Consider a high-performance vehicle — bright, shiny and powerful. It leaps ahead quickly when it needs to, but can also settle back to a comfortable cruising speed. It’s nimble, able to turn on a dime or smoothly reverse direction, if need be.
Ever wished for a vehicle like that? The good news is that if you live within the city limits of Peachtree Corners, you already have one.
Gwinnett County’s largest and newest city has a most efficient “vehicle” for governing its home turf — a staff helmed by experienced department heads who put their shoulders to the wheel, are adept at balancing the sometimes-clashing interests of residents, the business community and other constituencies and aren’t afraid to embrace unconventional approaches.
In a twist on an old saw, it can be said that behind every city manager stands a good assistant city manager. But Brandon Branham does more than support his boss in running the city. He wears an additional major hat — chief technology officer.
Local Motors’ Olli, second generation.
It’s not the most frequent combination of duties for a municipal official, but Branham seems to thrive on it. His responsibilities are broad spectrum. He compares his role to private business, in which Johnson, the city manager, would be chief executive officer and Branham would have chief operating officer stripes.
His operational responsibilities include imbuing departments with strategy and efficiency updates, handling economic development with an emphasis on recruitment, overseeing Innovative and Smart Cities programs, managing facilities and doing partner engagement and management with the Curiosity Lab. Whew!
“We also make sure we’re up to speed, pushing the envelope on the latest cutting-edge technology,” Branham added for good measure.
In that vein, his proudest moment as a tech chief was when the city achieved NIST-171 compliance for the Curiosity Lab Network. He said that’s the highest level of data security for unclassified data an organization can achieve.
“We have a pretty robust security network that blocks intrusions. We get attempts all the time,” he shared.
No one day is the same as another, he said, and that’s part of what jazzes him as he begins his day. One day he might be immersed in some technical aspect of Curiosity Lab, the next he could be helping with long-range financial projections and the day after THAT might find him out of the building taking a gander at a public works project.
All in a day’s work, to be sure.
And, yes, there are roadblocks on occasions, but Branham said an easy-going personality helps navigate and smooth out any rough spots.
He seems to relish startups; he assisted in the birth of nearby Sandy Springs as a contract employee for CH2MHill. He came over to Peachtree Corners in the same capacity before landing on the city payroll.
“What we’ve been able to accomplish in nine years in Peachtree Corners has been pretty impressive,” he said.
On a personal note, Branham said that living in The Corners and going out to dinner usually brings him attention, with folks wanting to ask him about some facet of the city and its government
The City of Peachtree Corners will hold an important public meeting on May 8 to discuss the future of law enforcement in our community — including the potential creation of a city police department.
This meeting will feature a presentation by City Manager Brian Johnson on the findings of a comprehensive Police Analysis & Staffing Study that evaluated the feasibility and projected costs of forming a city police department based on current workload, crime levels and community demographics.
The presentation will also include budgetary considerations, comparative models and the advantages and disadvantages of a county vs. city police department.
Following the presentation, there will be time for a Q&A and open dialogue.
In-person attendance is limited to 300. First come, first served. A livestream option will be available for those who can’t attend in person.
After the meeting, a follow-up survey will be available on the city’s project page.
Meeting details
The Future of Law Enforcement in Peachtree Corners
Date/Time: May 8, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Location: Christ the King Lutheran Church (5775 Peachtree Parkway)
On Tuesday, November 4, we will have municipal elections here in the City of Peachtree Corners for three council seats. [And] for the first time since 2013, there will be a state-wide election on the same day as our city general election.
The state-wide election is to fill two seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates Georgia Power and other utilities.
For the PSC election, the Gwinnett County Board of Elections will have all 156 county precincts open on November 4. Historically, Peachtree Corners has had a single voting location for city elections — at City Hall.
If we do the same this year, citizens who want to vote in both the PSC and the City Council elections will need to go to two places to cast their ballots.
A few years ago, I convinced the County Board of Elections to remove their prohibition against the Gwinnett Elections Department managing city elections. (Every county surrounding Gwinnett already offered this service to their cities.)
This means there is the potential of adding our city council elections to the county ballot.
I would like to hear your thoughts on the pros and cons of combining our city council races with the county’s for this year’s elections.
For the eighth year in a row, the City of Peachtree Corners has been esteemed with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. This award was presented by the Georgia Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the City’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget submission.
The award represents a significant achievement by the entity. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. To receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as a:
policy document
financial plan
operations guide
communications device
Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories and in the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories to receive the award.
Certificate of Recognition
When a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is granted to an entity, a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation is also presented to the individual(s) or department designated as being primarily responsible for having achieved the award.
“Congratulations to the entire finance team on receiving this award,” said City Manager Brian Johnson.
“This recognition is a testament to our team’s hard work, professionalism and commitment to excellence.”
There are over 1,700 participants in the Budget Awards Program. The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA’s website.
Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.
About the GFOA
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) advances excellence in government finance by providing best practices, professional development, resources and practical research for more than 21,000 members and the communities they serve.
About the City of Peachtree Corners, Georgia
As the heart of what is being called #SiliconOrchard in the metro Atlanta region, Peachtree Corners is a vibrant municipality that’s home to more than 45,000 residents and an innovation hub that houses some of the world’s most disruptive technology companies.
As the United States’ premier smart city powered by real-world connected infrastructure and 5G, Peachtree Corners serves as the model for how government and private industry can better collaborate to create a better future for society and business.
From the world’s first deployment of teleoperated e-scooters to fully autonomous shuttles being utilized by actual residents, and from a solar roadway to the largest electric vehicle charging hub in the region, Peachtree Corners is where the most future-forward Internet of Things (IoT) and sustainable technologies come to life for the benefit of its people and the world.