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Gwinnett Daily Post FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016
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Vol. 47, No. 19
SWAT arrests robbery suspect in standoff BY ERIKA WELLS
was arrested at about 8:30 a.m. after SWAT approached his apartment in the 4100 block of The Gwinnett SWAT team Satellite Boulevard, according removed a man from his home to the Gwinnett County Police early Thursday after he called Department. Officers noticed the 911 to confess to robbing a suspect was holding a firearm, Duluth-area convenience store, police spokeswoman Cpl. Mipolice said. When police arrived, chele Pihera said. the man barricaded himself inside “This is quite unusual; I don’t his apartment, which led to the know of any other situation SWAT team being called out. where a suspect called a 911 cenObafemi Temitope Jaji, 29, ter to confess to a crime, but we erika.wells@gwinnettdailypost.com
don’t know his psyche,” Pihera said. “We don’t know what his motivations were in trying to get law enforcement out to this location.” Pihera said Jaji called 911 about 12:30 a.m. on Thursday. When Gwinnett police arrived at The Eclipse complex unit, the suspect demanded to speak with a SWAT team negotiator and
The Gwinnett SWAT team leaves a Duluth-area apartment complex Thursday morning after Obafemi Temitope Jaji, 29, barricaded himself inside his apartment with a weapon on the 4100 block of Satellite Boulevard, police said. (Staff Photo: Erika Wells)
See STANDOFF, Page 9A
Gwinnett government keeps high credit rating
The “eggs” of the solid handling portion of the F. Wayne Hill Water Treatment facility are seen in Buford in this 2015 file photo. These structures act as storage facilities for millions of tons of solid waste, from which methane has been extracted and turned into energy at the plant. The methaneto-energy process was one reason Gwinnett’s Department of Water Resources was recently named a Utility of the Future Today. (File Photo)
BY CURT YEOMANS curt.yeomans@gwinnettdailypost.com
FRESH FUTURE
FOR Groups name THE Gwinnett
BY CURT YEOMANS
curt.yeomans @gwinnettdailypost.com
Gwinnett County officials like to brag about their Department of Water Resources as an example for the rest of the world to follow, and now they have a group of water conservation groups backing up that claim. The department was recently recognized through the Utility of the Future Today program, which is run by the Water Environment Federation, the National Association
of Clean Water Agencies, the Water Environment and Reuse Foundation and the WateReuse Association. Gwinnett was recognized in three categories: Organizational Culture, Energy Generation and Recovery, and Nutrient and Materials Recovery. “In everything that we do, every day, Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources employees work to provide superior water quality at an excellent value to our customers,” department Deputy Director Tyler Richards said
in a statement. “The Utility of the Future recognition is an acknowledgement that the activities we are pursuing are moving us toward our vision of being recognized as a leader in the water industry.” Gwinnett was one of 61 water agencies in the U.S., Canada and Denmark recognized as utilities of the future on Sept. 27 during the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference in New Orleans. It is one of two water departments from Georgia included in the
a model water utility
list of honorees (the other was the Clayton County Water Authority). The program recognizes progressive water departments that have been proactive in using new water treatment, reuse and conservation techniques. Two areas in which Gwinnett was recognized are tied to the county’s F. Wayne Hill Water Reclamation Center in Buford. Department spokeswoman Karen Shields said the plant’s methane-gas-toSee AWARD, Page 9A
Gwinnett County’s credit rating is still on top. County officials announced on Thursday that Fitch Ratings Inc. recently renewed the local government’s AAA credit rating. It continues a nearly 20-year trend that dates back to 1997 of Gwinnett holding the highest credit rating, which is a point of pride for officials in county government. “This is great news for our county,” Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Charlotte Nash said in a statement. “Fitch’s findings underscore our financial stability and sound financial management policies.” Fitch’s review of Gwinnett’s finances meant cracking open the county’s books and looking at its debts, including general obligation, water and sewer, and development authority bonds. Gwinnett has $12 million in general obligation bond debt, $475.1 million in water and sewer bond debt and $81.4 million in development authority bond debt. The report that came back from the credit rating agency praised the county’s handling of its finances. A growing local economy, a recovery in the housing market and an unemployment rate that is below state and national averages were marked in Fitch’s report as positives in Gwinnett’s credit profile, according to a statement from the county. Officials added that Fitch also forecasts a decline in the county’s longterm liabilities because of quick repayment of debts, expectations that no new debt will be taken on and the county’s pension and retiree benefits plan funding ratios. “Gwinnett’s ‘strong revenue and expenditure flexibility, the maintenance of healthy reserves and low long-term liability burden’ were key drivers for Fitch’s rating,” county officials said in a statement. “‘The county has continually demonstrated prudent fiscal management through conservative budgeting without the use of reserves,’ the report said, noting ‘a solid history of financing capital projects on a pay-as-you-go basis.’”
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