residents
- Provided 15,271 rental experiences across the park system
- Implemented swim lessons with more than 50,000 participants
- Welcomed 341,687 participants through aquatic admissions and passes
Senior Services
- Served 239,935 residents through senior programs and services
- Provided 21,258 hours of homemaking, respite, and care management
- Served 176,073 nutritionally balanced congregate and home-delivered meals
- Improved mobility and access by providing 56,413 transportation tips
- Fostered connectivity by providing 298 Senior Activity Module tablets, which led to 28,129 virtual interactions
Volunteer Services
- Engaged 38,181 people in volunteer service activities, resulting in 782,194 service hours
- Mentored 1,069 students from middle school at the Junior Achievement Discovery Center with the volunteer participation of 61 County employees
Voter Registrations and Elections
- Processed 1,304,403 transactions in the voter registration system
- Conducted testing on 15,966 pieces of voting equipment to ensure operation and accuracy
- Sent out precinct notifications due to the redistricting changes which impacted more than 600,000 voters
- Rolled out voter registration and election information in Korean, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Cantonese in addition to Spanish and English
Corrections
- Upgraded inmate communication by adding video visitation to keep incarcerated individuals and their families connected
- Established an instructional partnership with the Gwinnett Technical College Adult Education Division to reinstate and facilitate the GED Program
- Restored the community volunteer program to assist with worship services, prison ministry, and self-help classes for inmates
- Implemented an in-house digital mail scanning solution to mitigate the risk of contraband entering the facility
- Maintained compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act
- Cleaned 733 miles of roadway and removed 3,712 square feet of graffiti
Courts and Justice
Administrative Office of the Courts
- Established a Child Advocacy and Juvenile Services Department to better serve our children’s legal rights
- Graduated 55 individuals and enrolled 94 new participants in the Accountability Courts
Clerk of Courts
- Issued 3,963 notary commissions; the Clerk of Court’s Notary Division has led the state in notary commissions for 10 of the past 11 years
- Held the first annual National Adoption Day celebration, during which 12 families adopted 16 children, and staff processed paperwork for 120 adoptions
Probate Court
- Issued 6,136 marriage licenses and 23,842 birth certificates
District Attorney
- Saw 5,006 new cases
- Had 71,808 contacts with victims
- Graduated inaugural class of Rehabilitation Enables Dreams program for 17- to 28-year-old young adults; upon graduation, individuals clear their records on non-violent crimes so that they can reenter society as thriving members of our community
- Graduated inaugural class of the Junior District Office and Investigator Internship Program, which gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on knowledge in the criminal justice system
Financial Services
- Maintained Triple AAA/Aaa Bond Rating
- Supported departments and elected officials to develop and pass a $2.27 billion budget for 2023
- Managed 201 grant awards with a total value of $496.2 million awarded over multiple years
- Awarded $4.25 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to 49 organizations to support 70 projects meeting childcare, food security, housing, and other community needs
- Ensured that 18,297 individuals did not have to face an eviction or utility disconnection through Project RESET 2.0
- Issued 323,504 Annual Notices of Assessment, an increase of 5,755 notices over the previous year
- Processed about 57,200 invoices, 36,800 purchase card transactions, and 7,903 e-payable transactions for total payments of $1.55 billion
- Connected with more than 800 vendors through various procurement outreach events
- Implemented Zelle as an alternative payment solution for jurors
- Increased fraud prevention measures by implementing bank account validation services
- Conducted 71 safety training classes to approximately 915 employees
- Launched initiative to modernize Gwinnett County's website
- Negotiated cost savings of $2.8 million on contracts
Fire and Emergency Services
- Checked 8,651 residences for working smoke alarms and installed 5,250 smoke alarms
- Completed 666 home surveys
- Responded to 100,352 incidents and transported 44,241 patients
- Saved 59 lives after cardiac emergencies; 423 personnel were recognized for their efforts, as documented through the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival program
- Offered 1,128 community training opportunities reaching 15,056 people
- Completed 22,696 fire inspections
- Completed 433 fire station tours and apparatus community visits, reaching more than 25,000 children and adults
- Completed 125 child passenger car seat installations and checks, installed 178 car seats, and issued 15 car seats
- Shared 555 messages on social media related to incidents, employee achievements, health, and fire safety
- Conducted 29 Fire Extinguisher Training Classes reaching 759 children and adults
- Conducted 61 CPR/AED participation classes reaching 1,020 children and adults
- Participated in Mobile Food Drive Events held throughout the County and offered car seat checks, food distribution, and registered residents for home safety surveys
- Created a quarterly e-newsletter Prevention 365, which highlights fire and lifesaving topics designed so you can read them in a minute
- Conducted 131 fire scene investigations
- Successfully completed firearms and taser qualifications for all fire investigators
- Hired one new fire investigator and continued training for two new fire investigators
- Achieved a 17 percent drop in the number of general loss incidents from 2021 to 2022
- 657 department personnel completed continuing education Training Academy career courses
- Graduated and certified 81 EMT students and 17 paramedics
Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful
- Received more than $50,000 through various grant funders, including Keep Georgia Beautiful, Primerica, and Foodwell Alliance, which will enable the organization to expand the Green & Healthy Schools Program through STEM/STEAM programs, fight food waste/food insecurity, composting and provide educational materials/resources to Gwinnett County Public Schools, as well as provide support to residents to conduct their own beautification projects
- Removed 220,210 pounds of litter across 294 miles of roadway, picked up 3,599 illegal signs, and conducted 506 cleanups through the Adopt-A-Road program
- Diverted 80 tons of household hazardous materials from landfills during community collection events in partnership with Water Resources
- Cohosted two recycling collection events with Solid Waste Management, diverting 158.21 tons of electronics, shredded paper, tires, paint, and textiles from landfills
- Selected by Keep America Beautiful to be the first of 700+ national affiliates nationwide, hosted “Connecting People & Places: A Community Conversation About Litter” to address the issue of littering on a hyperlocal scale
Human Resources
- Received 46,754 applications and hired 1,219 new full-time and part-time staff
- Hosted the first Countywide Career From Here hiring event with more than 500 prospective employees in attendance
- Implemented a number of family well-being initiatives, including paid parental leave, as well as a new family planning benefit available to all eligible employees
- Reimbursed employees more than $500,000 through a tuition reimbursement program
- Held the largest Countywide Wellness Fair ever at Gwinnett, with more than 36 vendors and 2,000 employees, retirees, and their families in attendance
- Graduated 75 students from the Career Starts Here Youth Empowerment Program
Information Technology Services
- Completed more than 25 infrastructure projects in alignment with modernizing our environment, including data network cable and wireless network upgrades to increase capacity and improve data transmission
- Implemented CAMA Cloud, a data collection software solution, for the Tax Assessor’s Office which improved the efficiency and accuracy of field inspections on real property
- Executed enterprise-wide digital automation tools for improved efficiency and paperless footprint through the deployment of the DocuSign tool
- Implemented Zelle as additional payment for jurors to have an easy and secure payment option
- Created several new dashboards to provide County leadership with data to help them make more informed business decisions
- Delivered significant Accela enhancements to supplement and automate Planning and Development Department processes resulting in improved efficiencies as well as enhanced customer experiences
- Created and staffed a new division within the ITS department that focus on identifying, initiating, and driving groundbreaking new ways for the County to innovate
- Managed more than 56,000 service tickets through the service desk
Planning & Development
- Selected to participate in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing to support affordable housing initiatives by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the University of Georgia
- Established the Housing and Community Development Division and transitioned HUD grant administration to the new division
- Implemented the new Smoke-free Air Ordinance as a measure to protect and preserve the health, safety, and welfare of residents
- Obtained Community Rating System recertification for property owners to receive a 15 percent discount on flood insurance
- Reorganized the department by creating a new Code Enforcement division as well as the Building and Development divisions to improve customer service
- Restructured the department’s website to make it easier for customers to quickly access documents and services
- Incorporated on-demand translation services for customer support
- Completed 2,845 virtual inspections, providing greater convenience to customers while saving fuel and carbon emissions
- Received an additional $594,955 in Occupation Tax Revenue as a result of Code Enforcement inspections
- Issued building permits for 5,026 new housing units, including single-family homes, townhouses, and multifamily units
- Finalized the Comprehensive Housing Study and Residential Zoning District Review
- Completed a minor update to the 2040 Unified Plan to guide future development
- Accomplished successful recertification as a PlanFirst Community, which recognizes excellence in comprehensive plan implementation
- Advanced in local area planning efforts, including community engagement in Mountain Park and Centerville
Police
- Dispatched 733,023 police and fire calls from the E-911 Center
- Responded to 396,058 incidents through the Uniform Division
- Established a fully operational Behavioral Health Program in collaboration with View Point Health; the Behavioral Health Unit is fully staffed with six officers and five clinicians for our co-responder teams
- Established a Gun Crime Unit to follow up on gun crime and target the illegal procurement and distribution of firearms
- Achieved a 91 percent homicide clearance rate, compared to the national average rate of 61.6 percent
- Installed the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network system which links cases together through fired cartridge casings
Sheriff’s Office
- Completed first multi-agency active shooter training exercise at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center with more than 100 volunteers
- Served more than 1,500 participants in the Gwinnett Re-entry Intervention Program to prevent recidivism
- Completed three, 40-hour Field Training Officer courses, which allows deputies to become Georgia POST Certified Field Training Officers
- Participated in 37 recruiting events, resulting in more than 155 applications
- Implemented a Jail K-9 Unit to combat illegal drugs entering the facility
- Created Operation One Star, a multi-agency operation designed to arrest violent offenders, which resulted in 65 apprehensions, 189 citations, 155 arrest warrants, and 22 illegal firearms removed from the community
- Served 510 arrest warrants, 357 felony warrants, and made 158 drug arrests through the Gang and TRACE Units
- Encountered and intervened with 795 people experiencing mental health crises through our Mental Health Task Force Unit, which resulted in zero arrests
- Served 1,554 family violence orders and completed 1,031 sex offenders’ verifications
- Launched the Gwinnett Pretrial Solution, which is an initiative that provides an alternative secured release with GPS monitoring to needless long-term incarceration of low-risk, nonviolent inmates who commit a low-level offense and cannot afford a low bond
- Distributed 5,000 backpacks to students in need at the Back to School event, which was attended by more than 5,300 guests
- Distributed 4,000 total boxes of food and fed approximately 2,654 families at the Second Annual Thanksgiving Food Giveaway event
Support Services
- Completed the SPLOST-funded construction of Fire Station 13 in Suwanee
- Broke ground on the Hooper-Renwick Themed Library in Lawrenceville
- Kicked off construction of the Elizabeth H. Williams Branch Library and OneStop Centerville facility
- Completed renovation of the Board of Commissioners and County Administrator’s space as well as exterior renovations of the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse
- Continued renovation of a former grocery facility to create a Records Management Center and equipment storage space
- Initiated construction on the 6,000-square-foot Police Fleet Maintenance Building. Anticipated completion for first quarter 2023
- Completed design at One Justice Square for Information Technology Service space on the second floor and for Community Services, Code Enforcement, Police Permits, and a conference area on the first floor
- Finished phase two of the escalator replacement, upgrades of the elevator and access control system, and HVAC equipment replacements at the Gwinnett Justice and Administrator Center
- Finalized stormwater pond remediations and designed monument sign replacements at multiple County facilities
- Partnered with Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful to host two recycling events, collecting 6,420 pounds of textiles, 20 tons of tires, 42 tons of electronics, 31 tons of paper, 462 gallons of oil-based or aerosol paint, and 9,578 gallons of latex paint
- Partnered with residential haulers to add two additional glass recycling drop off locations; nearly 150 tons of glass were collected at the three locations
- Managed the sale of surplus County vehicles, equipment, and miscellaneous items with a revenue of $2.8 million
- Completed installation of new branding on 247 County vehicles
- Managed 11 fuel sites and dispensed more than 6.5 million gallons of fuel to internal and external customers with a value of $23.3 million
- Maintained 3,596 vehicles and pieces of equipment and purchased 276 vehicles and pieces of equipment
- Completed 9,954 vehicle and equipment repair work orders and completed 5,069 work orders for preventive maintenance
- Completed five land acquisitions, obtained 76 stormwater easements, 73 rights of entry, 48 utility easements, and 153 easements for new developments
- Completed 13,443 work orders for facility maintenance
- Haulers delivered 7,477 65-gallon recycling carts to residents
- Managed 49,406 calls through the Solid Waste Call Center
Tax Commissioner's Office
- Billed $1.6 billion in property taxes with 96.4 percent collected as of December 31
- Relocated two motor vehicle kiosks to higher traffic areas with 24/7 access
- Implemented a monthly publication of Tax and Tag Tips to better assist and educate residents
- Published the general brochure in four languages: Hindi, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese
- Engaged and educated residents about our office functions through our participation in the spring and fall Gwinnett 101 Citizens Academy program
- Stabilized employee retention and increased authorized County staff level by converting 13 contract employees
- Used County enterprise system to gain efficiency to issue refund checks to residents in a shorter amount of time
- Upgraded our electronic remittance software to speed up and safeguard check processing
- Installed cash depository equipment that increased efficiencies at the highest cash volume tag office
Transportation
- Completed construction of 22 major projects, including intersection, major road, road safety and alignment, school safety, and sidewalk and pedestrian safety projects. Initiated construction on nine additional projects, and began engineering on nine new capital projects
- Began construction for the expansion of traffic management systems on major roads including sections of US Highway 23/State Route 13/Buford Highway, Sugarloaf Parkway, Arcado Road, Killian Hill Road, State Route 120/Duluth Highway, Cruse Road, and Herrington Road
- Installed six new traffic signals and reconstructed nine existing traffic signals
- Resurfaced 123 miles of County-maintained roads
- Completed 29 quick-fix projects
- Completed construction of the Harbins Road at State Route 316/University Parkway interchange project
- Completed construction of the State Road 324/Gravel Springs Road interchange project at Interstate 85
- Completed construction of Constitution Boulevard at Langley Drive intersection improvement project
- Completed construction of Collins Industrial Way from State Route 20/Buford Drive to Collins Hill Road Connector
- Reviewed 1147 utility permit applications and 418 development projects or road projects
- Initiated work on the Gwinnett County Airport Master Plan
- Continued to install Connected Vehicle technology along the County road network in partnership with the Georgia Department of Transportation; this technology will enable the use of emergency vehicle preemption, transit signal priority, and other safety applications
- Began work on the Gwinnett County Comprehensive Transportation Plan update and Transit Development Plan
Water Resources
- Produced 25.7 billion gallons of drinking water and 21.6 billion gallons of reclaimed water
- 4,023 miles of water main serve 269,480 water customers
- 2,937 miles of gravity sewer and 271 miles of pressurized sewer serve 194,937 sewer customers
- Served 307,192 customers in person, through email, or by phone and processed close to 2 million electronic customer transactions
- Assessed over 500 miles of sanitary sewer and stormwater pipe, and 36,000 sanitary sewer and stormwater structures
- Rehabbed or replaced 10.4 miles of sanity sewer and stormwater pipe and 2 miles of water distribution pipe. Installed 1 mile of new water main and 4 miles of new gravity sewer
- Continued partnership with the Department of Community Services to complete the Eastern Regional Infrastructure project, providing sewer to a large section of Eastern Gwinnett, and adding 5 miles of new trail along the Apalachee River
- Opened the Water Tower, becoming the first global innovation center featuring living labs, real-world technology testing area, and field training center
- Launched the Workforce for Resilient Communities Program, which provides technical and soft skills training for entry-level water and wastewater trades position
- Held the first Water Innovation and Leadership Summit, bringing 150 high school students to participate in hands-on water-related activities
- Signed a water storage contract with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, securing the County’s access to water in Lake Lanier for drinking water supply
- Provided water bill assistance to more than 1,500 low-income residents through Project Reset 2.0 and the Low-Income Water Assistance Program
- Implemented changes to our call center including an interactive virtual agent and a call-back feature resulting in reduced call hold times and abandonment rates
- Hosted 24 trash cleanup events with 534 volunteers who collected 78 tires and 21,640 pounds of trash
- Diverted 80 tons of household hazardous materials from landfills during community collection events
- Conducted plumbing audits on all occupied County facilities, inspecting 1,578 faucets, 1,508 toilets, 408 urinals, and 348 showerheads
- Hosted 29 Adopt-A-Stream workshops, certifying 73 volunteers to monitor Gwinnett’s streams
- Helped 65 low-income homeowners with plumbing and septic repairs through the American Rescue Plan Act funding in partnership with Habitat for Humanity
