Politics & Government

State Supreme Court Upholds Gwinnett Trash Plan

A Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the county in September, and this week the Georgia Supreme Court reaffirmed that ruling.

Two Gwinnett residents took Gwinnett County to court over the trash collection plan - both lost their cases.

Loganville resident Verlin Gilliam was not successful in his attempt to challenge the Gwinnett County's trash plan and nor was Snellville resident Robert Mesteller. But Mesteller did not give up quite so easily, appealing the ruling that went against him all the way up to the Georgia Supreme Court.

That too has been struck down though, according to The Gwinnett Daily Post.

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Mesteller’s November appeal of a ruling in favor of the county's trash plan, including the procedure whereby payment is collected, in advance, on the property tax bill, was ruled constitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court on Monday, The Gwinnett Daily Post reports. Mesteller's attorney had argued that a fee, as in the case of solid waste collection, is not a tax and should not be added to a tax bill.

In the summer of 2011, the courts ruled that the county has the authority to contract with private companies to provide trash services and to charge the fees on the property tax bill and collect the fees as far in advance as is reasonably necessary.

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Both Mesteller and Gilliam sued after Gwinnett County awarded contracts to five private residential haulers on July 16, 2010. Gilliam's unsuccessful lawsuit was particulary related to his escrow account and the impact of the trash plan on that account. At the time, however, the county said escrow accounts were taken into account.

The county’s trash plan, which went into effect July 1, 2010, billed residents for trash pick-up on their property tax bills, collecting the first payment for 18 months in advance. Mesteller had agued that it was not constitutional for the county to put a lien on the property of someone who doesn't pay for the trash service, which is essentially a private, not government, arrangement. Another issue in contention for Mesteller is the fact that the government collects interest on the money it bills up front.

State Rep. Brett Harrell, who represents Snellville and parts of Loganville, disagrees with the practice as well. He introduced a bill in the last legislative session that would prevent municipalities from doing just that. It was, however, tabled at the end of the current session. Harrell said he doesn't expect today's ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court to have any effect on House Bill 159.

"(It should have) no impact," Harrell said. "I have never held that the practice was illegal, simply poor public policy that needlessly puts citizen's homes at risk."


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