During Chairman Wayne Hill's recent "State of The County" address, the primary theme was that Gwinnett remains a great place to live. In fact, Chairman Hill suggested that the "Gwinnett Is Great" moniker should be changed to "Gwinnett Is Excellent". Many of us in Gwinnett have been accused of a little bragging about Gwinnett but surely its okay to brag when you can back up those boasts with facts. Chairman Hill came well prepared with just such facts when delivering his address.

The SPLOST (Special Purpose Sales Tax) revenue that Gwinnett has enjoyed over the last several years has, in fact, changed the very face of our county. While not all of our county's additions are completely SPLOST funded, the impact of the added funds has been phenomenal. Gwinnett has added many facilities and services that have our neighboring counties, as well as, the entire state green with envy. These additions are found in most every aspect of county government but are readily visible in our public safety sectors. It is easy to become complacent about these additions and improvements when so much change has come in a short period of time. When we slow down a bit and examine these accomplishments one by one it is truly amazing.

Our new Comprehensive Correctional Complex opened in September and has the capacity to house 800 inmates. This complex is the largest county owned and operated facility in the state and is larger than many of our state institutions. Our fire department saw stations number 5 and 25 begin construction with an estimated completion date of October 2003. Gwinnett County Police Department opened its new Central Precinct on Satellite Boulevard and acquired another 50 acres for a new training facility that will house the department's police academy and firing range. 2001 sales tax funds will fund this entire facility. Lastly, the county acquired 10.1 acres for a new animal control facility. The funding for the design work on this facility is also from the 2001 sales tax program.

Aside from structural additions in public safety, many departmental accomplishments have been made. Gwinnett Police Department won re-accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation by Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. Only the cream of the crop in our nation's police departments enjoys this level of recognition. From a staffing perspective, Gwinnett County graduated three police academy classes, one Sheriff's Department academy class, and three communications officers classes. The commitment to Gwinnett County's public, in terms of officer per citizen ratios, continues to stay in tow with national averages.

In order to keep these officers, a pay study was conducted in which officer's salaries were adjusted to competitive levels. From the time that Chairman Hill and the 1992 class of County Commissioner's took office, the starting pay for a police officer has been improved from $21,339 to $28,520 (effective 04-01-03), which is an increase of nearly 34 percent. Historically, public safety pay in our country has never been representative of the commitments that these men and women make on a daily basis. However, Gwinnett has made a strong effort to ensure that Gwinnett's finest are compensated in a competitive fashion in the Atlanta area.

The issue of law enforcement manpower shows a commitment to county coverage in constant increase of our force's size. The numbers of sworn police personnel has increased from 317 to 560 and the number of unsworn or support staff has grown from 152 to 250 making Gwinnett's force one the largest in the metro area with over 800 employees. The county Sheriff's Department, as of the 2003 budget, will now have 412 total positions.

With a population nearing the 700,000 mark, it is encouraging to see that our county's leaders recognize the importance of keeping our police protection in stride with this remarkable growth. No matter how wonderful our parks, green space, and recreational facilities are, recreation will become a moot point without a safe and viable community. The sense of safety and security that we enjoy in Gwinnett is what affords us the opportunity to enjoy these state of the art facilities.

Both past and present members of the County Board of Commissioners have to be commended, as they have dedicated themselves to ensuring that public safety be the main priority in the county's budget wish list. More importantly, our county's law enforcement personnel must be commended as they put their life at risk day to day, for the protection of our county and its citizens.

The quality of life in Gwinnett County, or any other county, is a direct reflection of how the people who live there view their personal safety. We have managed to not only produce a perception of safety, as some jurisdictions do, but to actually create an environment of safety based on real statistics.

The more I think about it, I think I like the Chairman's idea of a new county slogan. Gwinnett is Excellent! Let's just keep it that way.