Gwinnett County: Corporate-Level Pay, Google-Level Benefits
(June/July Series: Part 7) Have Civil Service Compensation Packages Become Self-Serving at Taxpayers’ Expense?
Thank you for following us in this extended series
…pulling back the curtain on Gwinnett County government to give you a peek into the inner workings—and who’s really calling the shots.
👀 Spoiler: It’s mostly faceless, unelected, legacy bureaucrats and appointees working behind the scenes—some of whom don’t even live in Gwinnett—but are making decisions that directly affect YOU.
This series has generated quite a bit of interest and welcomed many new subscribers eager to better understand what their hard-earned tax dollars are really paying for.
🔁If you missed our🔗Part 6, we gave a little history on why government employees are considered Civil Servants and spotlighted yet another county leadership position (ahem—who also reportedly doesn’t live in Gwinnett).
We also discussed the county’s HR mentality regarding employee benefits, including the desire to implement—in their own words—“benefits that rival Google’s”… all funded by your tax dollars. That includes the Employee Wellness Center: a concierge-style medical office with a private doctor, offering top-level care at little or no cost for full-time employees, certain retirees and officials, and their dependents.
This level of care is something most citizens will never access—yet we’re paying for it, to the tune of over $2 million annually. 💸
That post struck a nerve. Citizens are starting to wake up to what appears to be a self-serving government culture where “money is no object”—because you’ll always be required to pay more.
That is… until we say: NO MORE.
🎁 NEW in 2025: Living A Lifestyle Other Citizens Don’t Have Access To
Let’s talk about a new benefit introduced this year for all full-time Gwinnett County employees and beyond:
💰 A $1,500 annual Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) for each employee.
That's right—Gwinnett County has “set aside” this money to enhance employees’ “overall well-being and lifestyle.” (Yes… that’s YOUR taxpayer funding again.)
They describe it as a bonus dedicated to the “experiences or expenses you value most.”
This new benefit alone increases the county’s budget by $7 million or more.
Here’s how it can be used:
Pay mortgage or utility bills 🏠
Purchase appliances or household items 🛋️
Offset childcare or student loan costs 👶🎓
Pay gym memberships or hire personal trainers 💪🧘
So the LSA offers a wide range of lifestyle perks—and our tax dollars are footing the bill.
❓ But where is my emotional wellness reimbursement…
…for having to involuntarily fund county employees’ meditation classes, spiritual retreats and art classes?
How many hardworking residents have to forgo these very luxuries just to make ends meet?
We believe hundreds of thousands:
Young adults just starting out at the lower income level trying to grow their careers—and maybe start a family—if they can afford it
Senior citizens on fixed incomes, weighing whether to pick up their prescriptions or buy groceries
Workers living just above the poverty line, with little in their bank account and no financial margin until next payday
Young families scraping together enough to eat out once a week, or searching for free local activities since they can’t afford a family vacation
Residents scouring Facebook Marketplace or resales for appliances or equipment because brand-new isn’t an option
Meet Mr. Neal
I heard Mr. Neal speak at a public hearing back in February during the Board of Education’s HB581 property tax cap opt-out hearings. His comments stuck with me and I’ve wondered often, how many others are just like him—fighting to enjoy simple pleasures.. (Sidenote: both the Board of Education and Board of Commissioners voted to opt out of HB581.)
🔊 Take a listen to his statement—specifically timestamp 0:25–1:00.
I wonder how many people—like Mr. Neal—have had to decline something as simple as an $18/month gym membership with friends, or another seemingly small but meaningful expense.
Meanwhile… your tax dollars are paying for someone else’s luxuries.
What would this gentleman think if he heard about that?
Mr. Neal—and the hundreds of thousands like him in Gwinnett—are the people our elected officials should be listening to. Our voices, our hardships, and our priorities matter.
Leaders often say they stand for the middle class or the marginalized—but their actions tell a different story. They have no problem taking more and more tax dollars from our livelihoods, pushing homeowners further and further toward that same margin.
Surely, that is not the goal?
🚨 This Is NOT a Partisan Issue
This is a taxpayer respect and stewardship issue. And on both counts, under current county Democrat-led leadership (with a few weak Republicans sprinkled in), the Board of Commissioners, the Board of Education, and multiple city governments have failed their constituents.
Here’s a quick look back at Gwinnett County’s ever-expanding budgets over the past five years. We’re starting to better understand what some of these unsustainable increases are funding—especially with the approved FY25 budget of $2.67 billion.
🔁 A Quick Series Recap:
Part 1: 🔗Population Myths
We exposed the truth behind Gwinnett’s “rapid growth” narrative—revealing a projected increase of under 10,000 annually over the next 5–10 years, with negligible growth rates of just 0.01%.
So… who is all this new development really for?
Part 2: 🔗Homelessness in Gwinnett
A key talking point for Commissioner Chair Hendrickson. Using state PIT data, we showed that even if we doubled the entire state’s count to 25,000 and placed them all in Gwinnett, it would still only account for 0.03% of our total population.
We must ask: Are we meeting a real need—or manufacturing one?
Part 3: 🔗Affordable Housing
A complicated puzzle: generous HUD housing vouchers, rent-capped apartment complexes, NGO grant funding, homeownership down payment assistance, and more.
Gwinnett plays a major role in the state’s low-income housing strategy—especially in Norcross, Lawrenceville, Buford, Dacula, and beyond.
Part 4: 🔗Who’s Really Making the Decisions?
We covered key county leadership, their corporate-level salaries and perks, and 30% of them don’t even live in Gwinnett—yet they’re making policies and budget decisions that you will have to live with.
Part 5: 🔗Department Deep Dive
We pulled the curtain back even further to look inside four key departments:
Leadership, org charts, salaries, and operations.
💰 Spoiler: It pays very well to work for the county.
Part 6: 🔗Civil Service or Elite Perks?
We revisited the original intent of civil/public service, highlighted another top leader, and looked at the exclusive benefits available to county full-time employees, eligible retirees and officials—like a private concierge doctor’s office that most hardworking taxpayers will never access—but we cover the annual $2 million bill.
Part 7: 📍You Are Here!
And if you missed the facts, data, or source links in earlier posts—be sure to go back and explore. They lay the foundation for what’s coming next.
These pieces of the puzzle together help us better understand the data and facts versus clever talking points, political agendas, and the level of county government accountability to We, the People.
🔥 The Fire Is Lit In Gwinnett County…
…and we’re not done yet. Stay with us.
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There are future posts you won’t want to miss—seriously!
Disclaimer: This information is intended for educational and civic accountability purposes—to inform the public, encourage transparency, and ensure responsible governance in Gwinnett County. All information is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge and presented in good faith. Data has been obtained through publicly available sources or Open Record Request as of the date of publication.