Four employee benefit contracts get decided Tuesday: health insurance, dental, life insurance, and family planning, all on one agenda.
Tuesday, August 4, Work Session
🔦 The 3 items worth your attention
The county’s biggest line item this week isn’t infrastructure. It’s health insurance. Renewing the Kaiser HMO plan for county employees runs to $35,463,315.84 for 2027, the single largest contract on this agenda (2026-0983). That’s before dental, life insurance, or the family-planning benefit even get a vote.
Gas and diesel for the entire county fleet just got pricier. Commissioners are voting to lock in a fuel contract that grew from $20,184,596 to $22,734,096 mid-contract, a 12.6% jump, then renew it for another year at up to $23,183,251 (2026-0975).
Also on the table: the 2026 property tax millage rate, which sets what every property owner in the county pays this year (2026-1011). It’s one line in a long agenda. It’s the one that shows up in your mailbox.
🏗️ Roads & property
- South Rockbridge Road gets a $3,428,430 pedestrian improvement contract, paid for by SPLOST. Sidewalks run from North Deshong Road to the DeKalb County line (2026-0961).
- The 2026 property tax millage rate is up for adoption. This is the number that actually lands on your bill (2026-1011).
- Jeff Mahaffey gets reappointed to the Development Authority through 2030, the board that handles economic development incentives and bond financing (2026-1015).
💰 Where the money’s going
- $35,463,315.84: Kaiser HMO health plan renewal for 2027 (2026-0983)
- $22,734,096: Fuel contract for the county fleet, up 12.6% mid-contract (2026-0975)
- $10,057,631.61: New public safety vehicles from Akins Ford, plus disposal of the old fleet (2026-1005)
- $5,304,185.25: MetLife life, accident, and disability coverage (2026-0985)
- $5,181,697.08: Cigna dental plan, fully funded by employee premiums (2026-0988)
- $3,428,430: South Rockbridge Road pedestrian improvements (2026-0961)
- $2,191,506.06: Cisco network maintenance contract (2026-0948)
- $684,031: Employee wellness program with Sharecare (2026-0976)
- $655,359.86: Police helicopter maintenance renewal, which also ratifies $279,534.69 already spent before this vote (2026-0838)
- $475,000: Crushed stone for water, sewer, and stormwater projects (2026-0974)
- $423,000: Sheriff’s Office fire alarm upgrade (2026-0839)
- $364,950: Family planning benefit contract, up 85.8% from where it started (2026-0984)
📌 Also notable
- Sidewalk repair and maintenance renewal, $310K, countywide (2026-0962).
- Speed-feedback radar signs renewal, $137K, mostly SPLOST-funded (2026-0953).
- Respite and home-care services for residents, fully funded by the Atlanta Regional Commission, at no cost to the county (2026-0769).
- Sheriff’s Office washer and dryer replacement, $265K (2026-1050).
- Police rifle plates and carriers, $113K (2026-0977).
- Jenny S. Carter is up for appointment as County Attorney (2026-1081).
- The county’s FFY2026 Action Plan goes to HUD, unlocking federal funding for affordable housing and community development (2026-0981).
- A $18,495 federal grant for election supplies, no county match required (2026-0933).
Public comment happens in person at the meeting or in writing beforehand. Check the agenda posting for details. This newsletter is independent and not affiliated with Gwinnett County. Spot an error? Reply and tell us.
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