Gwinnett Cities To Meet Tuesday on SDS Settlement

The long-awaited settlement between Gwinnett County and its 15 cities on the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) dispute may be near.

Several cities, including Suwanee, Duluth, Norcross, Lilburn, Loganville and Snellville are expected to meet Tuesday on the matter.

Suwanee city officials have called a meeting for Tuesday at City Hall regarding a potential settlement with Gwinnett County officials on the multi-year, multi-million dollar SDS dispute.

Gwinnett County officlals could not be reached for comment Monday. The Board Of Commissioners is scheduled to have a regular business meeting Tuesday in Lawrenceville.

However, reports from various cities indicate that a joint city-county settlement ceremony is planned for Tuesday night at the Historic Courthouse in Lawrenceville.

The SDS matter dates to 2009, when the county sued cities in the Gwinnett Municipal Association (GwMA). At issue is whether the cities should pay the county for services they do not use, such as police. The disputed amount is in excess of $10 million.

A court ruling handed down in September by Judge David Barrett strongly favored the cities in the dispute. Negotiations clearly had been progressing. .

 Also, notable fallout from the dispute is that police agencies in several Gwinnett cities and the Gwinnett Police can't use radar or laser to track speeders.