City Government

Bourdeaux Brings Big Check To Peachtree Corners Mobility Hub

Published

3 years ago

May 4, 2022

Arlinda Smith Broady

City manager Brian Johnson, Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux and Mayor Mike Mason (Photos by Bruce Johnson)

Federal funds will help further establish the city a leader in the smart city space.

There aren’t many of us who can write a check for nearly half a million dollars, but Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux came to Peachtree Corners Curiosity Lab on May 3 to do just that. Even though it wasn’t from her personal bank account, she worked hard for more than a year to ensure that the people in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District got the funding to continue developing the smart technology that has put it on the map.

Rendering of the planned Mobility Hub (photo by staff)

In spring of 2021, Bourdeaux submitted 10 funding requests for important community projects to the House Appropriations Committee. The recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 includes funding for all 10 of her community projects, including $495,000 for Peachtree Corners’ Curiosity Lab Mobility Hub. This funding will allow the tech companies housed there to continue their work on improving community transit options to better accommodate autonomous vehicles, drones and other clean-energy vehicles.

“I am honored to be able to present Peachtree Corners’ Curiosity Lab with almost half a million dollars to improve this mobility hub that they are developing. We want to do this because we really need to innovate around transportation. And we need to innovate in ways that promote the green economy,” she said. “And it’s important that our community be on the forefront of this.”

City Councilmen Alex Wright and Phil Sadd flank Mayor Mike Mason and Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (photos by Bruce Johnson)

Bourdeaux pointed out that this funding will be used for sitework and furniture furnishings, as well as providing docking and refueling stations for solar electric power and other alternative energy vehicles. With these federal dollars, the innovators at Curiosity Lab will help accommodate mass transportation while integrating bicycle and pedestrian access.

The technology isn’t just cool space-age gadgetry. It’s a solution for cost-effective last mile connectivity for low-income individuals who may need to ride public transit and have been paying a higher rate than others. It can be an equalizer for the have-nots to become closer on par with the haves.

Peachtree Corners City Manager Brian Johnson agreed that federal support is paramount in this type of undertaking.

“These kinds of things only happen when you do have the support all the way up to the federal government,” he said. “Some of this stuff like autonomous vehicles, which are regulated by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and drones, which are regulated by the FAA, fall under the U.S. Transportation Secretary.”

Johnson added that at the insistence of Bourdeaux, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg personally visited the Peachtree Corners facility to gain first-hand knowledge of what’s possible.

“There is a rendering of a property that again is only a couple 100 yards up the road on our track and it is going to create an electric vehicle multimodal facility,” Johnson said. “So, all things electric vehicle are going to come together at this one location thanks to these resources that the congresswoman helped us get.”

What was once only a dream — and a prototype — is already functioning here. Everything from electric buses and autonomous vehicles fast electric vehicle charging stations to electric bikes and scooters are all coming together at one location to help with mobility in a more sustainable, environmentally friendly way.

Bourdeaux is proud of what’s happening locally, not only for what it’s doing to further the community, but also for how it can affect the entire world.

“Just this morning, my sister texted me that in India and Pakistan there are parts of those countries that are 120 degrees. Right now. That’s not survivable for human beings over a long period of time; we really do face this threat of climate change,” she said. “So, we need to get out there and innovate in these kinds of ways that promote that green technology. And by doing that, by doing good things like that, our economy will also flourish.”

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Arlinda Smith Broady

Arlinda Smith Broady is part of the Boomerang Generation of Blacks that moved back to the South after their ancestors moved North. With approximately three decades of journalism experience (she doesn't look it), she's worked in tiny, minority-based newsrooms to major metropolitans. At every endeavor she brings professionalism, passion, pluck, and the desire to spread the news to the people.

City Government

Councilmember Eric Christ: 2025 Peachtree Corners Municipal Elections

Published

3 weeks ago

March 3, 2025

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

A white man with glasses, wearing a dark colored jacket walking in the road alongside a line of vintage cars.

Source: Peachtree Corners Post 2 Councilmember Eric Christ’s recent newsletter.

Peachtree Corners Municipal Elections Tuesday, November 4 in white font on a blue background.

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.

Please complete my brief survey by clicking here.

To sign up for Councilmember Christ’s newsletter or find him on social media, visit linktr.ee/votechrist.

You can read more from his latest newsletter updates here and here.

City Government

City of Peachtree Corners Receives Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

Published

2 months ago

January 31, 2025

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

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.

For more information, visit peachtreecornersga.gov.

City Government

BRACK: How one city operates without property tax

Published

2 months ago

January 30, 2025

Courtesy of Elliott Brack's Gwinnett Forum

Peachtree Corners City Hall in the evening with flag display, signage and lights.

Some people lament paying taxes. They don’t understand that taxes allow us to live in a more civilized manner, helping and protecting us all along. That’s why I don’t mind paying reasonable taxes for the safety of everyday living.

Many don’t recognize it, but you are often paying a small tax without realizing it as you go about your everyday business….but it’s not called a tax.

White man with white hair and glasses wearing a suit with a red tie, smiling. Beside the image is the name Ellliott Brack in all-caps blue letters on a white background.

It’s called a “fee.” Each time you pay your power or utility bill and cable bill, your insurance premium, when you rent a hotel room or car…and other ways…you are providing a few cents or dollars to help fund mostly local government.

The newly-minted City of Mulberry (and previously Peachtree Corners) will run its government without taxing property owners paying a tax to fund its operations. How so? Entirely from fees.

Let’s visit what the other city without property taxes, Peachtree Corners, is doing.

White man with short brown hair and facial hair wearing a suit, smiling at the camera with an American flag behind him. — Salley

We talked with Cory Salley, who is the finance director for Peachtree Corners. He sent along a graphic which shows where Peachtree Corners gets its funding, as well as how it is spent. (See graphic.)

For the most part, Peachtree Corners is funded by fees. The biggest comes from Georgia Power Company, paying $2.8 million in fees for the city for 2025. Other utilities include $450,000 from Atlanta Gas Light Company; $250,000 from Comcast; $70,000 from Direct TV; and $42,000 from AT&T. (That last figure was interesting, in effect, showing how few people have land-line telephones anymore.) Altogether, utility fees brought in $4.3 million in Peachtree Corners for 2024.

Another bucket of fees include $3.8 million in insurance fees. This comes in one check from the Department of Revenue, which collects insurance fees for all cities.

Each business in Peachtree Corners pays an occupational business license tax. With lots of professional offices in the city, these businesses contribute $4.4 million to the city coffers.

Infographic of the FY2025 Budget at a Glance for Peachtree Corners

Other fee collections for 2024:

Alcoholic licenses and sales: $1 million.
Zoning and land development permits: $1.4 million.
SPLOST funds on sales within Peachtree Corners: $10 million.
Automobile and vehicle purchases: $1.7 million. This is interesting: no matter where you buy an automobile in Georgia, part of the sales tax reverts to the city where you live.

Then there are other funds coming to the city; stormwater fees, grants, solid waste, etc. Altogether, it added up to approximately a $40 million income to run the city.

Some specifics and the way they are figured:

Real estate transfer taxes: This tax is imposed at the rate of $1 on the first $1,000 and 10 cents on each additional $10 on any conveyance of real property when the value of the interest transferred exceeds $100.
Distilled Spirits—up to 22 cents per liter on package sales and up to 3 percent of the sale price of a drink on sales to the public;
Wine—up to 22 cents per liter; and
Malt Beverages—up to $6.00 per bulk container (no more than 15.5 gallons) to be paid by the wholesaler and up to 5 cents per 12 ounces when sold in bottles, cans or other containers.
A municipality may levy a business license tax on depository financial institutions (such as a bank.) The maximum rate of this tax is 0.25 percent.
Hotel-motel tax: a municipality may levy a hotel-motel tax at a rate of 3 percent or less or at a rate of 5, 6, 7, or 8 percent. (Yes, let the out-of-towner pay!)

Perhaps this gives you an idea of how a city, like Mulberry in the future, can operate without property taxes.

Have a comment? Send to: elliott@elliottbrack

Written by Elliott Brack

This material is presented with permission from Elliott Brack’s GwinnettForum, an online site published Tuesdays and Fridays. To become better informed about Gwinnett, subscribe (at no cost) at GwinnettForum.