ATLANTA -- CBS 46 News is breaking a story as the result of an exclusive investigation about allegations that Gwinnett County wasted $2 million of taxpayers' money.

The CBS 46 investigative team discovered that a grand jury is also investigating the questionable land deal.

"You've got $2 million here that is gone," said government watchdog George Anderson.

Anderson filed a complaint with both the Gwinnett grand jury and the Georgia State Ethics Board.

But Gwinnett County Commissioner Lorraine Green argued, “This is one of the best purchases in Gwinnett County history.”

The 36-acre plot of land that's at the center of the complaint is described by Green as a "park,” but others say it's a waste of taxpayer funds.

The key question some residents are asking is did the county overpay for a piece of questionable land?

Investigative reporter Wendy Saltzman asked Chairman Charles Bannister if the county bought a $4.6 million piece of swampland. "Pretty much," he responded.

Bannister voted against the purchase. Meanwhile his opponent in the county election, Commissioner Green, was one of three Commissioners who voted to buy the land. The property off Beaver Ruin Road is in Commissioner Green's district.

"This is about keeping a promise, a promise to my constituents that we would not put any more apartments in the district," Green said. She says Gwinnett County bought the land so the county could control development and stop apartment construction.

Chairman Bannister, on the other hand, describes the "passive park" as overgrown, under water, and completely unusable. "It is a swampland most of the time. Scrubby trees, not real pretty to look at. We can't do anything with it," he said.

“Not everyone has the same view of what a park should be," Green responded. And not only is the function of the park in question, the bigger question is about how much the county paid for it, and whether it was a waste of taxpayers dollars. "How much do you think the land was worth?" Saltzman asked Chairman Bannister. "It's worth nothing to me," he replied.

Records obtained by CBS 46 News show county tax officials appraised the land at $2.9 million just two months before Commissioners voted 3-to-1 to pay $4.6 million for the exact same property.

"You have violated the trust of the citizens," watchdog George Anderson told CBS 46 News. Anderson and political activist Joe Newton have filed the complaints which allege that the high price for the purchase was pay-back for campaign contributions.

Green said not only has she never received any money from the previous owner of the property, she also says the decision was simple. "Do we want more apartments to go into an area that is already over crowded, or do we purchase the land?" Green asked.

When we asked her about the county's own $2.9 million appraisal, she said she was not aware of it. And while the commissioner now acknowledges they paid more than the tax assessor’s appraisal, she says their deal is based on what the land could be worth if it was used for apartments.

"Gwinnett County got a tremendous buy,” she continued. “Some people might disagree with that, but keep in mind getting rid of those apartments was the most important thing for the citizens of my district."

Saltzman found the Gwinnett County Commission had already turned down plans to develop that property as an apartment building.

That decision was being contested by the previous owner in court.

A CBS 46 investigation discovered the county paid more than the land is worth right now, and appraised it instead for the price it would be worth if apartments could be built there.