MULBERRY, Ga. — A northeast Gwinnett County city that collects no property tax of its own is considering a police department, and the councilman leading the review aims to run it on what residents already pay.
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Voters created Mulberry in 2024 over worries about growth and traffic, and the city began operating in January 2025. Gwinnett County police still patrol it.
A city committee scored three options this summer: a Mulberry department, county police alone, or county police plus a bigger marshal’s office. The city department scored highest, and the committee voted to present its findings to the City Council.
Doug Ingram chairs the committee and sits on the council.
“When we created the city of Mulberry, one of our mandates was we wanted to make sure our citizens, our neighbors had a local say in government,” Ingram said. “And so really the Public Safety Advisory Committee is an extension of that.”
Committee documents show residents pay about $10 million for county police. A budget the city manager presented in July put a city department at $12.5 million.
Henry Eason has lived in the area 53 years and doesn’t think the city needs its own police.
“They said no city taxes, but we know it’s coming,” Eason said.
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Mulberry’s charter originally barred a city property tax without another vote. Leaders moved this spring to drop that language to end a county lawsuit, and the mayor said in April the council still opposes property taxes.
Ingram called a recent road rage incident involving gunfire an eye-opener, though not the norm.
“It certainly is a call to action,” he said, and when asked whether the city might add taxes to cover a department, he said he thinks residents already pay “a reasonable amount of taxes today.”
A committee presentation estimates county police coverage in Mulberry at 3.5 officers per shift, below every comparison city, including Johns Creek and Milton. A city survey still ranked public safety among residents’ best-rated services.
Eason says speeding is the main trouble he sees, not break-ins or domestic disputes.
“This is all rural area,” Eason said. “We still got people with cows and stuff like that.”
No decision has been made. Ingram said the timeline depends partly on talks and litigation with the county. Residents can reach him through the city’s website.
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