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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.

2023 Accomplishments

Read about accomplishments from our various departments below.

County Administrator’s Office

Voter Registrations and Elections

Hosted 109 outreach events in the community
Completed approximately 180 language equity volunteer hours across Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Mandarin
Fulfilled 79 open records requests
Contacted 530 potential poll officials to work during the elections

Internal Audit

Adopted a quality assurance program that includes regular internal and external reviews of the division’s operations and processes
Completed a peer review coordinated through the Association for Local Government Auditors and obtained the highest possible rating of general conformance with the International Professional Practices framework

Office of Strategic Excellence

Launched efforts to modernize the County’s website by engaging an outside firm to assist in analysis, requirements gathering, and request for proposal development

Communications

Achieved 537,050 email newsletter opens, increasing open rate by 20% compared to 2022
Ended 2023 with more than 103,000 Facebook followers, 15,638 LinkedIn followers, 13,373 Instagram followers, and almost 26,000 X followers across County-owned pages
Had 5,732,032 users on GwinnettCounty.com in 2023, about level with 2022
Added more than 36,000 Gwinnett-specific photos to the County’s photo portal
Branded more than 5,200 touchpoints
Completed 24,988 communications project-related tasks compared to 12,338 in 2022
Served more than 3,200 walk-in customers daily at Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center and Nash Court Building desks and responded to 2,116 requests for language translations in the five most popular languages during 2023
Performed 15,880 notary acts
Processed 502 print service requests for Gwinnett County administrative departments and elected offices
Responded to 687 email requests for information through Gwinnett County’s info inbox
Achieved an average of 560,000 monthly impressions on social media posts across top-level @GwinnettGov accounts
Launched 19 paid digital marketing campaigns in-house
Garnered more than 12,000 riders and 6,500 app downloads through the in-house marketing campaign for microtransit
Gained more than 1,000 new email newsletter subscribers

Community Outreach

Graduated 58 participants from the Gwinnett 101 Citizens Academy and 27 participants from the Gwinnett Youth Commission
Participated in more than 120 events, festivals, and programs, engaging more than 5,000 residents and community stakeholders
Hosted first-ever youth leadership workshop in March to engage and empower Gwinnett’s future leaders

Community Services

Animal Welfare

Found adopters for 3,684 animals, returned 1,743 animals to owners, and 578 animals rescued by 69 partners
Continued the Return to Community Cat Program, which trap-neutered and returned 1,548 cats, preventing 12,384 unwanted kitten births
Engaged 707 volunteers and pet fosters who provided 54,414 service hours

Community Resource Support

Opened warming stations at five locations, serving 1,250 residents
Served 24,217 clients through OneStop 4 Help, with the Gwinnett Veterans and Family Services Office assisting 6,816 clients specifically

Countywide Interpretive

Recorded 46 new oral histories for a total of 23 hours of new content
Conducted 285 tours of Gwinnett's historic and cultural sites, engaging 3,423 participants

Early Learning

Conducted 175 early learning programs, impacting 21,675 participants
Distributed 62,347 early learning books through 66 G.R.E.A.T. Little Minds Book Exchanges and programs
Operated 1,584 after-school sessions with 35,509 participants while providing 5,148 public education hours and 33,477 snacks
Provided 158 K–12 field trips to 17,160 students
Conducted 61 programs during the Summer BOOST initiative, serving 6,127 youth and providing 38,532 weekend meals

Food Security

Conducted 48 mobile food distributions, providing 531,885 pounds of food to 92,088 residents across 21,201 households
Provided 18,361 mixed produce boxes to 252 community partners, impacting more than 64,000 residents and receiving more than 385,000 pounds of fresh produce
Donated 8,340 pounds of fresh food from the community gardens to emergency food providers to assist residents facing food insecurity
Distributed 239,278 summer meals with the help of 642 volunteers
Deployed 2,255 shelf-stable food boxes to residents facing food security challenges and senior residents in case of inclement weather

Live Healthy Gwinnett

Visited 169 communities with the Be Active Gwinnett mobile recreation program, impacting 11,985 participants
Facilitated more than 1,410 service hours for public health student interns
Completed Harvest Gwinnett’s 11th community garden at Bethesda Park in Lawrenceville

Parks and Recreation

Offered 6,682 classes, programs, camps, and events
Provided opportunities for 37,334 youth athletes to participate in sports, thanks to the dedication of volunteers who contributed more than 663,796 service hours
Conducted 827 playground inspections for the safety of residents
Conducted 23,349 rentals for parks and recreational facilities
Implemented swim lessons for more than 13,929 participants
Welcomed 488,309 participants through aquatic admissions and passes

Senior Services

Provided 18,478 hours of homemaking, respite, and care management
Provided 174,689 congregate and home-delivered meals, which are nutritionally balanced to meet senior dietary needs
Improved mobility and access by providing 70,691 transportation trips
Fostered connectivity by providing 288 Senior Activity Module tablets, which led to 60,741 virtual interactions and 1,260,781 minutes used with homebound seniors

Volunteer Services

Engaged 44,476 people in volunteer service activities, resulting in 1,036,759 service hours
Mentored 2,125 sixth and eighth-grade students at the Junior Achievement Discovery Center with the volunteer participation of 74 County employees

Corrections

Enhanced recruitment and retention efforts by increasing the hiring incentive, offering shift premium and pension benefits through the Peace Officers’ Annuity and Benefit Fund to attract and retain experienced officers
Implemented a robust recreational program to promote overall health and well-being for inmates
Received a 95% compliance score on the Americans with Disabilities Act on-site evaluation by the Georgia Department of Corrections
Provided suicide prevention and mental health training to staff during the annual in-service training
Achieved a perfect health inspection score of 100 by the Georgia Department of Public Health for two inspections

Courts and Justice

Administrative Office of the Courts

Received requests for interpreter services with an increase of nearly 5% from 2022, totaling 4,115 requests for 55 different languages. 75% of all requests were for the Spanish language

Child Advocacy and Juvenile Services

Implemented federal reimbursement funding stream for child and parents' attorneys
Received two additional grant-funded Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer supervisor positions

Clerk of Courts

The criminal department maintains one of the fastest turnaround times for electronic filing – documents are reviewed and processed within an hour in most instances
Added nearly 28,000 archived documents to the online search portal, which allows customers to search for older historical cases online
Received the American Rescue Plan Act grant

Probate Court

Issued 6,625 marriage licenses and 26,154 birth certificates
Partnered with Legal Aid to host a pro bono clinic twice a month with 386 total pro bono consultations

District Attorney

Completed 83 jury trials with an 80% conviction rate and a 90% conviction rate in drug and gang task force
Graduated the inaugural class of the District Attorney’s Citizens Academy
Held an annual candlelight vigil for families of homicide victims with more than 450 attendees
Graduated five cohorts of Ryzer, the juvenile anti-recidivism program

Financial Services

Maintained Triple AAA/Aaa Bond Rating
Awarded nearly $7.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act and CARES Act funding to 1,075 small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
Managed a value of $351.4 million in grant awards
Processed 59,058 invoices, 38,819 purchase card transactions, and 7,869 e-payable transactions for total payments of more than $1.33 billion
Conducted 95 safety training classes through Risk Management, training approximately 1,210 employees
Developed PowerBI dashboards that support more efficient data regarding sales transactions, improving efficiency of operations and quality of data provided to residents
Awarded a contract to REI Systems, Inc. to meet County’s grants management needs with its cloud-based grants management platform – GovGrants
The Equitable Redevelopment Plan project is underway with expected completion in 2025

Fire and Emergency Services

Checked 10,378 residences for working smoke alarms and installed 4,415 smoke alarms
Completed 482 home surveys
Responded to 101,423 incidents and transported 44,627 patients
Offered 1,719 community training opportunities reaching 41,718 people
Completed 25,505 fire inspections
Completed 107 child passenger car seat installations and checks, installed 71 car seats, checked 98 car seats, and issued five car seats
Shared 687 messages on social media related to incidents, employee achievements, health, and fire safety
Conducted 30 Fire Extinguisher Training Classes reaching 104 children and 502 adults
Conducted 87 CPR/AED participation classes reaching 599 children and 1,736 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
Conducted 129 fire scene investigations
Successfully completed firearms and taser qualifications for all fire investigators
Received and processed more than 1,450 Firefighter/Paramedic Trainee applications
Executed new and reallocated executive and administrative positions to improve short and long-range goals and planning
Maintained accreditation for the Training Academy through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs for the Paramedic Program

Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful

Expanded the County’s glass recycling program by adding 10 new locations through an award from the Environmental Protection Division’s Recycling with Solid Waste Management in partnership with Ripple Glass
Invested $75,000 into the sustainability education program, resources, and materials for students and teachers across Gwinnett County Public Schools through the Green and Healthy Schools program
Conducted 451 roadway cleanups, removed 146,075 pounds of litter, and eliminated 2,758 illegal signs, with the help of 3,233 volunteers through the County’s Adopt-a-Road program
Diverted more than 75 tons of household hazardous materials from landfills during community collection events in partnership with Gwinnett Water Resources
Cohosted two recycling collection events with Solid Waste Management, collecting 10,071 gallons of latex and oil-based paint, 30 tons of shredded paper, 23 tons of tires, 40 tons of electronics, and 5,570 pounds of textiles from 2,733 vehicles
Received a portion of $1.1 million proceeds from the World Wildlife Fund and the Environmental Protection Agency Recycling Education and Outreach Grant award to expand Food Waste Warriors food waste reduction project through the Green and Healthy Schools program

Human Resources

Hosted second annual Career from Here countywide hiring event with more than 660 attendees, resulting in 99 applications
Managed over 20 employee health and benefit plans covering more than 12,000 individuals
Launched the Language Learning benefit
Graduated 89 interns from the Career Starts Here summer youth internship program, now known as Empower Gwinnett
Reimbursed employees $528,216 through the tuition reimbursement program
Attended by more than 650 attendees, the Employee and Family Spring 5K set a record-breaking employee attendance

Information Technology Services

Hosted 13 interns as part of the Empower Gwinnett Government Internship Program, with three offered positions within the department at the conclusion of the program
Increased awareness during Cybersecurity Awareness Month through displays, posters, newsletters, phishing simulations, social media postings, and promotional items
Maintained more than 1,000 databases at the core of most County business applications
Completed Phase 1 (discovery and assessment) of the web modernization project
Enhanced the payment posting and reporting process for the charitable donations apps for Fire, Animal Shelter, Volunteer Gwinnett, and Live Healthy Gwinnett
Developed an online application for residents to apply for new service through the Solid Waste Division
Implemented artificial intelligence and automation to proactively identify potential issues within the Core/Data Center infrastructure
Created a 911 dashboard for live data for command staff and management

Planning & Development

Implemented an $18 million Affordable Housing Development Fund to lead the construction of housing for individuals and families earning less than 65% of the area median income
Served more than 17,000 residents through grant-funded work in community development, affordable housing, and homelessness
Adopted the International Property Maintenance Code, setting standards for the interior of residential rental properties, and created an online portal for residents to request inspections
Finalized the 2045 Unified Plan following extensive public input, in collaboration with various departments and external stakeholders. This plan outlines 85 distinct communities across Gwinnett, providing a framework for neighborhood engagement and community planning
Amended the County's Unified Development Ordinance to support a greater diversity of housing types, create a new residential in-fill district, advance the County’s sustainability goals, and modernize the zoning standards for all zoning districts
Issued building permits for more than 4,000 housing units, including more than 3,000 single-family homes (includes 976 townhomes)
Distributed more than $7 million to Gwinnett’s small businesses through the Gwinnett Small Business Grant Program and added a team of three business outreach coordinators to help engage and support small and minority-owned businesses
Worked with property owners to bring 15,000 code violations into compliance trough Code Enforcement
Opened Gwinnett’s newest affordable housing development, Heartside Lawrenceville, in January 2023

Police

Expanded training center, adding more than 23,000 square feet, and established a fully staffed Situational Awareness and Crime Response Center
Implemented 28 cameras across 11 school zones through the School Safety Program, resulting in a 95% reduction in speed
Established the fully staffed Behavioral Health Unit, providing seven-day- -a-week coverage with a clinician and officer team assigned to each precinct, totaling six teams
Initiated a Gun Crimes Unit, which created 191 investigative leads on test fired guns and recovered shell casings
Focused on arresting drug dealers that have sold drugs that caused death by overdose
Dispatched 481,790 calls from the E-911 Center

Sheriff’s Office

Established a career path for employees who do not wish to become Peace Officer certified, and high school students interested in the law enforcement profession
Converted six jail housing units into mental health units to better accommodate inmates with specific needs
Partnered with the Gwinnett County Football League to develop an Anti-Gangs and Anti-Bullying Youth Football Invitational, also known as the Sheriff's Cup, aimed at strengthening community relations, fostering new partnerships, and addressing community needs
Coordinated the third annual Thanksgiving Food Giveaway event at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, distributing a total of 3,361 food boxes with the help of 182 volunteers. Contributions from partners and sponsors totaled approximately $58,000
Created the attorney and official visitor's check-in station to streamline the process and offer a more efficient visitation schedule
Gwinnett Metro Task Force seized 347,748.94 grams of various drugs, arrested 128 suspects, took 374 warrants, and closed 74 cases
Arrested six of the seven most wanted sex offenders in Gwinnett, along with seven additional fugitive apprehensions in July
Hosted second multi-agency active shooter training exercise at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center with more than 200 law enforcement personnel participants
Purchased two – dual-purpose K-9s. The K-9s assisted with 12 arrests, helped find 41 missing persons, and alerted deputies on 140 instances where drugs were seized
Intervened in 1,426 encounters by Peace Officers of mentally ill persons resulting in zero arrests through the Mental Health Task Force
Closed 95 cases, arrested 126 suspects, took 337 warrants out, and seized 181,215 grams of various drugs through Gang and TRACE units

Support Services

Completed construction of the Elizabeth H. Williams Branch Library and Business Center
Completed first and second-floor renovation of One Justice Square Phase 3B
Completed first-floor renovation for Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center Phase 3A
Completed construction of the Police Fleet Maintenance Facility
Completed expansion of the Police Training Center
Completed elevator modernization at Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center
Received EarthCraft certification for Fire Station 13
Generated more than $24 million in revenue from leases of County-owned property, cell towers, energy excise tax, and fuel sales
Partnered with Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful to host recycling events to collect 5,750 pounds of textiles, 23 tons of tires, 40 tons of electronics, 30 tons of paper, four tons of cardboard, 501 gallons of oil-based paint or aerosol paint, and 8,154 gallons of latex paint
Handled 39,458 calls through the Solid Waste Call Center
Delivered 7,563 65-gallon recycling carts to residents, facilitated by the haulers
Collected and recycled more than 200 tons of glass at the County's three glass recycling drop-off locations
Partnered with Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and received the Recycling, Waste Reduction, and Diversion grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources - Environmental Protection Division, increasing the number of glass recycling drop off locations from 3 to 13
Managed the sale of surplus County vehicles, equipment, and miscellaneous items, generating $2.5 million in revenue
Completed 10,729 vehicle and equipment repair work orders and completed 5,276 work orders for preventive maintenance
Managed 11 fuel sites and dispensed more than 6.7 million gallons of fuel to internal and external customers, with a value of $20.9 million
Expanded recycling opportunities in seven County government buildings by installing 98 internal and 16 external containers
Completed County branding on 285 vehicles
Completed one land acquisition, obtained 27 stormwater easements, 41 rights of entry, 37 utility easements, and 140 easements for new developments
Completed 15,078 work orders for facility maintenance

Tax Commissioner's Office

Billed $1.84 billion in property taxes with a collection rate of 95.74% as of December 31
Registered 825,960 motor vehicles as of December 31, the highest number of motor vehicles in the state of Georgia
Achieved 100% compliance on annual audits with no findings, demonstrating adherence to regulatory guidelines
Increased homestead exemption savings for Gwinnett taxpayers by 28% through an education and awareness campaign
Installed two new motor vehicle tag kiosks, including the first kiosk in a Publix Super Market in the metro Atlanta area, bringing the total count to 10
Published Property Tax and Motor Vehicle Information brochure in six languages: English, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, and Vietnamese
Engaged and educated residents about our office functions through participation in the spring and fall cohort sessions of the Gwinnett 101 Citizens Academy
Installed two cash depository machines at high-volume motor vehicle offices to decrease deposit processing times and reduce customer wait times
Participated in community outreach and countywide hiring events to educate and inform residents of available tax savings, benefits, and employment opportunities

Transportation

Received a $20 million RAISE grant award for Ride Gwinnett to reconstruct the Gwinnett Place Transit Center
Completed and obtained approval of the Gwinnett County Transit Development Plan
Maintained locally administered project certification, enabling Gwinnett County to receive and administer federal funds
Completed construction of the Rosebud Road at Brushy Fork Road intersection improvement project
Completed construction of the Spalding Drive – Winters Chapel Road to Holcomb Bridge Road/SR 140 bridge replacement project
Completed construction of the Webb Gin House Road at SR 20/Grayson Highway road safety and alignment project
Completed the Air Traffic Control Tower Radio/Console Replacement Project
Completed design and right-of-way acquisition for McGinnis Ferry Road at I-85 interchange project
Completed fabrication and installation of 6,200 new signs, pavement marking of 282 roadway intersections, and striping of 356 miles of roadway
Installed 11 new traffic signals, 112 new intersection communication devices, 38 miles of fiber optic cable, and 130 traffic monitoring cameras
Resurfaced 165 miles of County-maintained roads
Reviewed 1,001 utility permit applications and 817 development projects
Deployed Connected Vehicle technology at 371 traffic signal locations throughout the county to enable emergency vehicle preemption, transit signal priority, and other safety applications
Added 22 new local roads into the speed hump program

Water Resources

Produced 25.5 billion gallons of drinking water and treated 21.9 billion gallons of reclaimed water
Provided water services to 283,035 customers through 4,056 miles of water mains
Served 198,882 sewer customers through 2,975 miles of gravity sewer and 270 miles of pressurized sewer
Assisted 330,567 customers in person, through email, or by phone and processed more than 2 million electronic customer transactions
Assessed nearly 400 miles of sanitary sewer and stormwater pipe, and nearly 43,000 sanitary sewer and stormwater structures
Rehabilitated or replaced more than 13 miles of sanitary sewer and stormwater pipe and one mile of water distribution pipe
Installed 4,323 new meters and replaced more than 9,000 meters
Installed 1.6 miles of new water mains and five miles of new gravity sewer
Diverted 96 tons of household hazardous materials from landfills during community collection events
Hosted 29 trash cleanup events with 645 volunteers who collected 60 tires and 20,080 pounds of trash
Hosted 22 Adopt-A-Stream workshops, certifying 200 volunteers to monitor Gwinnett’s streams
Helped more than 150 low-income homeowners with plumbing and septic repairs through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act in partnership with Habitat for Humanity
Improved the phone answering system, reduced call abandonment rates, and ensured more consistent quality care for customers
Completed construction of the Eastern Regional Infrastructure Pump Station and Force Main, which will serve as the backbone to provide sewer to eastern Gwinnett
Began construction of a new chemical building at the Lanier Filter Plant. This building will replace the current chemical building, which is over 50 years old, modernizing systems to ensure safe drinking water into the future.
Received $778,000 in grants for The Water Tower to support research and training in the water industry
Trained more than 600 water utility workers through The Water Tower programs