Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Come this morning to say thank you. We thank you, Lord, for all who have gathered. We pray now your blessings will continue to be upon our commissioners as you lead and guide them with with your wisdom as they lead these your people. It's in your name that we humbly pray. Amen. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Madam Clerk. On page two, consent agenda. Twenty six zero two two six, adoption of the consent agenda. All matters listed on the consent agenda are considered routine by the county commission and will be enacted by one motion. No separate discussion will take place on these items. If discussion of any consent agenda item is desired, the item will be moved to the first regular meeting for separate consideration.

Commissioners, do we have anyone needing to make a change to the agenda, the consent agenda? Thank you. Madam Clerk.

And the vote is open. And the motion passes. Four yeas, zero nays. On page six, first regular meeting agenda 20 six-two 41, adoption of the first regular meeting agenda. Madam Vice Chair, members of the board, we have some amendments to today's first regular meeting agenda.

First an item to be removed on page nine, twenty six two five one public works, request approval to rescind a contract award for with progressive design bill. This item will be included on the May 22 regular meeting agenda. Items to be revised on page six, twenty six-two 43. Presentations of proclamations and certificates. Item revised to include a proclamation recognizing Fulton County Police Department and animal animal services division.

Also, we have a request to move down the public service proclamation after after the CPM proclamation. So we'll just move that one proclamation down.

Madam clerk and my colleagues, I am requesting to move up item 20 six-two 65, the World Cup preparedness to be heard after, immediately after item 26, the approval for the bid for tax anticipation notes. I don't have the number in front of here, Madam Clerk, you can help me out with that because we have the approval for the bid of the tax anticipation. That's on page seven. On page seven. I want the World Cup preparedness to move directly immediately behind that for the sake of the stakeholders that are here to give the report.

So noted. Also we have more items to be revised on page eight. 20 six-two 47 finance. Request approval recommended proposal for healthcare benefit consulting services. This item was revised to amend the effective date to 01/01/2026 through 12/31/2026. And also on page 10, Vice Chair, your two action items, 20 six-two fifty four and twenty six-two 55, items revised to include co sponsors, Chairman Pitts and Commissioner Arrington.

Yes, that's correct.

And that's all I have.

All right, colleagues is there anything else that needs to be revised? All right. Motion by commission. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Commissioner Baird.

No, you're fine. I just because we moved something else up now I thought we would be okay but the public defender is also here for item 26 dash zero two five three and they have indicated that they have a very busy court schedule today. Is it possible for them to go right after the World Cup conversation?

I don't see any problem with that. We can amend it for them to go immediately after the conversation on the World Cup preparedness. Madam Clerk.

So noted. Okay. Thank you.

Alright. Anything else? Motion to approve by commissioner Barrett, second by commissioner Thorne, please vote.

And the vote is open. And the motion passes five yeas, zero nays. Twenty six zero two four two ratification of minutes. First regular meeting minutes April 1, second regular meeting postagenda minutes 04/15/2026.

Motion by vice chair of Abdul Rahman, second by commissioner Barrett.

And the vote is open. And the motion passes five yeas zero nays. Twenty six zero two four three presentation of proclamations and certificates. The first proclamation is recognizing mental health awareness month sponsored by chairman Pitts with full board support.

Can we get all of mental health, behavioral health, all our stakeholders? All right, got everybody? Whereas mental health conditions are real and prevalent in our communities and throughout our nation, leading many people to face challenges in life that can impact their mental health, and mental health is essential to overall health and well-being. And prevention is an effective way to reduce the burden of mental health conditions. And whereas one in five people will experience a mental health crisis during their lifetime, and there are practical tools that all people can use to improve their mental health and increase resiliency.

And whereas this year's theme, More Good Days Together, highlights connecting people to the right support, supporting people as whole individuals, and defining good through personal experience, fostering collective advocacy to improve mental health awareness, and whereas recovery is a unique and personal journey that requires trial and error to determine what works best for each individual. And all organizations and individuals in a community share the burden of mental health problems and have a dual responsibility, a collective responsibility to promote mental health wellness, wellness and prevention efforts. Now therefore, it be resolved that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners calls upon the citizens, governmental entities, public and private institutions, businesses and schools in Fulton County to commit our community to increasing awareness and understanding of mental health, the steps our citizens can take to protect their mental health, and the need to provide appropriate and accessible services for all people with mental health conditions, and does hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month in Fulton County. Would you please put your hands together for this recognition that is so hard but needed?

Okay. Good morning everyone. I'm Lakshmi Bascome, Deputy director behavioral health and developmental disability services Fulton County. This is my first time here. Thank you for the opportunity.

I would like to thank everyone first starting with chairman Pitts and the board of commissioners for their tremendous support. Their mean, their enthusiasm which I have seen several events where I go to and the constant encouragement for us to take the initiatives that we can on a routine basis to be able to help the communities that we serve right in Fulton. Thank you so much for that. And, again, it is not a formality for the declaration or the proclamation here today. It is a sign to show that we are here to support, to break the stigma, to break the barriers, and to be able to encourage each other as a collective responsibility to take care of the communities and the people we serve and the people we care about.

So thank you again for that. The first thing I would like to say is my mantra for the day, every day is what did I do for someone today? Did I help someone today? When I go to my pillow, that's what the first thing I think about. And the second thing I think about is just do something very small, but it can be something very big for someone that is around you. So starting your day with doing something small with great love goes a long way. Today, it's again about collective responsibility. I would like to thank my partners who are here, my community providers who are here, people who have been silently supporting us all along through these changes that we have gone through and all the new initiatives. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you for being here and showing collective responsibility for the process that we are in in the process of supporting our community. Again, call that person that you care about today, show that you love them, express your support to them, show empathy, and we are here to serve the best that we can every day. Thank you.

The next proclamation is recognizing Southern Center for Human Rights Appreciation Day sponsored by chairman Pitts and vice chair Abdul Rahman.

Can all of the stakeholders, the Southern Center for Human Rights and all of the stakeholders please, please make your way down? Glad to have you this morning. Please fall in on both sides. We have everyone? Alright.

It is with great pride and honor this proclamation. Whereas the Southern Center for Human Rights was founded in 1976 as the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee by ministers and activists concerned about reinstatement of the death penalty and the conditions of prison and jails in the South in the South, and whereas the Southern Center for Human Rights has upheld its mission of working for equality, dignity, and justice for people impacted by the criminal legal system in the Deep South and fighting for a world free from mass incarceration. The death penalty, the criminalization of poverty and racial injustice. And whereas the Southern Center for Human Rights has been a leading force in litigating capital cases in the Deep South, including augering and winning five death penalty cases at the United States Supreme Court, and successfully arguing before the Georgia Supreme Court that execution by electric chair constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. And whereas the Southern Center for Human Rights worked with grassroots community organizations to lead efforts to uphold the rights of inmates and has successfully engaged in litigation, addressing inhumane conditions on inmates, and has been a critical partner to promote progress in criminal legal systems, and whereas the Southern Center for Human Rights has had a profound impact on the landscape of the criminal legal system in the Deep South and has championed dignity centered reframing of how we look at issues in our criminal legal system.

Now, be it resolved that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners commend the Southern Center for Human Rights for fifty years of advocacy in the courts, city halls, and general assemblies to advance equality, dignity, and justice for people impacted by the criminal legal system, and thus hereby proclaim Wednesday, 05/06/2026 as Southern Center for Human Rights Appreciation Day in Fulton County. Can you please put your hands together for a wonderful organization?

Good morning. I will be extremely brief. My name is Tiffany Roberts and I am the director of public policy at the Southern Center for Human Rights and on behalf of executive director, Terica Redfield Gansey and deputy director, Atiyah Holly, we thank Fulton County for lifting us up on the occasion of our fiftieth anniversary. Those of you who are familiar with Southern Center and just heard this proclamation know that for for five decades we've been a community partner often advocating for people whom society wants to discard. Sometimes we do this through criminal litigation, other times through civil litigation and policy work.

But mostly black men in the Deep South in the post Jim Crow era were being sentenced to death in less time that it takes to pick a jury and also being represented by unqualified lawyers, Southern Center along with ministers, advocates, organizers and others said, not on my watch and not in my name. We knew that capital punishment in the Deep South was but an extension of chattel slavery and we have been to dangerous places and really unpopular cases because we find it important to do this important work. When handshakes and winks substituted for the mandates of the right to counsel under our constitution, We work with people like Joseph Eccles Lowry to establish the state's statewide public defender system. The list goes on, but I will spare you the accolades because what is more important than an accolade is the spirit that brought those accolades to bear. We are watching the nation regress to the conditions that caused Southern Center and other organizations to emerge as necessary.

We have so much work to do. Day by day, the most vulnerable people are being treated as the most dispensable. So today, we are calling upon all of you to be much bigger than our worst instincts regardless of political affiliation. We must embrace as doctor Lowry often implored us to embrace the essential goodness of humankind. This means diligence, candor, transparency, humanity, integrity, and courage must permeate all of the work of civil servants and all of the work of civil society.

This moment that we are in right now will make or break us. And we do not have resources to waste on hubris and we do not have time to waste on vanity. Again, thank you ever onward.

The next proclamation is recognizing Older Americans Month sponsored by Vice Chair Abdul Rahman with full board support.

Alright. All my older Americans. If you are older American and what I call older American, it means you can go through that line and say, give me the senior citizen discount. So if you can do that, come stand with us. Come on, darling, you look so cute.

Come on.

Arrington, you wanna help her down? Arrington commissioner Arrington's gonna help her down. Thank you, Commissioner Erington. Now, some of you I'm not gonna call out, but I know y'all get that senior citizen discount. I'm gonna let you slide today.

Whereas, Older Americans month was established in 1963 by president John F Kennedy and the National Council of Senior Citizens to recognize the contributions of older adults and address issues impacting their health, independence and well-being. Whereas Fulton County government has a long standing commitment to older adults supporting senior services since 1973 and through the Department of Senior Services providing programs that promote independence, enhance quality of life, support healthy aging, and delay cognitive decline. And whereas the department delivers essential services including home delivered meals, transportation, in home support, case management, AmeriCorps senior companion programs, kinship care, and programming at adult day neighborhood senior centers and senior multi purpose facilities. And whereas the 2026 theme, champion your health emphasizes prevention, wellness and empowering older adults to actively manage their physical, mental and social well-being, and whereas this theme aligns with Fulton County's efforts to expand health, wellness, education, civic engagement, and community based opportunities that support older adults in remaining active and engaged, and whereas a new Fulton County multi purpose and adult day health facility will open 05/11/2026 at the Health and Human Services North four thousand seven hundred North Parkway, North Point Parkway location, improving access to senior programming for North Fulton older adults.

And on a personal note, the senior summit twenty twenty six was successful yesterday with a whopping 1,200 seniors that came out to celebrate the twenty twenty six senior summit sponsored by Fulton County. Now therefore be it resolved that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners urges all residents, organizations, businesses, caregivers and stakeholders to honor older adults, I call them seasoned adults, by participating in programs and initiatives that support their independence and well-being and does hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as Older Seasoned Americans Month of Fulton County, Georgia. Would you please put your hands together for our seasoned older Americans?

Good morning. My name is Quaylee Rashid Henry and I am the deputy director for the Department of Senior Services. We are so happy today to receive this proclamation and I'd like to introduce our esteemed Bowden participant who's gonna receive the proclamation on our behalf. And I just wanna say a few words because I just learned something very interesting here about Ms. Ruffin.

But Ms. Ruffin has been a member of the Bowden facility since 2008. She worked for over thirty years, almost thirty years, as the director of human services for the state of Georgia. She enjoys making handmade cards, line dancing and traveling and she serves as the lead instructor and dancer for the Bowden Soul Strutters. And as a senior, that is a senior line dance ensemble and the instructor of the advanced card making class.

She works with staff planning special events and she loves volunteering her time to serve the community. Now, a personal note, miss Ruffin has been my neighbor growing up in East Point. She's known me since I was about seven or eight and just really excited to have you present today or receive today's proclamation. Miss Ruffin. I am honored to represent the Bowden Center.

The Bowden Center has been a lifeline for me and other seniors. As we retire, finding things to do, there's never a loss of finding things to do at the Bowden Center and the other multipurpose and senior facilities in Fulton County. Fulton County takes care of their seniors and I'm excited and just proud to be here to accept this proclamation. Thank you. And,

on a personal note, if you've ever seen Ms. Ruffin, she will put Beyonce and Tina Turner to shame. I call her that's my center. I call her a little piece of leather show no put together because she really works that floor. Thank you for showing out for the seniors. Can y'all put your hands together one more time, please?

The next proclamation is recognizing Fulton County certified public managers appreciation day sponsored by commissioner Arrington with full board support.

Yes. Yes. Good morning, everyone. This proclamation is for our certified public managers, our county workers that have taken a step to receive additional training so that they can continue the best practices, learn the best practices, and exercise those best practices for the benefit of our residents. And as you see, we got a big group

Mhmm.

Of certified

So proud of them.

Certified public managers. Always important when people take the time. Right? They didn't have to go through this certified public manager program, so it's always important when they take the time to educate themselves and better themselves to provide services to the residents of Fulton. The proclamation reads as follows, whereas Fulton County government entered into a memorandum of agreement with the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government to offer the certified public manager program to managers and supervisors within Fulton County.

And whereas the University of Georgia is the only organization within the state of Georgia authorized by the National CPM Consortium to offer the CPM program, and Fulton County CPM class of 2026 is the tenth anniversary class to receive the CPM certification. And whereas yes, you can clap for that. And whereas the CPM class Cohort S organized a career day at Booker T Washington High School to connect with more than 200 students featuring tables with branded materials, giveaways, mock interview station offering real world feedback and interactive activities, developing solutions to expose students to public service careers, and whereas the CPM class cohort t supported seniors at Fulton County sites of Helene Mills Senior Center, the Dogwood Senior Center, and New Horizon Senior Center building shelving, cabinets, creating the first dedicated food pantry, distributing food and other supplies, and at QLS Haven, an independent living facility focused on digital literacy. And whereas the CPM class has completed three hundred hours of coursework in nine months dedicating three full consecutive days per month to attending classes, completing out of class homework and academic studies, and giving back to the community of their time, talents, and intellectual capital. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners congratulates the CPM class of twenty twenty six for successfully completing the requirements to receive their professional certifications as certified public managers and does hereby proclaim today, Wednesday, 05/06/2026 as Fulton County certified public managers appreciation day in Fulton County.

Let's give them a big round of applause.

Good morning everyone. Thank you commissioners for once again entrusting the HR department with the resources to continue this program. I have to admit, know, of all the, I don't know, some of you guys, some of the crazy stuff that I've suggested to you relative to the employees, this is the one that I'm most proudest of because it's an investment in not only them but the future of Fulton County. So congratulations and again thank you to Board of Commissioners for sponsoring the program. Thank you to the leadership of the county Dick Anderson and Sharon and all of those in the leadership positions and all the department heads in allowing their employees to invest and take time away from their day to day responsibilities to do this job and most importantly, I'd also like to thank the families for supporting the employees as they go through this endeavor.

A ten year anniversary of this program again is very significant to both the county, UGA and I'm hoping for the future employees of Fulton County and now I'd like the president to say a few words.

Good morning, everyone. How are you doing? Good morning. My name is Chris Avery and I work for the external affairs team here in Fulton County, specifically in the digital unit where we help manage and create digital content for the county. As the saying goes, Fulton County is a big deal, but today is even a bigger deal as recognized and celebrates ten wonderful successful years of the certified public management program.

Throughout these past nine months, Core and S became family as we navigated and learned what it truly means to be a leader in today's climate. Leadership to us meant giving back to those who helped us to get to where we are today. For our service learning project, we poured into Booker T Washington High School and helped over 200 students learn about the different opportunities available here in Fulton County. These students were excited to see that the people who keep the county running were right in their community. The goal was to spark interest and invest in the next generation of leaders for the county and I believe we did well.

If you'd like to see the results of that day, please visit our YouTube channel Fulton County Government and watch our video. But, in all honesty, thank you to the leadership here in Fulton County for making this program possible. Thank you to Doctor. Marcy and the professors at the University of Georgia for teaching us about leadership. And most importantly, thank you to Cohort S for being the amazing leaders that you are and a shining example of what leadership truly means.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Juliana Peterson. I'm the executive district attorney over our Special Victims Division in the Fulton DA's office. Thank you, commissioners. On behalf of the Fulton County CPM Cohort T, I want to express our really sincere gratitude to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and each of our department leadership as well as those who supported our participation in the Certified Public Manager Program.

We deeply appreciate your commitment to investing in the leaders across Fulton County government. This program has been truly transformative. We learned how to be more proactive leaders, how to anticipate challenges, plan thoughtfully, and support our teams with clarity and confidence. We deepened our understanding of servant leadership, focusing on what it means to lead with purpose and a genuine commitment to the people we serve. Through our capstone and service learning projects where we indeed served four different senior community centers and an independent service facility, we saw firsthand what we can accomplish when we work together.

These experiences showed us that when we combine our strengths even across departments in Fulton County, we're able to create meaningful solutions that truly benefit our community. Each of us has walked away better equipped to serve our community with excellence. Thank you for believing in our potential and for making this opportunity possible. We look forward to applying these skills to strengthen our departments, our team, and most importantly, the Fulton County residents who depend on us every day. Thank you.

The next proclamation is recognizing public service recognition week sponsored by chairman Pitts with full board support.

All our public servants just come on in and join the party. All right. Whereas celebrated nationally, the May since 1985, Public Service Recognition Week is organized annually to honor the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county, and local government employees. I'm gonna read it slow as you all make your way down. Whereas during public service recognition week, we honor those who dedicate themselves to ensuring America's promise rings true in every corner of our country.

And we commit to upholding the values they represent every day, and where whereas the well-being of our Fulton County residents depends on the passion and dedication of our workforce and Fulton County leaders who have worked to recruit, uplift, and empower exceptional civil servants. And whereas the collective impact of Fulton County's workforce is both profound and enduring as evidenced by the remarkable accumulation of forty two thousand three hundred and thirteen years of service. You can clap for that if you'd like. A testament, a true testament to the unwavering commitment, institutional knowledge, and legacy of excellence demonstrated by those who have dedicated their careers to public service. And whereas this week and all month long, we urge citizens to embrace the hopeful spirit that embodies the extraordinary work of our civil servants, which is the same spirit that built Fulton County from Palmetto to Alpharetta.

And because of the hard work of compassionate and determined public servants, it will continue to strengthen our nation for generations to come. And where I and whereas our nation commemorates two hundred and fifty years since its founding, we are reminded that through the strength and endurance of our democracy is made possible through the unwavering dedication of public servants, and without their commitment, the essential services that sustain our communities, safeguard our well-being, and uphold the promise of our nation and county would not be possible. And in the words of our chair, Rob Pitts, it is because of these individuals that you see in front of us that Fulton County is a big deal. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners commends those employees and civil servants in Fulton County who worked tirelessly to effectively serve Fulton County citizens, the visitors, reaffirms our commitments to support and empower Fulton County employees, and does hereby proclaim the first week of May annually as pub public Public Service Recognition Week in Fulton County, Georgia. Can you please put your hands together for wonderful employees in public service?

Anybody other than Ken Herman want to speak? I'm just kidding.

Good morning again. Commissioner, I'm having a great week it is. You know, I was able to celebrate my 80 with my father, his 80 birthday on May 1, enjoy carnival and be able to come back and still support the employees of Fulton County. But, you know, I'll give you a saying from the Virgin Islands. In The Virgin Islands, we say in the government, the government is all are we.

In proper English, it's all of us, but it's all are we. And, we stand by that because we understand that even in Fulton County and Fulton County employees that all the small contribution that each employee makes on a day to day basis to make the life of a citizen of Fulton County better in any which way is a great contribution. And my challenge to the employees of Fulton County is to continue to excel, contribute in each and every way that you can to make sure that Fulton County is always seen and represented as the best public employer of choice and again that's all due to the support that we've been receiving from the Board of Commissioners and the leadership throughout the county and again implemented through you the employees of Fulton County. Today if you have some time please stop by some of the demonstrations that we have of some of the departments and some of the services that they provide and again kudos to all the hard work that you have done over the course of the forty two thousand plus years that you've contributed to the lives of the individuals within Fulton County.

Thank you.

Police Department.

The last proclamation is recognizing Fulton County Police Department Animal Services Division appreciation day sponsored by vice chair Abdul Rahman and chairman Pitts.

Can we get the Fulton County Police Department Animal Service Division chief, all of the stakeholders? You all just bear with us. This is the last proclamation, but definitely not the least. And as they're making their way, I just wanna say on a personal note, as a dog lover, the our animal services division has

you all come in, come in, come in. Come on.

Welcome. Have

been doing some wonderful things. They've been recognized in the news, and it would be remiss if we, as commissioners, didn't recognize them as well. So as they fall in, I'm gonna start reading the proclamation. We ready, Jeremy? Whereas on 03/23/2026, Fulton County Police Department Animal Services Division received a complaint from a citizen advising that she had dropped her dog off at an address on Lansing Street in Atlanta for boarding and training.

When she picked her dog up, it was emanciated, vomiting, and in unsanitary and unkempt condition. And whereas on 03/28/2026, the Department of Agriculture received a complaint from a different citizen advising that they too had dropped their dog off for boarding and training at the same address, and their dog was returned to them covered in the same unsanitary and unkempt condition. And whereas on 04/02/2026, Fulton County Animal Services met an investigator with the Department of Agriculture at the Lansing Street address, and upon arrival, they were met outside by Christopher Floyd, who denied running a unlicensed training boarding facility from his residence. It was then discovered that he did not have a kennel license through the state of Georgia, and whereas officers observed several, and I do mean you all, several neglected dogs and obtained a search warrant for the property and discovered 15 neglected animals. All animals were removed from the residence and transported to Fulton County animal shelter.

Mister Floyd was charged with 15 counts of cruelty to animals, three counts of felony theft by deception, and two counts of misdemeanor theft by deception and booked into the Fulton County Jail. What I want you all to know on a personal note, this person was making anywhere from a thousand to $1,500 per animal that was there. These people had entrusted their animals to this unlicensed kennel. Whereas, in October 2024, under the guidance of major Nikki Dwyer, the Fulton County Police Department Animal Services Division began investigating animal cruelty crimes countywide and have since worked over a 100 cases, executed 30 search warrants, and saved over 300 animals. In December 2025, Fulton County Animal Services field operations was taken over by the Fulton County Police Department.

Now, therefore, it be resolved that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners recognize the Fulton County Police Department Animal Services Division for their tireless dedication to the safety and welfare of our beloved pets and animals, and thus hereby proclaim Wednesday, 05/06/2026 as Fulton County Police Department Animal Services Division Appreciation Day in Fulton County, Georgia. Would you please join me in celebrating these individuals that do such a great work in Fulton County?

Good morning, major Dwyer. First off, I would like to thank the commissioners and the county manager for their support in us taking over animal services. Since we've taken over, our arrests for animal cruelty have quadrupled, and we are keeping people and pets safer. We realize that a lot of these cases we work are not just animal cruelty. It's often domestic violence, gang activity, aggravated assault. And so we're able to keep the animals but also people safe. So we want to thank everyone for their support.

That's a lot.

Testing. One, two, three. Testing. Alright. Before we continue with our agenda, I'd like to in case you have not heard, Ted Turner, a beloved citizen of Fulton County, Atlanta, State Of Georgia, died in his sleep. Not in his sleep, surrounded by family. He was a great, great person. I had the privilege of knowing him. And one of my fondest memories was when he invited me to be a part of his delegation to when he started the goodwill games to compete with the Olympics. And, let's have a moment of silence for Ted Turner.

Thank you. Continue, madam clerk.

On page seven, public hearings twenty six zero two four four public comment. Citizens wishing to participate in public comment will be allowed to appear in person or may choose to participate virtually via Zoom video conferencing by registering on the county website www.fultoncountyga.gov. Priority for public comment will be given to Fulton County citizens and those individuals representing businesses or organizations located within Fulton County. Speakers will be granted up to two minutes each. The public will not be allowed to yield or donate time to other speakers.

The public comment portion of the meeting will not exceed sixty minutes. In the event the sixty minute time limit is reached prior to public comments being completed, public comment will be suspended and the business portion of the BOC meeting will commence. Public comment will resume at the end of the meeting. Mister chairman and members of the board, we have received 47 speaker cards. Will the first speakers please come forward? LA Pink, Mike Russell, Ben Crump, Rashad Muhammad, Eric Hertz, Brandon Crump, and Lisa Park.

Alright. As you come forward, let me remind you first and foremost there are 47 speakers which will obviously go beyond the one hour we have. So we'll try to accommodate as many of you as possible. When you have 15 remaining in your two minutes, I'll say fifteen seconds, that should be, that is rather your clue to begin to conclude your remarks. And lastly, if someone has already said what you were going to say, please do not feel compelled to repeat it. We hear you. First speaker.

Absolutely. Well, good morning. As we come down here again, this is five years straight that I've been in the building and as we can see that corruption has gotten comfortable.

Excuse me, one moment. Whoever has that sign, please lower your sign, please. Thank you. Anybody else? Alright. You can begin again.

You gonna start my two minutes Yes. Okay. So, like

I

said, as I continue to come down here, corruption has gotten comfortable. We got the D. A. Willis, that is Grey Goose getting loose. We have Tiffany that has now followed her and is comfortable to come here in Fulton County.

We got Helen Willis and her husband taking money out of the inmate welfare funding, very comfortable with that. Then, have the sheriff that is high risk up under his security bond and we have Ben Crump supporting him. What glorious is that? So, as Ben Crump comes down here, we're asking not only for the sheriff to resign today, but for him to take the civil rights off of the front of his name and just be an attorney. Because, what civil and what rights is he giving to the people that he is representing?

Lashawn Thompson's family stood up behind him and told him that the sheriff don't need a new jail, they needed a new sheriff. But, he stood in front with brother Rashad Muhammad, told the community that the sheriff needed a new jail. Yet, he rushed down here to come in front of y'all to grandstand and talk about what y'all ain't did. But, what about the sheriff? This man right now is sitting up under a bond that he ain't even swore into.

We don't even have a ranked sheriff in the building. Go do your research, go check to see what exactly his rank is when he got in on December 10 when he was sworn in and didn't get a valid surety bond until the December 25. Meaning that he swore in on an old surety bond, Kenya Johnson gave me the okay to that. So we are operating here up under corruption all the way.

15

So what we're asking right now is for Ben Crump to take the civil rights off of his name and the sheriff to resign.

Good morning. I'm here to talk about the issues in the jail. And we have a horrible situation in our jail that some people refer to as the trap house. And the major issue with our jail is not the building, it's the person who's supposed to be running the jail, Sheriff Labont. He's constantly lamenting at his cohorts that he has not gotten enough support from the board of commissioners.

That is absolutely not true because the facts are since he's been sheriff, his budget has been doubled from 177,000,000 to 234,000,000. He says he doesn't have enough people to work the jail. The county hired a company to find workers. Over 7,007 people applied. They screened all of those candidates, and they handed them a list of a 139 people to work in the jail. And sheriff Labatt, how many did he hire? To my knowledge, three. Why? Because he's not trying to fix the jail, he's trying to make it a problem to shield his incompetence. Then you talk about the money.

What did he do with the money that they gave him? Well, the he says he went out and gave frozen turkeys to homeless people. How many homeless people do you know can cook a frozen turkey? And then we know about the pimp mobile where he tried to be slicky boy, went to Florida, ordered a $250,000 pimped out white Mercedes Benz van, and then when he got discovered, he tried to hide it. And then when they found the van, he said it was a command center.

I've been in the military for twenty eight years. I've never seen a pimped out white Mercedes Benz command van. The sheriff needs to go. And then you've got Mo Ivy down here singing his praises. He let her in that jail to take a film about a trumped up thing about a broken water pipe

Fifteen seconds.

When it

was a toilet that was leaking all night. This sheriff needs to go, and this show today is just that. It's a show. Do not pay attention to it.

Good morning, members of the commission. I'm Ben Crump, and I come before you regarding tragic circumstances surrounding the Fulton County Jail and services or shall we say lack of services being rendered to detainees at the jail, Rashad Muhammad walked into the Fulton County Jail and articulated that he had a very serious medical condition, a bladder infection, and that he needed his antibiotics and his medicine to be able to survive. He told them that it was a matter of his life or death. He told them initially, and then he asked them every day, and then they turned then to please. And then, as other inmates have said, him lying on the floor unable to move, he was begging for his medicine for eleven days.

Tragically, he didn't get those services. He went to the hospital upon going. They had septic shock, induced him into a coma, and LOL, life or limbs. They had to make a decision. And, he lost his hands and he lost his legs. So, since he can't stand for himself, we are coming demanding but three things. One, an independent investigation. Two, we want transparency. Who made the decision to keep the medical provider, whether it's the sheriff or was it the county commission after Lashan Mahal?

Fifteen seconds.

And thirdly and finally, accountability. How will this Fulton County Commission give accountability so he could get Jeff?

Alrighty. Well, yes. First, I wanna thank almighty god aloha for preserving my life and giving me the strength to just come before the board today after such a painful and, traumatizing ordeal that I went through in Pullman County Jail. On August 11, I was arrested. I told the officer that I have a suprapubic catheter, and I needed my medication that was in the vehicle.

My car was towed, and I wasn't able to get my medicine. When I arrived at Fulton County Jail, I told the people at the intake, I told COs, I told everybody, need my medicine because it's that serious. I if I don't have this antibiotic, I can get really sick in here and go septic. I go up to my floor, they put me on a medical floor, open dorm. I wasn't in an MOU. I told the provider up there that I need my medicine. Can you please give me my medicine? I signed a form saying my medicine will come from the pharmacy and I will get it. A few days pass, I don't get my medicine. I ask the COs, I ask everybody, whoever I could talk to, Can I please get my medicine?

I'm starting to get sick. I'm on the phone. I'm calling my family. Hey, I need you all to advocate for me because I don't have my medicine. I really need my medicine. Days keep going by. I'm getting sicker. The inmates are noticing the smell of my urine because I have to empty my suprapubic catheter in the toilet. It's getting worse. It's starting to smell. Now everybody's noticing. I'm telling the COs. I'm telling the nurses. I'm telling the pill call lady. I go to pill call, hey, do you have any pills for me? Mohammed, we don't have anything for you. How? I gotta be the sickest person in here. I need my medicine. Okay. Days go by. Now I'm laying on the floor. I can't get up. It just gets worse and worse and worse to the point where

I can't get up off the

floor and the inmates have to advocate for me and I finally get a stretcher call. I get a stretcher call and they send me to Grady and that's where they told me I needed a procedure and I went into septic shock. The whole time

About fifteen seconds, sir.

Okay. I just wanna I asked for my medicine and this happened at Fulham County Jail. We need some accountability. Thank you.

Chair Pitts, commissioners, my name is Eric Kurtz. I represent Rashad. I am a lawyer. I'm a member of this community, and I'm a Fulton County resident. So I come here with three obligations, to my client, to my community, and to the rule of law. I'm not asking this board to decide a lawsuit today. I'm asking this board to confront a question governments can never avoid. When Fulton County takes away a person's liberty, what responsibility does Fulton County assume in that person's life? Because custody is not a technical word. Custody means control.

The county controls the door. The county controls movement. The county controls transportation, and the county controls access to the doctors. So let's not behind behind labels. The question is not whether Rashad was an inmate. The question is, was he a human being in Fulton County's care? Rashad says he asked for help. He says treatable condition was allowed to become a catastrophic one. He went into custody with his legs and fingers and he came out with neither. What is this board going to do to change this before the next person is locked behind that door?

If a bridge collapses, you don't call bad luck and reopen it. You inspect and design. If a man is in jail, please for medical care, the county cannot own the keys, own the clock, and then disown the consequences. The Old Testament says, justice, justice shall you pursue. Justice Brandeis, Supreme Court wrote, sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.

So bring sunlight, bring the records, bring the timeline, bring an independent review, bring public answers. Chair Pitts, Commissioner, this is not a campaign issue, it's a governance issue. But you can restore something essential, public trust that requires action, answers, accountability, and courage. Thank you.

Eleven days of neglect has resulted in a lifetime of suffering. Two hundred and sixty four hours of indifference has resulted in a lifetime of pain. Fifteen thousand eight hundred and forty minutes of failure has resulted in a man's life being altered, and it will never be the same again. My name is Brandon Price Crum, and I am one of the attorneys honored to represent Rashad Muhammad alongside attorneys Ben Crump, Liza Parks, Eric Hertz. The question before this commission today is simple.

How many more lives will it take before we see the inhumane treatment of our jail detainees like the crisis that it is? This should have never happened to Rashad Muhammad, and he is still standing in spirit, in truth, and in the fight for justice. His limbs were taken, but his voice was not. And we are here to make sure that the world hears his voice. This is a pattern of injustice, a pattern of people crying out for help and them being ignored time after time.

Mister Muhammad did not lose his legs because of unavoidable medical because of a unavoidable medical condition. He lost his legs because people in positions of power chose not to act because a system that is supposed to preserve life

Fifteen seconds.

Ignored it. Rashad and I go back. Rashad is 33 years old. He has a daughter that he has to care for. His life is forever changed due to the negligence while he was a detainee in Fort Wortham County Jail.

Good morning. My name is Liza Park. I'm the senior attorney in Atlanta for Ben Crump Law. I'd like everyone in this room to remember one word in association to what happened to mister Muhammad, preventable. Preventable. Preventable. He wouldn't be here today. We wouldn't be here today. He would have his legs. He would have his fingers.

And his family and mister Muhammad wouldn't be going through all of their trauma, which will be generational trauma for this family. Please consider also the financial perspective of what happened here. Mister Mohammed just needed a few antibiotics, a bottle of antibiotics. Instead, while he was a pretrial detainee, of which those charges were eventually all dropped. Pretrial detainee.

He asked for his medicine, asked for his medicine, was not given. And then he ended up in hospital after several surgeries, six months in the hospital, still a detainee. Please consider the cost difference between a few antibiotics that he begged for versus six months of cost in the hospital. Each day in the hospital thousands of dollars. So you're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical costs to the county.

To Mr. Muhammad, something he's We never going to get just ask that you consider all of this. And really, the cost at this point is unknown.

Marcus Coleman, I'm from this county and I actually serve as a founding member, vice chair of the Fulgea County Reparations Task Force. So, what an awesome, unique position I am sitting in today as one who also was formerly incarcerated, wrongfully incarcerated individual, which is how I got started in this work. Why in the hell, two years later, is Fulton County back in the bull's eye of the United Nations? Why is our county at the headlines of having human rights violations? And forgive me if I'm partial to my complexion, but why in the hell is our black county led by black individuals, treating the least of these in our community that happen to be our brethren and sisters, worse than some of the Caucasians we claim are racist?

Mister chairman, and I mean the future mister chairman, that's part of our problem because we got dissension. This man here is limbs and extremities, and because I called a future chairman, someone says, Come on with the bullshit. The bullshit is happening right here.

Excuse me. Just a minute. Just a minute.

It's always interesting that one that's never seen the inside of a prison wall can tell someone who has what they need to say when they're up here.

Mr. Chairman, currently, this is

embarrassing. Excuse me.

Can I

have my time back?

Go ahead.

Thank you for pausing. It goes without saying sheriff Labatt is incapable. There's been over 30 people that have either died or been maimed. I don't have to keep reiterating the obvious. It is up to you guys to hold this man accountable. And honestly, since he's an elected official, it's actually up to us. So I'm sick of the blame game.

I have fifteen more seconds.

We've got thank you. Thank you, mister chairman. I'm sick of the blame game when we aren't putting boots to the concrete to make sure that we're holding people that look like us accountable. Sometimes as black folks, we like to pass the buck. Been out of Atlanta. And this is not about race.

Okay. Thank you.

But we got

Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker.

Next speakers, please come forward. Rashad Snellings.

Okay, sir. You have the floor. Alright.

My name is Rashard Snellings. I appreciate commissioner Khadija and chairman Pitts for explaining to me that the sheriff's office has opted out of oversight by the county as it relates to open records. When it was eventually fulfilled, it was confirmed what we already suspected. A while back, I had a conversation with Helen Zenobia Willis about her use of these prison inmate funds, and she told me back then she had no way of knowing where the funds came from, but she spent it. When reviewing the documentation provided by the sheriff's office, Helen requested this money.

She said in her email to her husband's employer to send the check directly to her. On the top left of the corner of the check, it clearly says it came from the inmate welfare fund. In our city council meetings, miss Willis will often boast about her master's degree, her accounting background, and how she does not want her husband taking her to jail. The inmates never consented to helping Helen promote Helen with misappropriated funds stolen from these inmates. Fulton County District 5 residents, you do not want someone representing you who is dishonest and would take commissary funds from from inmates to buy turkeys to give to to her constituents.

In a recent council meeting, we learned that miss Willis drained her city budget prior to resigning. Whomever is elected will have two weeks of budget to last in the remainder of the year. The money was what was once again spent on Helen promoting Helen with parties and and campaign expenses including voter data files containing personal data personal voter information from Chisholm Strategies. Fulton County needs to demand this money back from the city of South Fulton and have it returned. I understand that the Justice Department frequently these meetings and I really hope someone

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18, USC six four three dash six five four. This is the federal code section for embezzlement misappropriation of public funds by officials and custodians as it relates to prison inmate money.

Next speakers, Mike Johnson, Kevin A. Ross, Joshua Williams, Albert Edwards, Heather Fassinger, James Washburn, and Kimberly Brooks.

Alright. Mike Johnson, district four of South Forza. Good morning, commissioners. There's been a lot of talk and conversation about the fourth county jail and the mismanagement of money. It all depends on who you're talking to as to what alternative facts you receive.

Here's a few facts that are not alternative. Family members and friends of 4th And County voters and taxpayers are dying and experiencing life changing traumatic events from their time spent in the fourth and county jail. Just because someone has been accused of a crime and is awaiting for their day in court in the Fort Worthy County Jail, it should not lead to a death sentence or amputations due to mismanagement of the jail. I'm sure all of you all are somewhat familiar with the inmate welfare fund from our previous conversation. This money is made or accumulated off the inmate purchasing snacks, personal hygiene items from commissary, store call, and telephone calls.

This money is allocated for the welfare and the well-being of the inmates. How how is it that Helen Willis, who is currently running for one of those seats that you guys are sitting in right now for District 5, is legally allowed to receive thousands of dollars from this particular account to purchase, as Rashad stated earlier, turkeys to promote our own personal agenda in South Fulton. Is this ethical? Is this fair to the county? Is this even legal? What is the procedure for you guys to get that money back out of her pocket, not taxpayer pocket?

Fifteen seconds.

I just happen to have a copy of that check with me. It's check number 9035 on Wells Fargo Bank out of the inmate welfare account. She need to be held accountable. She need to be paying the

Good morning. Kevin Ross, counsel to CIRM, a joint venture on JC Water Partners. On 09/19/2025, a Fulton County selection committee interviewed JC for the O and M RFP. We understand that in early October twenty twenty five, this committee in writing ranked JC as the highest ranked firm technically. The firm before you scored a low C.

We understand that JC's grade was an A. Also JC's cost proposal is $5,000,000 less over the life of the contract. Then on 12/04/2025, JC's proposal was deemed non responsive based upon the failure to disclose litigation involving Jacobs. This was three months after RFP submission, two and a half months after the interview, and two months after the written evaluation. After JC's disqualification, a new memorandum was written which did not inform you that JC had gone through the entire process.

Based upon this memorandum, it was as if JC's interview and evaluation never occurred. JC pursued administrative appeals but elected not to pursue a judicial appeal. Instead, we are appealing to the prudence and judgment of this commission. Fulton County ratepayers should not be burdened with $5,000,000 in excess professional service costs for a firm ranked significantly lower in its service quality. Make two requests.

Insist that the committee's written evaluation of JC be forwarded to you. It exists and it's a material document. And next, table this item before you until you've had time to review this memorandum or reject outright twenty six zero two five two? Fifteen seconds. Fulton County ratepayers deserved a value based procurement decision. JC, the highest ranked technical firm and the lowest cost, is the best value for Fulton County. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Joshua Williams. I'm a regional vice president with Jacobs residing here in the Atlanta area. I'm here today on behalf of JC Water Partners, a joint venture between OMI, a subsidiary of Jacobs, and the corporate environmental risk management firm, or better known as CIRM. Together, we bring decades of proven results, deep local partnerships, and an enduring commitment to the people and the communities of Fulton County.

JC Water Partners is requesting transparency and fairness in the evaluation of the recent procurement for wastewater operations. Based on our understanding, JC Water Partners received the highest evaluation score from the selection committee. This committee conducted a thorough and structured review, and we believe their scoring reflects the true qualifications of the competing firms. We respectfully request that the commissioners consult with the selection committee to verify accuracy of those scores. In addition, it's our understanding that J.

C. Water Partners submitted the lowest cost proposal. Our one year price is approximately $27,000,000 over $1,000,000 lower than the firm on today's agenda, and about $5,000,000 lower over the five year term, delivering meaningful savings to taxpayers. Our team was disqualified due to a legal technicality, not due to performance, qualifications, pricing, or committee scoring. JC Partners JC Water Partners was not disqualified in the earlier 2024 procurement for the same project, nor was the entity disqualified in other recent county on call engineering contracts.

Together with CIRM, a local minority owned small business, our joint venture brings stability, transparency, and long term commitment. By contrast, the firm on today's agenda was acquired by private equity just two weeks ago with significant leadership turnover, introducing uncertainty that warrants careful

Fifteen seconds.

Today, we're asking that the board of commissioners consider the request that procurement provide the official scores and the pricing for the selection committee so that the award can be issued to the highest rank, lowest price, and most qualified firm. Thank you for your time.

Good morning. My name is Al Edwards, and I'm the founder and CEO of Corporate Environmental Risk Management, commonly referred to as CIRM. I'm here today on behalf of JC Water Partners, a joint venture between OMI, a subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering, and CIRM, two longstanding, reputable firms with shared values and deep ties to this community and decades of proven service. For over thirty years, CIRM's history of technical excellence and community reinvestment is well documented. Our vision, building communities, creating opportunities, and inspiring the next generation, is well demonstrated.

Advocating for small and minority owned business, while mentoring and investing in countless students in vulnerable communities through workforce development initiatives and education partnerships. While we talk about workforce development, we are talking about an actual generation of engineers, environmental scientists, inspectors, operations professionals who found their start at CIRM, many of which as early as high school through shadowing programs. Our team has worked together for over twenty five years, starting with the pilot mentor protege program initiated by former Governor Roy Barnes. With shared values of community reinvestment and technical excellence, our first project together was the formation of the Metro North Georgia Water Planning District that has led to various projects and programs across the region and state and the broader Southeast, to include Hartsfield Jackson, MARTA, G. Dodd Fulton County, Tampa International Airport, and the Mobile Area Water Sewer service.

Together, our joint venture brings invaluable experience in working together. Long term corporate stability and commitment demonstrated community reinvestment and transparency. Today, we are asking the Board of Commissions one simple thing, request that procurement provide the official scores and pricing from the selection committee so that the award

Good morning. My name is Heather Fatsinger with Full Circle Communications and I am here today on behalf of JC Water Partners. Full Circle Communications is a Fulton County certified minority woman owned small business enterprise specializing in public engagement, education and stakeholder outreach. Our work centers around three priorities being a good neighbor, proactively engaging the public and building strategic partnerships that earn trust. Our firm brings more than twenty five years of specialized experience supporting utilities across the country including water and wastewater infrastructure, major capital improvements, disaster response, environmental justice and regulatory communications.

We know what successful utility communication looks like because we've done it consistently under pressure and in highly scrutinized environments. Full Circle is proud to be a part of this team. We've worked with Jacobs for over twenty years as well as CIRM and we have consistently experienced them as supportive, collaborative partners who value and uplift small businesses, one of the reasons that our relationship has lasted so long. As Fulton County prepares to expand public education around capital improvement programs, our team offers what matters most, local knowledge, trusted relationships, and the ability to communicate clearly and responsibly with the public. Fulton County's infrastructure improvements will impact hundreds of thousands of residents.

We respectfully encourage a process that reflects the long term best interest of Fulton County and its constituents. Thank you very much for your time.

My name is James Washburn. I'm a long time long time Fulton County resident and counsel for JC Water Partners. The county disqualified JC Water on the ground that it did not disclose certain litigation in its proposal materials. The litigation the county cited for the disqualification did not involve any of the members of JC Water or its subcontractors, but instead a corporate parent of one of the members. This disqualification is strange for several reasons.

First, the decision came at the end of the evaluation process, long after qualification, interviews, and scoring. And second, the RFP did not specify that all litigation involving corporate parents should be disclosed. But that's how the county applied it at least as to JC Water. After the disqualification, we immediately filed a request for procurement records, including other bidders' materials and how evaluation process was conducted. The county denied that request, taking the position that those materials cannot be made available to the public until after the award is approved.

The county's denial of our request for records meant that we could whether other bidders disclosed their corporate parents' litigation or how the county evaluated their bids. Now it's a bedrock procurement requirement that every bidder be treated fairly and consistently. If other bidders did not disclose their corporate parents' litigation, but they weren't disqualified, then the procurement would be subject to invalidation even now. If the contract award is approved, we stand ready to submit a new request for all records, including those bid materials from the other bidders to evaluate whether all the bidders were

treated fairly late

and consistently. But unlike members of the public, members of the commission

records now. And we urge the commission to review those records before approving this contract. Thank you very much. Members

The bible says, it is better to live in the wilderness than with an angry and contentious woman. And, I stand here today because I typically don't have a temper because I'm a godly woman but when I saw Ben Crump come in and speak on behalf of those individuals and utilize a person that is handicapped to push his ulterior motive as it relates to his interest in Fulton County Jail without mentioning the district attorney's office, without mentioning Sheriff Labatt, without holding people accountable. That bothers me because too many people are dying in that jail right now as we speak and no one speaks about that. If people like me, L. A.

Pink, the southern center could get that level of publicity to come here then we probably could get the results that we want. I came here today to discuss an injunction that I'm filing for the federal government against Fulton County, the city of Atlanta and Edgar Perry Integral Property Management Group because you've been committing fraud. Now what that means and translates into a language that people can understand is your court system is inadequate and you lack the intellectual capacity of these staff that you had here today and I know you had good intentions. But I found out that the same staff paid themselves to be off last year on New Year's Eve by a resolution you passed. So everyone in this city and this county paid for those public officials to take an extra day off for New Year's Eve.

DeKalb County didn't get it off. Cobb County didn't get it off. You guys are paying yourselves to be off and do what you want to do with our money and that is not the way government works and it will not be tolerated. In the spirit of Doctor. Martin Luther King, injustice anywhere, the smallest bit of it is an injustice everywhere. You cannot overlook anything that anyone is saying. If Ben Crump and those people here, claims are settled before my claim is settled which has been in your office, I there will be a stand to be corrected and ask the commission commissioners, you have not acted on the claim against Kimberly Brooks and Fulton County. Please respond immediately or action will be taken in the federal government. I

digress. Next speakers please come forward. Blake Fieldman, Kendall Long, Kanena King, Devin Franklin, Tiffany Roberts, Chastity Dallas and Kirk Beasley.

Good morning commissioners. I'm Blake Feldman, senior policy counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights. In my role, I focus on statewide policy. Included in the materials we submitted to the board is a breakdown of all the bills we supported and opposed during this, 2026 session, but I just wanted to focus my remarks on two of them. The first is house bill two ninety five.

If not vetoed, the bill will allow property owners to sue local governments to recover compensation for an alleged decrease in property value or expenses incurred because of the local government's failure to enforce quality of life crimes. The state pressuring counties to shuffle homeless people through jails and courts instead of providing real solutions like housing and supportive services and diversion strategies is cruel, it's counterproductive, but if the bill is not vetoed, there are opportunities to minimize harm and we urge you to work with governmental and non governmental stakeholders stakeholders to do so. Just a few examples. Enforce is not defined, and we should not concede that enforcement is synonymous with arrest and incarceration. Local ordinances can be revised, and before suit can be filed, the property owner must file a claim with the county, and the county determines the administrative procedure for filing said claim.

Secondly, I briefly want to address the address the failure of the legislature to raise the age limit of juvenile justice jurisdiction to include 17 year olds. There was a bill that would have done so. We at the Southern Center believe kids should be treated as kids. The science is clear. The data is clear. It makes sense for so many reasons.

Alright. 15.

But I wanted to focus on this legislation because Fulton County knows better than most that jailing children incurs unique burdens and challenges. The DOJ determined that 17 year old kids were experiencing harm, unique harm.

Thank you, sir.

Good morning. I'm Kendall Long, first amendment policy counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights. My work centers on protecting free speech from the threat of criminalization. And I'm here today to share updates from the legislative session that are wins for protecting the first amendment and causes for concern for the next year's session that you should consider adding to your legislative priorities. These bills should be of concern because they unnecessarily create new criminal offenses which will lead to more arrests in criminal cases that would only exacerbate the issue the county is already facing with incarceration, and they attack the right of free expression here in Fulton County.

Throughout this session, our office and allies testified and met with legislators to stop the passage of as many of these bills as possible. First, the good news. Senate Bill 27 was a bill that sought to address the issue of doxing, or the publishing of information about an individual online. This bill would have been the broadest criminal ban on doxing in the country, and likely unconstitutional because of how it criminalizes innocuous and protected speech. Though it got eerily close, Senate Bill 27 did not pass this session.

Additionally, Senate Bill two sixty eight made the new offense of obstructing law enforcement with the vehicle of it created the new offense, and it also introduced another bill, a House Bill thirteen twenty two, which increased the penalty for rioting to a felony. Together, these bills reflect the efforts by the legislature to criminalize and crack down on protests, however, neither passed this session. One bill that unfortunately did pass was Senate Bill four forty three, which criminalizes protests by increasing the penalty for obstructing streets and highways, making it go from a misdemeanor to an aggravated misdemeanor. This bill has been sent to the governor for his signature. As much of the high profile protests that happened in the state, happened in Fulton County, the state legislature is attempting criminalize free speech

Fifteen seconds.

Expression as it occurs in your jurisdiction. Going into the next legislative session, you should make it clear in your legislative priorities that you do not support any measures that require toll free speech and unnecessarily create new criminal offenses. Thank you.

Good morning, my name is Connect King and I'm the movement policy associate at the Southern Center for Human Rights. And while I'm originally from Southeast Georgia, my work is based on and guided by the lived experiences of communities most impacted by incarceration and state violence. In 2020, following the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, the Southern Center for Human Rights alongside grassroots organizers, lawyers, and faith leaders across the state formed the Just Georgia Coalition. This coalition was created in response to both state sanctioned violence and the influx and swift move of national organizations and attorneys who attempted to intervene without accountability to the grassroots movements that were already organizing on the ground. We believed then and continue to believe now that our movements, strategies and expertise must be rooted in and led by those most directly impacted.

After the publishing of the federal consent decree, the Fulton County, of the Fulton County Jail, we created the Peoples Process because we firmly believe that communities have the right to define how safety, implementation plans, and resources should be shared with those who are or have experienced the harms of incarceration. The people's process was a platform for community to have input about what they envisioned because unless I've overlooked it, this body has not convened a public forum to hear directly from the community about the federal investigation, the consent decree itself or the findings and recommendations of the federal monitors report. That gap in public engagement is significant but it doesn't have to remain this way. Policies and legislations will continue to harm people unless you get close enough to peer people not only what they say but to move in their best interest. Today I urge you to commit to meaningful partnerships with the public creating intentional, accessible public forums.

These spaces should center directly impacted people and those who are advocating alongside them, and they should allow for honest dialogue about concerns, accountability, and community driven solutions related to the Fulton County Jail. Thank you.

Good morning commissioners. My name is Devin Franklin. I am senior movement policy counselor at the Southern Center for Human Rights. As you all know, I am also a former public defender here in Fulton County for twelve years. Yesterday, I had the the opportunity to access the sheriff's app, access the sheriff Fulton dashboard, and take a look at the current jail numbers.

Yesterday, the current population at the Fulton County Jail across all campuses and across all out of county leases was 2,877 people. I checked this morning, it was 2,827 people, so it's actually going down about 50 folks in the course of one day. This, of course, is relevant because the overall capacity of the Fulton County Jail across all campuses is about 2,972 people, and even without Fulton County Jail operating at maximum capacity, what we can tell right now is that we have enough beds in Fulton County to accommodate those persons who are in custody. Now, that number should be significantly lower. And believe that what we can say is that the work that we have done in the community, the work that you all have listened to and taken affront, has done a lot to address decrease in those numbers.

I can recall a point in time when those numbers were above 3,500. What I will say today is that the Sunnison remains firm in our commitment to promote solutions that prioritize decarceration over bed expansion. In that vein, we remain huge supporters of PAD and the work that they do to lead the Center for Diversion Services. We believe that the potential of the Center for Diversion Services and other initiatives like the Last Chance Diversion Trailer that this commission supports are the right path. At this time, we have our possession of open records that reflect that the City of Atlanta is intentionally and actively working to undermine and disrupt the work of the diversion center and PADD.

Fifteen seconds. We are

particularly grateful for Fulton County. A special shout out to commissioner Abdul Rahman for your work on the justice policy board for all you have done to promote and increase the use of diversion by the several police departments that respond to Fulton County and to work to expand the capacity of the Diversion Center walls. It is what's wise, it is Good

after or maybe good afternoon, good morning again. For benefit of the record, my name is Tiffany Roberts. I am a public policy director you just heard from my staff and I just want to address really briefly an issue that we are continuing to experience with Sheriff Labat's obstruction of the Open Records Act or his duty to fulfill request filed pursuant to the Open Records Act. On March 4, we requested just the SOP, the standing operated procedure related to bonding because we received credible information that the sheriff was limiting members of the public to bailing out only three people a year as though there was not an injunction against that provision of Senate Bill 63. About every two weeks since that time, we have received boilerplate language from the sheriff saying that he cannot provide the SOP governing bonding and I quote the sheriff's office is currently receiving a high volume of requests, requests are processed in the order in which they are received additional time is needed to fulfill your open records request.

This is flagrant non compliance, this is just as simple as pulling a one paragraph out of a digital file and if the sheriff cannot manage open records requests of his own rules, how on earth is he going to manage a $2,000,000,000 jail or a $1,200,000,000 special use facility? You have a lawsuit that he has filed where he has said to you anything short of a blank check abridges his constitutional authority. What we want for you to know at Southern Center is that once you build a building for him, you will not be able to tell him what to do with it. He can with the stroke of a pen change a special use facility into a solitary confinement unit because he is the chief custodian of the county. So you are on the right side

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By emphasizing jail depopulation but also holding him accountable. Sheriff Labatt is a bad actor and people are suffering as you saw this morning because of his malfeasance and because of his inability to hold to the highest.

Hello, I'm Chastity Dallas with Gangsters the Growers and Alumni. Yeah. So, I just want okay. So, this is what I have. As we prepare for FIFA World Cup, we focus on the excitement and spotlight, but a truly successful event is how well we care for our people before, during, and after the world is watching.

A care first strategy means investing in our communities ahead of time. It means consistently funding youth violence intervention programs such as Gangsters to Growers that teach self sustainability, conflict resolution, and leadership because when our young people are equipped with those skills, they don't just stay out of harm's way, they become part of the solution. You should be looking for a solution and this is the solution. Organizations like Fair Play ATL show how sports and mentorship can change lives. This kind of consistent investment doesn't just support youth, it also reduces strain on public safety during major events.

Please remember our name, Game Sister Growers, and start funding the youth programs. Thank you consistently. Bye.

Good morning, chairman Pitts and fellow commissioners. I am Kurt Beasley, a lieutenant colonel deputy sheriff retire 2017, from the Fulton County Sheriff's Office. I saw that press conference that was led by the attorney who was just here on behalf of Rashad Mohammed. Some words used were very deep, egregious, horrendous, deplorable, malfeasance, deliberate indifference, to name a few. When I saw those words, I thought about LaShawn Thompson, who was found dead, body emaciated, covered in bed bugs.

I thought about Noni Baptiste Consoco, an 18 year old child who drew on a school building, was arrested for a misdemeanor and dead within fifty two days of being in the sheriff's custody. Tyriana Ledbetter, beaten almost to death, left on life support. These two ladies were not housed at the Wright Street facility. How can someone have the audacity to ask, how much more does the sheriff have to do to advocate for a new jail? That building could not have done anything to save the limbs of mister Muhammad or the lives of those other three people that I named, and many others.

Let's be honest and real about the real truth. It's the overseer. It's the leadership. Fortean County taxpayers, I implore you all to hold those accountable for the continued deaths, assaults, waste of spending of tax dollars, negligence that continue to lead to lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit. The problem is not the structure

The of

is the overseer, the leader, and until we address that, nothing else will change.

Next speakers please come forward. Lisa Jones, Jay Johnson, Dominique Grant, Janet Hill, Led Bear, Abi Henderson, Ajante Johnson.

Good morning commissioners. My name is Lisa Jones. As a resident in the Mighty Six, commissioner Abdul Rahman, I applaud today's Fulton County Animal Control Proclamation. They are doing fantastic work. I stand here today on behalf of court case animals and Fulton taxpayers.

As live evidence animals continue to remain in legal limbo for hundreds of days, I encourage the county to be more proactive in seeking legal disposition of these animals after defendants fail to appear and the cases become dormant. Currently they languish in shelter care, many of them over five hundred days. I am also employing the commissioners to direct the county attorney's office to file cost of care petitions. I'm aware of multiple attorneys who would be glad to lift that burden off the county. They would do it pro bono or at a nominal cost. We can save these animals' lives, and we can save the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Thank you.

Good afternoon. I'm Jay Johnson from Pepinstown. I'm here as a member of Circle of Safety representing a network of individuals and organizations who have spent decades using a public health approach to prevent violence in our communities with minimal support from local government, we utilize evidence based community violence intervention strategies. CVI works by leveraging trust based relationships with those at the highest level or at the highest risk of being involved in gun violence to directly intervene in conflict, de escalate tensions, and stop violence before it occurs. We provide services and support to young people, knowing that when people's material needs are met, that's when people feel safe and loved and supported, violence decreased.

Even though we are the ones who know our communities best, the CVI community has not been engaged by FIFA, City Council, the mayor's office, or other stakeholders preparing for the World Cup. The World Cup would be hosted in the middle of economically marginalized communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence. Without deliberate planning and intervention, the World Cup will only exacerbate these conditions, but decades of research show a comprehensive approach to public safety using law enforcement and community based strategies is the most effective in preventing violence. You cannot police your way to public safety. We are here to support the Care First strategy, which includes investment for CVI organizations to maintain a presence in communities where FIFA activations will be held, de escalating conflicts and preventing violence.

Fifteen seconds. Beyond the World Cup itself, this moment presents an opportunity for us to make an investment in Atlanta community led public safety infrastructure. Thank you.

Good morning commissioners, long time no see. My name is Dominique Grant and I'm the managing director at Bard Business, a justice impacted led organization focused on healing resources and building power with justice impacted communities, families and people. And, I'm also here today as part of the Playfair ATL World Cup coalition. First off, before I get into what I really came here for, y'all know y'all dead wrong for funding the sheriff this long. It's been three years of me coming up here and community coming up here watching consistent deaths happen and the taxpayers having to pay for it.

Do something, please. But I wanna express my express support for Fullerton County adopting the same protections and commitments that have already been passed by the city of Atlanta ahead of the World Cup to support justice impacted people, making justice impacted people a protected class. As conversations continue around the World Cup and the investments going into our region, it is important that we are honest about the impact these events have on black communities, poor communities, unhoused people, and justice impacted people. Historically, moments like this have brought increased policing, displacement, criminalization, and exclusion from the opportunities that are being created. Too often, justice impacted people are expected to carry the burden of these decisions without being included in the planning, the resources, or the economic opportunities.

And as we recognize mental health awareness month, I also want to acknowledge the mental and emotional toll that criminalization, incarceration, instability, and over policing continue to have on our communities. Mental health cannot be separated from this conversation. Communities cannot heal while constantly living under surveillance, displacement, and punishment. Justice impacted people deserve access to opportunity, stability, safety, and care, not just increased enforcement. One in three people in this country are justice impacted

Fifteen seconds.

And these are not separate communities from Fulton County, these are our people. The city of Atlanta has already acknowledged the importance of putting these protections in place and Fulton County now has the opportunity to do the same. If not, we are in danger because all of us are justice. Thank

you.

Good morning. I'd first like to start by saying thank you to the few commissioners and officials and judges who are taking the steps to address the theft crimes. Crimes, felony crimes. We still have a long way to go and here's why. Fulton County is again in national news for a case out of the city of New York where the Carrington family has had property and assets stolen and the judge, Kenya Johnson, recused herself and now the guardian in Georgia has disappeared.

Secondly, there's another New York deed fraud theft case that involves a grandmother who was jailed and shackled like a slave specific to properties or transactions that have happened in the state of Georgia, Fulton County. Thirdly, the company that's linked to a lot of these deed fraud crimes was operating out of Fulton County and the owner of the company was sentenced to four to five years in jail. Lastly, we have a judicial officer, thankfully, who has reported these crimes to the DA. I'm not here just complaining. We have solutions.

We have forwarded this information to the attorney general in the state of Georgia. Do your job. Return these stolen properties and stop this inhumane treatment. All of these documents are in the custody of Shay Alexander

Fifteen fifteen these reports.

You have the information. You have all the power to do this work. Get it done. Thank you.

Good afternoon. I'd like to address to all the inmates or people that have been wounded into Fulton County, I am Tyriana's Ledbetter's mom and for the facts and the matter of the record, I am very displeased with how she was treated, how she was overlooked, how she was not into where she was supposed to be as far as I'm concerned. I think Fulton County can do a better job as far as upgrading their security system, upgrading their cameras, getting these people the help that they need as far as when you lock away someone who has a special education. When it comes to that and you receive phone calls, this girl is still fighting for her life. So at the end of the day, it just makes me feel as if what are we doing as parents?

What are we doing as the board members? What are we doing? Tyriana Ledbetter is also didn't get a chance to graduate yet, but hopefully that will be. But right now she's laying down looking like who's speaking for her, what type of system, what happened. My daughter is totally confused at this moment And to this day, it has done a lot to my family, mentally mentally, physically, verbally.

All of the above is all I can say. And I pray that God have mercy upon whom and whoever that knows a lot about it. So all I'm asking is that you guys could do a lot as far as your jail system, who's the system, the medical system, whatever steps that you're taking in the jail even though these kids were or it doesn't matter the age, if they're locked up they should have a better place somewhere safe and if you're gonna lock them up then lock them up the right way. No reason for them to have to be treated like animals. There's no reason for them to have to be begging or calling their mom or looking around for help and help should be in there as well. So if they, you know, hold them accountable for what they do.

I am a Charlotte Anderson, the founder and a community organizers organizer with Gangsters to Growers, a workforce development program with formerly incarcerated sixteen to thirty years 30 year olds that is paid. I'm also a member of the Circle of Safety, which is filled with community, violence intervention organizations. And I'm here as a family member of PAD and of Southern Center and a lot of the great organizations that are in the room, Hoe Pustlers. And we are really trying to get funding for the CareFirst, proposal. We have PAD that has been doing a great job of, mediating and die diverting folks, from the criminal justice system or the Not justice system, I apologize, the judicial system.

And they need the funding to do their job right. I know in your heart, in your mind, in your spirit, you don't want to see citizens locked up. You want to see your citizens holding each other accountable with love. You want to see people taking care of each other, taking care of themselves. You want to see those jails empty. So we're just inviting you guys to be a part of the change that is happening within the city by legislating, funding

the work. Fifteen seconds.

Thank you very much. And we watching. We watching y'all. Alright.

Next speakers please come forward. Maggie Goldman, Joshua Mohammed, Hazel Manessa, Victoria Bondurant, Owen Burke, Mackenzie Hoth, and Margaret Deresa.

My name is Maggie Goldman and I'm in District 1. Commissioner Thorne, you made a few comments on Nextdoor recently about the jail. You make a note that a $2,000,000,000 jail would have raised taxes for everyone by 30%. So how much is a $1,300,000,000 special facility raising taxes for? Because that's still taxes that are being raised, right?

So let's be honest about the fact that you're still raising taxes regardless of how much the the cost of the facility is. You also mentioned as someone else did today about how there's a goal of 50 new detention officers per quarter and that this consulting group had 7,500 applicants. They vetted a 129 and gave them to the sheriff to hire. There's some debate over how many he hired but we can say it's in the single digits. Did you actually know that the county does the initial vetting of the regular employment things?

Then the sheriff's department has to do the drug testing, the physical training test, the polygraph, all the things that actually make them eligible to work at the jail. So I would say that he's not you want him to hire people who are not qualified because he has to do all of those extra pieces so that you can get to your 50 detention officers. Maybe you could increase the salaries or change the benefits to attract the right people for the job. You also mentioned that you approved the 16,000,000 for signing bonuses and retention bonuses. Well, you know that that document has several things that are tied to it?

People have to sign on and say that they'll be there for, say, three years or they'll have to pay it back. They can't take a promotion to another part of the department in the sheriff's And I believe your your personal friend, Brian Goldstone, got a Pulitzer for his book. You've done absolutely nothing to help the people in our community that are living in hotels. So I hope that he takes that up with you.

Hello, Commissioners. My name is Hazel Monatza, and I'm a registered professional nurse in the state of Georgia. I worked for NAF Care at the Fulton County Jail, and I can say firsthand that it is as bad as everyone say it is. But that's not why I'm here today. I'm here today to speak on how bad the housing authority of Fulton County is right now.

In June 2024, the Fulton County Board of Commission executed a major leadership change at the housing authority of Fulton County, and that was because of mismanagement, unpaid vouchers, and a dysfunctional environment. I submit to you today that nothing has changed, and I'd like to know what oversight the Board of Commissioner is holding over Fulton County Housing Authority. Where is Felicia Moore? Mister Pitt, I saw you in the news saying you were appointing Felicia Moore because of her background in housing authority. She is a ghost.

No one knows where she is. They say, well, maybe she works from home. Where is miss Moore? There is no accountability. My mother is 80 years old right now and she is homeless because the housing authority dropped the ball. My mother was forced to live in a dilapidated unit that had no HUD housing quality inspection for years. The one that they have, I have documented proof that they were falsified. They have one inspector in that entire department. There is one inspector, Greg Caria. He is the only one there to inspect for that entire department through all the cities.

My mother right now has been refused her RFTA to move in a handicap accessible unit. She's 80 years old. She wasn't able to use her bathroom for six months and had to take wash up in her sink. The unit is so dilapidated I sent pictures. There's no way in the world that landlord should have been allowed to get any money for that

Fifteen seconds.

Yet and still, they continue to pay them and give them passing inspection. It's falsified information. It's a crime, and someone needs to be arrested. You guys need to do a better job. The housing authority is corrupt.

Good morning. I'd like to take a moment to thank commissioner Barrett and commissioner Arrington for extending an invitation to myself and my students to come and speak with you today. With me are members of the tenth grade class at the Howard School, an independent school here in Atlanta that serves students with language based learning differences. Our students recently visited the Equal Justice Initiatives legacy sites in Montgomery, Alabama on a school field trip. While there, they explored the National Memorial For Peace And Justice, which recognizes the victims of racial terror lynching in our country.

They learned about the pillars that are there, which I'll let them tell you more about. The empathy and compassion that they displayed while there listening to the stories that they heard was one of the most powerful experiences that I've ever had as an educator. When we returned home to daily life in English 10, they advocated for the opportunity to do something with what they learned about. This project and our time with you today is the result of their energy and their advocacy. It's with the utmost pride that I step aside now and let you hear directly from the students themselves. When I think about the future of our community and the future of our country, I'm beyond encouraged and a little overwhelmed because of the activism that these young people here engage with. These are the days that make me most proud to be an educator. Thank you for your time and your attention.

Hello, and thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Owen Burke, and I'm a student at the Howard School. I'm here today to discuss an issue that I believe is important to our community. My class recently visited the National Memorial For Peace And Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. There we there we learned that each county with documented lynchings is represented by a steel monument bearing the names of each victim. Inside the memorial, these monuments hang together. Outside, identical copies have been created and are waiting to be claimed by the counties they represent. Fulton County's monument is one of them. It's not just a symbol. It's an opportunity for our community to acknowledge its history here at home.

I'm asking that the commissioners consider claiming our monument from Alabama and placing it here in Fulton County. Specifically, I propose it goes to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. I believe that claiming our monument is vital for our county because acknowledging the past helps us create a better future. Again, I'd like to thank you for letting my class nurse share our ideas. We appreciate everything you do for Fulton County. Thank you.

Hello, and thank you for your time today. My name is Maria Spitzer. Today, I'm here to speak about an issue that I believe is important to our community and local to our county and local community. The National Memorial For Peace And Justice in Montgomery, Alabama has pillars slash monuments stating all the people named and unknown who are lynched in our county. They are there for the counties to go and collect, and faulty and Fulton County has not yet claimed our pillar.

I asked the commissioners to consider claiming the pillar from Alabama and placing it at the civil rights museum here in Atlanta. It is important for people to know that lynching happened not just in our state, but also in our county, because people believe that Atlanta did not partake in atrocities such as this. I strongly believe that if Fulton County goes and claims our pillars, it would be an appropriate step in the process of honoring the families that lost loved ones. Thank you for your time today.

Hello. First off, I wanna say thank you to everyone for taking the time to hear and listen to what I have to say. I acknowledge your busy schedules, and I truly appreciate your consideration. My name is Mackenzie Hoff. I'm 16 years old, and I'm a student at the Howard School.

I came here today with my English class to share about an experience that had a meaningful impact on me. This is an issue I believe is significant to every county. About or a couple months ago, I had the opportunity to visit the National Memorial For Peace And Justice during a school trip to Alabama. The memorial honors victims of racial terror lynching through a series of pillars representing a county where these tragic events occurred. Each pillar lists the names of the victims and the dates of their deaths, serving as powerful reminder of his of this history.

There are two pillars, one that will stay in the museum and one that could hopefully come back to Fulton County. One aspect of the memorial that stood out to me is the initiative allowing counties to claim their respective pillars and bring them home to pub publicly acknowledge and remember these individuals. After learning about this, my school and I felt compelled to reach out and see what we could do. Therefore, I'm here today to ask the commissioners to consider taking the pillar from Alabama and putting it in Fulton County. This will hopefully inspire other counties all over to stand up and take this opportunity too.

Bringing this pillar to our community would be a meaningful step toward acknowledging our history and honoring those who are unjustly lost. Thank you again for your time and consideration. My classmates and I are grateful for the work you do for Fulton County. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts you may have on this idea.

Hello and thank you for your time today. My name is Margaret Darisot and I'm in the tenth grade at the Howard School. I'm here today with my class to speak about an issue that is important to our community. Recently, our grade has been studying the civil rights movement. We took a trip to Alabama and saw Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham. We went to the Memorial Of National Peace And Justice in Montgomery. At the National Memorial Peace And Justice, there are pillars that, can be claimed. The pillars represents the names of the people who were lynched and honors them. Currently, Fulton County has not claimed our pillar. This matters because our county needs to be held accountable for the violence faced in the past.

This violence needs to be acknowledged so that the families paying can be recognized. This monument should be in Atlanta in a memorial that people could see. We could rent a U Haul to get the monument from the memorial of, National Peace and Justice and put it in a park or place that people can properly see it. I encourage the commissioners to consider claiming our pillar so that we can properly honor the people who face the violence by placing it in Fulton County. I think that understanding our history is an important part of becoming better people in the future. I thank you for the commissioners and their in that in what they do for our community, and I think thank you for letting me and my classmates share ideas.

Good morning. I am Ryan McNeely. I am a sophomore at the Howard School. And I appreciate y'all allowing us to address the commission this morning. I'm attending this meeting with my fellow peers to address a concern we have about acknowledging our past, atrocities.

We recently went to the National Monument For Peace And Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, where they have created pillars to honor lynching victims and racial terror victims. They have also created copies of each pillar so each county that has had a lynching can pick up their memorial and honor these victims. Currently, no county in Georgia has acknowledged our past by claiming their respective pillars and memorializing the Rachel Taylor victims. Me and my fellow peers are requesting that all county be the first to claim our pillar and acknowledge our past by displaying it at the National Civil Rights Museum. It is crucial that we understand and acknowledge our past so we can help protect future generations of citizens from facing racial terror.

Once again, I appreciate you allowing us to speak and address the commission. We appreciate what you do for our county.

Hello. Thank you commissioners for taking time to hear me. My name is Elaine Hernandez. I am a sophomore at the Howard School. Today I came to speak about a problem that's important to recognize.

The National Memorial For Peace And Justice is located in Montgomery, Alabama, which has pillars that recognize victims of racial terror lynching. There is a pillar that is for Fulton County that has not been claimed. I am here today to ask you to claim the pillar from Alabama and place it here at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights because of its location and significance. This is an important part of a history to make sure violence like this doesn't occur in our future. Thank you today for hearing me out.

Bishmila Rahman Ebrahim, in the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger and the honorable minister Louis Farrakhan is his divine and holy reminder in our midst. I stand before you today not asking you to do anything as a citizen of this state, let alone a member of this county. I am doing what God has instructed us to do, men of God, women of God, and that is to do his will, to take care of the poor, the needy. As Luke talks about, when I was in prison, you visit me not. That covers the full circumference of everything we've dealt with today.

We have a duty and an obligation to fulfill our oath of office, our lawyer oath of office because they are both intertwined in giving all of God's people the benefit of the doubt in due process. This is not a day for us, the citizens of United States, let alone the counties, 159 counties, 537 cities, to be asking the elected officials to do anything but to instruct them to do what the will of the people is. Proverbs twenty nine nineteen says that a servant will not do God's will alone on instructions because of the fear that exists amongst the colleagues. We must do God's will today, regardless of whether we are black, brown, red, yellow, white. We must issue freedom, justice, and equality

Fifteen seconds.

Thank you, sir. For the people of God, black, brown, red, yellow, or white, that these young people may know that they took they take up the banner for God and not servants of men. With that

Last speakers in assembly hall, come forward. Kadasia Lemons, Maria Guardio, Grace Ruth, mister Brit Brit love, Mohammed, Melody Rosser, and Keisha Dickerson.

Good afternoon. My name is Kadija Lebens, and I am speaking on behalf of my grandmother, Vanita Lee, who is 80 years old and a housing choice voucher participant with Housing of Fulton County. As my mother was up here earlier, I like to continue with for a few months for months, my grandmother has been trying to transfer from her unit and has been going through ongoing issues of failed inspections concerns, yet instead receiving yet instead of receiving support from these proceedings, she has experienced delays, inconsistent information, and a lot of missed housing opportunities. At this point, she has missed multiple choices, chances of securing chances of securing homes at one in particular, Shannon Reserves, which is a senior high rise in Union City. This situation has created emotional and financial and physical hardship for the elderly woman who simply just wants a safe and stable and appropriate housing.

No senior citizen should have to continuously fight through confusion, delays, suggest to exercise their right for to transfer to a decent living environment. I also want I also want to ask the commissioners, how is it that multiple offices including your own and departments were emailed regarding my grandmother's matter and yet no one has responded? The only office that acknowledged our matter was commissioner Marvin Arrington's office, and even still that led to an unresolution in resolution. Thank you though for your help, at least for that. So my question there is, are halving is Fulton County policy and a HAP contract required being applied consistently under the HUD regulations or are different standards Can you something apply arbitrarily?

Thank you. That's it.

Where'd where'd everybody go? Good morning. Sheriff Pat Labatt has been in trouble, ignored trouble, and facilitated trouble at the Rice Street Jail for over five years. In 2024, the DOJ found that the jail conditions are unconstitutional, inhumane, violent, hazardous, and three times overcrowded. Earlier, we heard a story about animal cruelty, and felonies were issued.

What about people? There is inmate cruelty. Pat Labatt is directly responsible. This is the trouble Fulton County can continue to expect when we do not have free, fair, transparent, and accurate elections. What we have are selections via a compromised and incompetent inept election staff and board.

Staff reported zero votes for candidate sheriff Charles Rambo two years ago. Zero votes they reported for many months till they decided to change their mind after much protest. If we had Sheriff Rambo, this would not have happened. We would have had the last two years of a clean jail. I call on governor Kemp to suspend sheriff Pat Labatt for dereliction of duty, long term malfeasance, and misconduct, as is his legal prerogative to do so per OCGA 15 dash 16 dash 26.

Sheriff Labatt's actions and inactions are far more egregious

Fifteen seconds.

Sheriffs governor Kemp removed in Towns County and Hall Counties the last two years. Governor Kemp, the citizens of Fulton County need your action now. Thank you.

Good afternoon, y'all. My name is Grace Roth, I'm the interim executive director of the Atlanta Land Trust. We're a nonprofit with a mission to deliver and steward permanently affordable housing in Atlanta to support vibrant and inclusive communities. I'm here this afternoon to encourage the board of commissioners to approve resolution twenty six zero two five eight to support our project in English Avenue that will provide 14 permanently affordable homes in English Avenue. Besides the benefit of permanent affordability to those homeowners and the generations of homeowners, I do think this is a good move for the County because our program also establishes permanent regulations on having owner occupancy, and so the folks who will live in these homes, the people who will use these homes will be there and they will not be folks who are absentee property owners who are letting property go to waste.

Additionally, this project encourages the redevelopment of these properties who are formerly vacant, a few of them owned by the Metro Atlanta Land Bank and so we're not contributing to the tax base, And so we will have 14 new homeowners who are contributing with this project. So I appreciate your support and hope that you approve the resolution. Thank you.

Next speaker.

Greetings. Greetings. I'm gonna say hallelujah. Glory to God because children is enough is enough. God is able to bring us together as a people. And we get up and we commit ourselves and we say the entrance of the flag. And we say justice for all mankind. Yet, I was young and I am old. And God said he'd never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. If we can make laws for animals, what about the human beings?

We got to stand up for human. You all are young people and you can do this. Why do we have to keep coming back here over and over and over? Commissioner Pitts, hear me. All of you all, this is enough for this. I sit with daddy King for eighteen years. I have walked the lines protesting. George Florida read a message to me years ago. I was the mother that led the march in Minnesota. I sit with many of the

older

people. It's enough. I plow the mules in the field. I pick the cotton for $6 a day. Listen, people. Wake up. Do your jobs. I am a big taxpayer. I pay your salaries and many others here. Enough is enough. We call the jobs to all of you all. If you can't do your jobs, you all can do this. You're smart. You went to school where we couldn't go, but we have the knowledge and the understanding as the elders to tell you young people

Fifteen seconds.

Is enough. Get up and do your jobs. And I'm calling the governor, and I will be to see him this week. Enough is enough. God bless you. Love and stop.

Good afternoon, commissioners. My name is Mohammad Hafiz, and I serve as the director of community engagement with Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative. I am just here briefly just to kind of share a little bit about our work because I believe it connects to the conversations that are happening today, particularly World Cup preparedness and the plan to reduce the jail population. See, every day, our community responder team is out in the community responding to people experiencing mental health distress, poverty, and substance use. When we meet people, we meet them with what they need in that moment, whether it be food, clothing, hygiene kits, connection to resources.

We meet people where they are. And we meet people with solutions to their unmet needs, not punishment for behaviors that are often rooted in people simply just trying to survive. And we work to reduce barriers that often keep people from accessing the help and support that is available to them. And we don't just stop there, our care navigators continue to walk alongside people over time, them stabilize and connecting them to housing, treatment, employment, and supporting measures. This work can be challenging at times.

There are real complexities to what people are facing, but we continue to show up because we believe people deserve to be met with care and dignity and support. And in doing this work, are helping reduce the unnecessary incarceration by connecting people to the health they need instead of them being pulled deeper into the jail system. So, as we prepare for the World Cup, we want the right response for the right situation. And as you continue the conversation about reducing the jail population, I want to share that the work is already happening every day in our communities through small and consistent interactions. Fifteen seconds.

Thank you. We are helping people move towards stability. We care deeply about this work. We are committed to it and we desire to continue to show up with our community. Thank you so much.

Good afternoon. I'm Melody Rosser, campaign and membership supervisor of Woman on the Rise. I am someone who spent twenty years in prison. I'm not speaking on theory. I'm speaking from lived experience.

I am the subject matter expert in this room today when it comes to living in jails and prisons. Fulton County does not need a new jail. They need a culture led with care. Care starts from the top with Labatt and trickles down to the food service. If staff doesn't care enough about themselves or the jail population to perform proper intake procedures, which include delicing people coming in from the streets to the jail, then we will have bedbugs in the new jail.

If staff don't make their rounds every fifteen minutes, then we will have deaths in the new jail. And I'll be back here two years later to tell you guys I told you so. We do not need a new jail in Fulton County. We're dealing with a systems failure. People are sitting in jail for being poor, not dangerous. Building more cages doesn't create safety. It expands harm. Real safety equals care, resources, and accountability. Don't fund more incarceration. Invest in people and not buildings. Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Keisha Dickerson and I'm a reentry specialist as well as a health organizer with Women on the Rise. I also come to this work with lived experience and I see every day what happens when people come home without the support they need. And from what I've seen, we do not need a new jail in Fulton County. What we need is to fix what's already broken.

I worked directly with women returning home, and too many of them were sitting in jail not because they were a threat, but because they didn't have access to resources and care and support. Building a new jail doesn't change that. It just creates more space for the same problems. It doesn't fix the delays, it doesn't fix the lack of medical and mental health care, and it doesn't make our communities safe. What actually makes a difference is investing in the people, providing health care, reentry support, housing, employment, the real opportunities to rebuild.

Public safety grows when we send help, not handcuffs. I see the impact of these systems every day, and I know that the solution is not incarceration. It's more support and accountability. We don't need a new jail. We need real solutions that take care of the people. Thank you.

Mister chairman and members of the board, we have three speakers on Zoom.

Good morning, commissioners. The first person to speak is Robbie Caban. Robbie Caban.

Hello.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Yes. Great.

I'm here again listening to all of our taxpayers, and we seem to have all something in common. You all have oversight oversight of a jail, oversight of the housing authority, oversight of a county contractor, animal services shelter. So, obviously, the issue is uniform. This impacts public safety, public health, animal welfare, housing. Now I'm going to speak directly to the animal shelter even though there were people here discussing it.

This includes shelter operations and enforcements. For ten years, Fulton County taxpayers funded the contract with Lifeline Animal Project, millions of dollars in payment to life. Despite everything that has now come to light, despite your proclamations, there still has never been a full forensic audit. This system has now been split. Enforcement responsibilities were removed from this county contractor, shifted to the police department, and Fulton County Department of Emergency Management.

That alone raises a fundamental question. What occurred under the prior structure that required this level of intervention and restructuring despite your proclamations? Four years is cut for years, this contractor handled cruelty investigations, dangerous dog enforcement, public safety responsibilities under a system tied to the sheriff's office. Now we know laws were not properly enforced. Cases were not properly handled.

Services taxpayer paid for were not fully delivered, and the system failed in core areas tied to public safety and public health. People have died. Lawsuits taxpayers will fund, and the contractor still remains in control of shelter operations at a cost of 7,000,000 taxpayer dollars a year under your supervision. Meanwhile, taxpayers do not use do not see a level of prevention, transparency, accountability oversight that should exist in public safety services. The shelter operations include rabies, disease control, sanitation, illness prevention, dangerous dog behavioral evaluations, and more.

These are public safety and public health functions. Taxpayers are being told that larger shelters and overflow are warehouses that are warehousing

The next person to speak is the honorable Valencia Stovall.

Good morning, commissioners. Good afternoon now. I'm honorable Valencia Stovall, former eight year Georgia state rep and daughter of mister Levitt Stovall, who will be 86 next month and has lived in the same Fulton residence since 1975. He has a bridge named his honor on 7585 University Avenue for years of service to his community. I'm here on his behalf and those of over a 133,000 seniors who are suffering in silence from challenges with LIHEAP energy assistance, housing repairs, and housing affordability.

Can you imagine them and their family members having to navigate navigate between paying a utility bill and finding food or just living an active life. Inflation costs are high, and they're hitting our 65 and older the most. SACA isn't working for many of them. It shouldn't be the only choice in the in the county for receiving help for utility services. Since last April, seniors, go online to get an appointment, and at eleven at 11AM and at 11:01, the system crashes.

It has happened again and again. And then this this current April and in May, it happened again. So out of the 132,000 Fulton residents 65 and older, 35% of them, which is about 46,000, have an annual income less than 2 times the poverty level. 68% of them are Fulton County homeowners. I have had email com correspondence with executive director of Falka and his staff over a year. No re no real resolution.

Fifteen seconds.

Even told district four commissioner and staff no resolution. I have emailed each one of you commissioners, and I have not not had a resolution. As you, recognize older American months, remember, seniors are suffering in South.

The next person to speak is Deandre Morgan. Deandre Morgan.

They're also capturing the conversations

in And with that said, that concludes our Zoom public comments.

Out there, but TV call.

Okay. Continue, madam clerk.

Continuing on page seven, county manager

Vice chair.

Thank thank you chairman. If you just indulge me for a moment, before we get into the regular agenda, I would like to just take a moment of personal privilege. Today, we have sat in this chamber and listened to a succession of heartbreaking and harrowing accounts from our constituents, most notably the testimony provided by mister Rashad Muhammad. These are not just complaints, they are a collective cry for help from a community that feels its safety and its tax dollars are being treated with reckless disregard. As the current sitting vice chair, I cannot and will not sit in silence while the performance of the sheriff's office continues to deteriorate to a level that can only be described as unconstitutional and dangerous.

We have authorized this board has authorized hundreds of millions of dollars for jail improvements, staffing, yet the reckless performance cited by so many today still persist. I know this is not going to be met with those who are loyalists to the sheriff. But I was not elected to look the other way because we have the same skin, and I will not do it today. The Board of Commissioners has used every legislative tool at its disposal, but the ultimate listen to me clearly. The ultimate oversight of an elected sheriff in the state of Georgia rests with the governor and the voters.

Under Georgia code section 15 dash 16 dash 26, the governor has the explicit authority to investigate and suspend a sheriff who has demonstrated incapacity to perform their duties. If you believe, as I have been vocal for over a year, I have been vocal and have come under fire, have been called republican, everything but a child of God, But I would not serve on this board and look the other way. I don't care who has a problem with me. When we know, and let me apologize for what I'm getting ready to say, chairman, If our sheriff was a different color, you would see lines down the street getting him out of office. But because he is the same color I am, I'm supposed turn the other way.

I'm not gonna do it. I didn't do it as an unelected official. I won't do it as an elected official. And as a mentee of Emma Darnell, I ain't gonna start doing it either. So I say to you today, I am publicly appealing to the voters of Fulton County to contact the office of the governor, request that he exercise his power to intervene, to investigate, and to consider the suspension of the office of the sheriff order, safety, and basic human dignity are restored in our jail system.

We serve as your pleasure, and the sheriff serves as your pleasure as well. Accountability is not a mere suggestion. It is a requirement of the law. Thank you, chairman. Commissioner Arrington, you wanna be heard?

Yes. I think we should, be very careful to jump to conclusions. We need an investigation. I have an item on the agenda regarding this, and I've spoken with the sheriff. We're asking the GBI to do an investigation.

You know, certainly what happened to mister Muhammad is unimaginable, But I don't know that I hold the sheriff responsible for medical issues at the jail. I don't I don't hold him responsible for Rashad not getting the medical treatment that he needed. But I think we should all take a step back, get the investigation results, find out exactly what happened because I've heard one story from the attorney Crump. I've heard another story from sheriff Labatt. And I think the first step in anything is an investigation.

And I don't think the sheriff's office can conduct that investigation because they're part of it. Right? And so there has to be someone on the outside. I spoke with sheriff Labonte. He has contacted and reached out to the GBI to see if this is something that they, in fact, can investigate. But I think we should all be very careful because to jump to jumping to conclusions, we need to find out the facts of what happened. And then once we find out the facts, we can reach whatever conclusions those facts lead us to. But we need to find out the facts.

Just Ma'am, excuse me. Miss, excuse me. Thank you. Mister Eric, do you have the floor?

No. That that that that's all that I wanted to say. We you know, I've I've spoken with the sheriff. He's reached out to the GBI, and asked them about doing an investigation of, this latest incident with, Rashad Muhammad, which I think we all can agree is, never should have happened. And I think we need to find out why it happened, and I think the only way to do that is through an

investigation. Commissioner Ellis?

Well, I'm trying to think exactly where I'm gonna start. I do wanna say, as respect to mister Muhammad, what happened to him is tragic. That is one example of a pattern of behavior in actions that we have seen. And commissioner Arrington, in all due respect, I think mister Crump endorsed you, maybe contributing to your campaign. That whole set of facts needs to not play out in an investigation that's led by the sheriff or encouraged to it by the sheriff and you and this attorney in communication with him.

That needs to play out in a court of law and the facts come out, and they all be determined and adjudicated in that fashion. That's what should have happened with Lashawn Thompson too. Furthermore, this is straight from, you know, legal documents. Custody of a defendant pending trial is in the sheriff of the county wherein the offense was committed, and the responsibility for safe insurer confinement is that of the sheriff. Operational responsibility for county jails is the sole responsibility of the sheriff.

I am sick and tired of sitting up here and listening to the same conversation going over and over and over. We this is not about finger pointing and blame. This is about a direct ask for accountability. I've got another discussion item coming up here that's about accountability, and we're gonna talk about that, which you didn't which you wanted to have held in executive session because you don't want the facts to come out, but yet you blatantly wanted to bring up a situation which is a legal matter and make a spectacle of it. So I don't need to hear all that.

And I will join with commissioner Abdur Rahman. I've been criticized by the sheriff for trying to foster accountability. I've been personally targeted and attacked. I'm tired of it. The citizens are tired of it, and we do need accountability. And I will join with her in calling on all citizens to reach out to the governor of Georgia and encourage this specific action investigation to take place. That's the investigation and action that needs to occur first and foremost. Thank you.

We have a long agenda, commissioners. Commissioner Arrington followed by commissioner Thorne.

Yes. So the GBI is an independent investigating entity. It is the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. And so that is who I am calling on to do the investigation. And I spoke with our sheriff and he reached out to them.

And just because he reached out to them does not mean that they will not perform an independent investigation. So, the the GBI is the entity that investigates most things that happen, particularly when it involves a different department like the sheriff or the Atlanta police. And so I believe that that is, in fact, the proper entity to conduct the investigation. The question was whether it is something that they can, in fact, investigate or not or something that falls within their purview. Certainly, the sheriff is the custodian of those people.

Right? But we have a contract with a medical provider. I don't know that our sheriff or any of our deputies have the medical skills or know how in order to know whether someone is is in fact septic or not. I certainly don't. But, there should be an investigation.

It should be conducted independently. I believe the Georgia Bureau of Investigations is the correct entity to conduct that investigation. So, I am going to withhold anything and I will remind all of you, our sheriff was just reelected without a runoff. The citizens had an opportunity to vote. They had an opportunity to vote and to choose him or any of the other five candidates that were all there.

He was elected without a runoff. That, in fact, is a mandate. Now, if he is not performing his duties, that's one thing, but I don't know that the sheriff has the know how to know whether someone is septic or not. I believe that's why we have a medical contract. And, my recollection is that the sheriff came in here after the LaShawn Thompson incident and asked for the NAF Care contract to be terminated.

And, this board is voted to renew that contract. So, the sheriff asked for that contract to be terminated. This board, against the sheriff's will, asked for that contract to be renewed. So, all I said was, hey, there needs to be an investigation. I believe the Georgia Bureau of Investigations is the proper entity to conduct that investigation. Certainly, you and Vice Chair Abdul Rahman can do whatever you wanna do. You can contact whoever you want to. Certainly, the citizens can contact whoever they want to. But, I think everyone should slow down. Let's have an investigation.

Let's see what are the results of those investigations before we start pointing fingers at people. Right? Because anytime you point a finger at someone

Just keep on waiting.

There's always a finger to point back. Right? So, that is what we should do and that's what I'm gonna be recommending and that's why I put it on the agenda.

Alright, commissioners. It's 12:49. Again, we have a long agenda. Commissioner Thorne.

I'm really tired of misinformation that's been going around. Commissioner Arrington, the sheriff endorsed you to be the next chair. He did. Right. Correct. So that's good to know. As a new commissioner, I was faced with the death of LaShawn Thompson in April 2023. It's a hard thing for me to face. Is there anything I could do? Is there anything more I could do to have prevented the loss of that death by neglect?

Like one commenter said, it doesn't matter. We could build the fanciest jail. We'd still get bedbugs. We pay for pest control. I believe it's half $1,000,000 or somewhere around there. It doesn't matter. In that meeting, before we had the announcement of Lashawn Thompson's death, we were approved contracts, emergency contracts. The sheriff said, if we just had these things, we could prevent the death. And I was signed on. I'm like, great.

This will prevent deaths. But we had to cancel those contracts because they did nothing. They did nothing. The sheriff got campaign donations from some of those companies, but it did nothing to help Lashawn Thompson or the current incarcerated people in our jails. I I wanna join my fellow commissioners. The sheriff is suing us. He says we don't have enough money. We've given him money. We can't tell him how to spend that money, how to allocate that money. It is very clear, he's a constitutional offers officer.

We can help him by hiring staffing firms to hire. They had 7,518 people apply. They vetted and sent the sheriff a 129 people to hire yet he's only hired a handful. Our jail needs more detention officers and I encourage you, the public, to get the real information out there, to talk to others. And I'm happy to do what I can as a sitting commissioner in the ideas you have.

I appreciate all of you that came down here today in a long meeting with lots of public comments. I've learned a lot and I hope you'll continue to speak up and please reach out to my office to speak up further if I can help you in any way. Thank you.

Alright. Commissioner Arrington, you want to be heard again?

Yes. I I did receive the endorsement of the sheriff. I also received the endorsement of our district attorney and former governor Roy Barnes. So, I don't know what that has to do with this. We have an issue. A man has lost his limbs which is a horrific issue. It needs to be investigated and we need to find out who and what is responsible and how we prevent this from happening again. It had a similar similar situation happened with Lashawn Thompson and we should never be back in this situation again. But, I don't think any sheriff's deputy has the medical know how to know whether someone is septic or not. That's why there's a medical contract and there are medical providers.

So, gonna withhold judgment until there is an investigation. And, if there's an investigation and that investigation reveals that the sheriff or some sheriff's deputy did something wrong, then I will happily hold him accountable. Just because he endorsed me doesn't mean I can't hold him accountable. Right? So But, rushing to judgment and pointing fingers is not the way to go.

The way to do anything is to have the investigation. Have the investigation. Use the facts from that investigation to move forward. As you stated, the sheriff is a constitutional officer. We are legislative creatures.

We are part of what We were created by laws, not by the constitution. Just like the clerk of court, probate court, tax commissioner, they are all constitutional officers. And, the jail is under the sheriff's purview, but there is a medical contract which we approved, which this board approved. And, for me, I rely on medical providers to tell me about medical conditions. And, if the young man was in that jail and the medical provider saw him and did not provide him the necessary medicine that was necessary, then that is more, in my mind, I could be wrong, in my mind, that is something more on the medical providers, not on the sheriff or the sheriff's deputy because they don't have the medical know how to know whether someone is septic or not.

So, you know, it is what it is. And, the only practicing attorney, I'm happy to have for thirty years, I'm happy to have the endorsement of the district attorney and the sheriff who are mostly responsible for what happens in our criminal justice system. Commissioner Ellis?

I'll say again, operational responsibility for county jails is the sole sole responsibility of the sheriff. Commissioner Arrington, I will say this, I will also say this. This you're trying to create a fact patent fact pattern narrative to support your friend Ben Crump's potential litigation against the county. That is irresponsible as a county commissioner. If you wanna if you wanna say let the facts come out, let the facts come out, not presuppose them and provide this little lecture here that you put forth in trying to, like, shirk the responsibility related to the sheriff or put in these little kind of anecdotes associated with it.

Let the facts come out. Let there be litigation and let the facts come out. Or let there be a GPI investigation and let the facts come out. Not try to create a narrative in a public forum that's gonna support a particular fact pattern that might be helpful to attorney who's attorney who's representing somebody who in in in this attorney endorsed you.

Alright. Commissioner

You know, no. I'm I'm gonna say this last piece. So I find that whole thing to be extremely irresponsible as accounting commissioner. The facts should come out and they they should they should be determined. You should not be up here presupposing and trying to put out a fact pattern narrative, you know, that is of your own making or, you know, kind of that suits somebody else that endorsed you.

Okay. Commissioners, can we move on from this?

Oh oh, you know you I'm in the queue and you know I'm gonna respond to that. You know I'm gonna respond to that. I'm in the queue. So when you call on me, I will go ahead.

Commissioner Arrington, you have the floor.

Okay. Thank you. So But

me hold on. Hold on.

Wait. Wait. You told me I

have the floor. You told

me I have the floor.

Madam County attorney I I have the floor. Madam Madam County attorney You told me I have the floor. Madam County attorney

Do I have the floor

or not? Madam County attorney, if you hear us going too far, something may hurt this case as was said at the last case when information came out to the attorneys that hurt our case stop us. Mister Arrington, you have the floor.

Okay. So now, I have not put forth any fact pattern. What I said was that I was contacting the GBI to conduct an investigation. I don't know what the fact patterns are. What I also said is that if the sheriff is found as part of the investigation to be responsible, then I will hold him accountable. But I don't rely on the sheriff or any sheriff's officer to conduct any medical assessments of any inmates. That's why there is a medical contract with doctors, nurses, and medical staff. Wait a minute. I'm talking to You had the floor. It's my turn. I did not interrupt you. I did not interrupt you.

Commissioner Eric. On board, mister chair.

Had directed the county attorney to ask her if you thought things were getting too far adrift with things that potentially would jeopardize the county related to any form of litigation that could come before us. And I would ask for her to speak upon that or rule upon that if we are reaching the point where that is the case.

She did not see somebody. It's my turn and you are interrupting and that

is improper. Commissioner Arrington. That you Commissioner Arrington. Yes, Commissioner Arrington.

Yes sir.

I'm accepting his point of order. Commissioner, madam county attorney, are we okay?

As the board knows, it's always my preference not to speak on any matter that is either in litigation or reasonably anticipated to be in litigation. At this point, I think it's pretty obvious that this matter is headed towards litigation. So to the extent possible, I would certainly feel better if we limited any speculation as to who contributed to the outcome that's being described by Mr. Crump and his team today.

Yeah. The only point that I'm making is that I'm asking for an investigation Mhmm. By the GBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, an independent entity because I don't believe that the sheriff or anyone in the sheriff's office can investigate this matter. And so that's why I'm asking for an investigation by the GBI. And so there is nothing wrong with that, and that is not me pushing a narrative. Is not me doing anything of the sort. That is me calling for an investigation so we can find out why this happened, and we can try to prevent it from happening again. That is not doing anything to help anyone. The man already lost his limbs.

Alright. We'll take that.

He already lost his limbs.

The issue of

the There's nothing

I can do about that.

I can't return that man's limbs. The issue And neither can you.

The issue of an investigation, we'll take a we'll take a vote on that at some point. Next item.

Continuing on page seven, county manager's item.

It's 01:00. What do you want to continue now or what's your pleasure?

Mister chairman

Just a minute.

We do need to take care of the tan bed if we could please.

Alright, let's do that and then we'll take a they will recess for lunch and executive session. Is that alright. You're always okay. Okay. That's fine. That's fine. We continue.

260245 finance request approved to accept the lowest acceptable bid from the county's 2026 tax anticipation notes in the aggregate principal amount of $325,000,000 and approval of a mandatory and supplemental pricing resolution.

Alright. Madam CFO.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We did receive bids this morning. We received five bids. The bids came in from JPMorgan Securities, Bank of America Securities, Wells Fargo Bank National Association, Barclays Capital and TD Financial Products LLC. Lowest bid was received from JPMorgan Securities. It was a true interest cost of 2.505439 and a net interest cost of 5,081,194 and 44¢.

Alright, any questions? I'd entertain a motion. Motion to approve by commissioner Barrett, seconded by commissioner Arrington. Let's vote.

And the vote is open. And motion passes, six yeas, zero nays.

Alright, let's continue. Next item.

Okay, item that was moved up on today's agenda on page 11. Two six zero two six five, discussion World Cup preparedness sponsored by Chairman Pitts.

Alright. Mr. Mann, do you want to start us off on this?

Let's see if we've got Go ahead and come up, Alex. Yes, sir. So we have been in consistent communications with the host committee. Personally, I have met with, Dan Corso and William Pate several times. I think the summary is, of course, there are, a number of games, only a subset of them are on workdays.

That's what we should be focused on, I believe. The projections are not, I won't say not meeting necessarily what they anticipated, but I would say that the hotel rooms and like early indicators are that perhaps the crowds will not be what we thought. However, treating this as a weather event, Alex is here to talk through exactly what we've been discussing. We have teed up for all the departments that we would, about thirty days out, which would be within the next week or so, huddle back together and take everyone's best input in terms of either individual remote work locations or if there were whole functions that needed to be relocated. Of course, the biggest single one would be with our courts.

I've not been informed by them at this stage that they have decided to relocate, but that of course would be a significant under So, Alex, if you'll just detail for the board, I think we have one chart or so to, share with you where you'll have the dates and the the ones that may be most impactful for you as a group, the one that he'll show you is July 15, which is the final game here in Atlanta and it is one that could have, you know, high traffic congestion. The good news is that it's a 3PM game. The thing to consider is, as he discusses this, is that's also the date that we anticipate right now, the millage rate being set. So I don't think there's the ability to cancel or move that date because of and Sharon can miss Whitmore can help with the of that, but to get bills out and set that military is critical and July 15 right now is the date that we have pegged for that. So Alex, let me turn it over to you.

Operational period for us

is going starting

June 11. That's going to be the first Fan Fest day. Fan Fest, the celebration is going to be primarily around the Centennial Olympic Park. In addition, we're going to have eight games that are being hosted at Mercedes Benz. Six of those are going to happen during the week. As Chairman or as County Manager mentioned, the one that probably is going to have the biggest impact for us is going to be the one for July 15. That is a semi final game. So lots of spectators and obviously street closures and a lot of traffic disruption around the area.

Let me ask the clerk if you have the do you have those two slides for FIFA? Okay. If we could bring those up, we would appreciate that. Sorry, Alex.

No worries. So the operational period starting June 11 going through July 15, and that's for all the games in here in Atlanta. July 19 is actually the final game which will be in New Jersey. Twenty one operational days of those fifteen fall on work days, so that's a combination of fan fest days as well as game days. Again, like I mentioned, July 15 is the one that will potentially cause the biggest disruption for operations in the county.

If you can switch to the next slide. So here's a list of all the games and Fan Fest days that are on workdays. We kind of gave it a rating of potential impact to the County operations. Fan Fest days, again, like I mentioned, primarily centered around Centennial Olympic Park. But obviously, they'll be traveling public going to these festivities, so they'll they'll cause some moderate impact. High for all of the games and the maximum level of impact would be for that semi final game.

That's it? That's it. So, I guess I have a couple of questions. The services that Fulton County government is responsible for and will continue to be responsible for during this period of time. Have we been involved, mister Manager, to a meaningful degree?

You mentioned the court in your opening remarks. Relocating because there was some talk at some point about, I guess, there's going to be an alcohol free area. And when you're in large crowds like that, there's going be a number of arrests. Or have there been discussions about jail capacity or diversion center, things of that nature that you're aware of?

Yes, sir. Now, you may want to comment if you know from Joe Barriswain, but we're a part of the overall operational planning group and everything from mass casualty implications on the medical examiner's office to the diversion center are being discussed.

And really we're kind of the conduit to get everybody together be part of the preparations. So we're there to support and coordinate.

Well that's what I'm not clear on. You're saying we're there to support. What does that mean?

So we are having meetings with internal departments. We're also offered some recommendations for each department to provide with their employees and make decisions whether they want to for commuting into the city during the game days for the potential to do telework during some of these days, especially on that last day of July 15 to minimize the impact that it may have on operations.

I think that sounds like from a mass casualty point of view, and I'll put on my ARC hat now, that we're pretty well prepared. But what I'm concerned about is on bringing it down to a micro level, the things that we're responsible for. That's what I like to hear about it. I've had some comments. Said, mister Collins, where are you? Is he still here? Come on down here for a minute, if you don't mind. I want to hear what we are because this these games are right around the corner. And I've been involved in a lot of major events like this from Ted Turner's goodwill games, what they weren't here, but the Olympics. And I'm just concerned that we don't get a black eye.

I want to make sure that we're doing and are prepared for everything that we as a county government responsible for.

Yeah, I put together a presentation. I don't know if it's we're able to see it. I'll mean,

people are going to get drunk. People are going to fight. And so do we take them to jail? Do we use our diversion center? Are those discussions taking place? That's what I'd like to hear. And if they are not, it's my position that they should be taking place.

Yeah. No, we agree. So I'm here on behalf of Playfair ATL. We are a coalition of 30 plus organizations that work across housing, immigration, labor and justice. We do a lot of policy work. We do a lot of education work. What was this me coming up? No. You recognize a lot of the groups that are in our coalition, Southern Center for Human Rights, Women on the Rise, Working Families Part A, GLAR. And that's no coincidence that it's a lot of the same groups that are focused on the jail population and Fulton County because we've been worried from the start for at least a year now about the impact of the World Cup on the jail population.

It's why I got involved in the work earlier last year when I was at Color of Change and eventually became the Director of the Coalition. Bear that in mind today as we move forward with this presentation. We can go forward with the slides. We can click forward. I'll just say next slide, okay. I wasn't sure of the parlance. So yes, we've got a lot of groups. Next slide. At the table that you will recognize, we have two lanes where we operate. Policy and we do work on organizing.

We've mostly focused thus far on the City Council because the city is a member of the host committee. Fulton County is not on the host committee. We've managed to pass legislation in the city that would increase the use of diversion. I don't know why this doesn't seem to come up as the right format, but I will persevere. We had a press conference last week with PAD firefighters, community violence interrupters, sorry, two weeks ago.

And there's really a lot of organizations that are concerned about the impact of the World Cup. So I've tried to focus my presentation today on the issues that implicate the commission directly, which is why I'll talk a little bit about the deal. But there's obviously a lot of overlap between city and county and we want to make sure you guys are aware of everything that we're seeing in community. Next slide. So here's one of the community events that we did recently.

Commissioner Arrington attended one of these events focusing on like learning the lessons from the nineteen ninety six Olympics. We had council members there. Next slide. So the big question that Atlanta faces is, are we ready for the World Cup? And the answer really depends on who you are.

If you are a major corporation or contracting with the host committee, then you're ready. If you are a low income, a person of color, justice impacted, we have that discussion earlier on about justice impacted people, Immigrants then maybe you're not ready, you're feeling a bit worried, maybe you're feeling you're at risk because this is not a neutral event and benefits and risks are distributed unevenly. Next slide. Atlanta's last major event, as everybody knows, was the nineteen ninety six Olympics. And it really was a mixed bag in terms of impact.

There was a lot of displacement, arrests of unhoused residents, people being bust out of town, some long term gentrification. We had ACDC was built for the Olympics specifically to house people who were arrested because they were homeless, a lot of big promises about economic growth and global prestige. But again, the events did not always benefit everyone. So next slide. That's why Playfair ATL, we put forward a policy platform and we released it in December 2025.

Atlanta City Council unanimously passed this resolution endorsing the policy platform. It covers some of the issues that I talked about housing, immigration, public safety, diversion, labor and human rights. Next slide. So we want people to know that we are not just critiquing, we put forward a plan and we think about how do we evaluate readiness, right? And as a coalition, what we think about our residents protected, our decisions transparent, our benefits shared, our harms prevented because the bottom line is the eyes of the world are on us.

So if we get this wrong, there's a lot of damage that can be done to the reputation of the city and the county. Next slide. The major challenge with this World Cup, as you can see is that the management of the World Cup has been outsourced to a host committee that is not accountable to residents, right? So you recognize some of the logos there, the city of Atlanta is there, Fulton County is not there. They're not a member of the host committee and that is a major problem in terms of having a voice in our opinion.

What we found in talking to council members and what appears in conversations with members of the commission is that the county is often in the dark when it comes the county and the city council members are often in the dark. And that's because our elected representatives don't oversee the World Cup, the Metro Atlanta chamber does and they don't answer emails, they don't take meeting requests, they hold press conferences where they don't take questions. We've spoken to a number of neighborhood leaders, indirectly affected neighborhoods and community associations and to our knowledge, they have not done a single community meeting. My sole interaction with the Metro Atlanta Chamber and therefore the host committee was because I paid $150 to attend a breakfast event on unlocking economic opportunity during the World Cup. And I raised some questions there.

So there's just a lack of access and the bottom line is Atlanta is not World Cup ready if the public is shut out of decision making. Next slide. So on the budget piece, think a big selling point of having the World Cup in Atlanta is this idea that it's going to generate a lot of revenue and opportunities. And that's certainly true for some people. The Chamber of Commerce has estimated that $1,000,000,000 in revenue will flow to the City Of Atlanta.

But in actual terms of tax revenue, the City of Atlanta will make $6,500,000 over two years. So the city itself is not making a lot of money out of this. I'm not sure what the Fulton County is making out of this. We also just don't really have transparency about what the World Cup is costing taxpayers, how much money has been spent. We know that there are big budget fights in other cities like New York and Massachusetts where cities are now charging fans a fortune to travel to the World Cup and use public transport because they're trying to recoup some of the funding shortfall because the World Cup is just not the kind of money spending opportunity that they thought it would be.

Atlanta is also in the same situation where we have been involved in bidding for the Women's World Cup, but there's now a push on behalf of Atlanta and other cities to negotiate a better deal with FIFA because of how bad a deal we've got during this World Cup. And I'll say that FIFA is a notoriously corrupt agency. Everybody knows that. There was a big DOJ investigation a couple of years ago. But I encourage people to be aware that the rot in FIFA goes up and down the chain and that goes all the way down to cities that are involved in planning the World Cup.

Next slide. On labor, I wanted to mention this because this is a big part of our coalition. Major concerns that labor and worker rights have not been implemented. There are not enforceable protections. The host committee, as I say, is an unelected body and therefore not necessarily concerned with labor issues.

And in fact, often the opposite. The contracting process, which is run through Georgia World Congress, which is quasi public private entity is very opaque. It doesn't it's not clear whether Fanfest or some of the other World Cup related contracts will require things like living wages, worker protections, responsible subcontracting. We've encouraged stronger standards such as a responsible contractor policy that would ensure the public dollars spent on these events present create the most public good. But we are in a situation where there is public risk and private gain.

Next slide. On housing, which is our major part of our coalition and I think has implications for Fulton County with respect to the jail. One side is Airbnb is offering people huge amounts of money, $7.50 if you just post your house, that's causing a lot of pressure on the rental market, which is already a challenge here in Atlanta and is creating risk of displacement. We already know of people, for example, in our coalition who have been told that they're not getting the lease renewed because the landlord is planning to reap the benefits of Airbnb. We raised the concern last year and this specifically implicates Fulton County Jail.

The city has had a plan for over a year now called Downtown Rising. That plan is in the words of the Mayor's Office to eliminate homelessness in advance of the World Cup. That's not going to happen. Anybody who walks around the downtown can see that there are unhoused people. The bottom line is they have ran out of housing units.

They don't have enough houses for the unhoused population in Atlanta. So now the city is left with a choice. They can either stop the encampment clearances or they can start making arrests. And that is a major problem for Fulton County Jail. If you go down to the downtown area parallel with Wheat Street near Ebenezer Baptist Church, you will see quite a large unhoused population.

I was there a couple of weeks ago. As soon as you mentioned to people the World Cup, they will say that we are being threatened with arrest because of the World Cup. It's not just APD, you have the university law enforcement authorities, but on house people in that area are being told that they have to clear out in advance of the World Cup or they are going to be arrested. If they are arrested, they're going to end up in Fulton County Jail, right? And we know that as has been discussed ad nauseam that there are unconstitutional conditions.

And I want people to think about the global reputational damage. If for example, someone from Spain, a fan comes, gets in a fight, ends up in Fulton County Jail, dies, that's a major diplomatic incident. Those are global headlines that would be very negative for Atlanta. It's concerning because at the February Board of Commissioners meeting, the sheriff noted that in the first two months of the year, he had accepted six zero four criminal trespass bookings from APD. That's the typically the charges you get for unhoused people.

So if we see more of that charge, essentially means that Fulton County is going to allow the city to hide unhoused people in Fulton County Jail. Next slide. On immigration, we've been majorly concerned, massively concerned about the impact of ICE in the city and we haven't had any clear protections or protocols. We've worked with the City Council to pass some legislation that we've put in place protections. But again, this has implications for Fulton County Jail because you could see people getting arrested, detained there and the share of while he can comply with ICE detainers, we have to make sure that he's not overstepping legal boundaries.

And this is why it's important to have diversion and officer discretion when it comes to these low level offenses. Next slide. In terms of public safety, we know that the plan that Chairman Pitts put forward a couple of weeks ago is positive. As I mentioned, we worked with the City Council in terms of a diversion resolution. But we can do a lot more.

The sheriff has the constitutional authority to decline certain charges that are brought. Those charges are things like criminal trespass, possession of marijuana, public drunkenness, urban camping and pedestrian roadway. Those kind of low level offenses are things that we should not be locking people up for. And especially as we have this approach to homelessness that we are concerned about, it's worth Fulton County Commission exploring how you push the sheriff to use his constitutional authority to decline certain charges. We also know that there are lots of 911 calls that are being sent to police instead of PADD community response.

PADD itself, the major diversion agency that does so much good work that was talked about this morning. They are in limbo because of contract disputes with the diversion center. That is a disaster leading up to the World Cup. They can't take referrals from the diversion center. We already know that this commission is pushed for increased use of the diversion center.

As a gentleman said, we have 300,000 visitors coming. We need to make sure we are diverting people from jail to services. Other people mentioned this morning, there hasn't been a coordinated effort with community violence interrupters. We saw the tragedy a couple of weeks ago at the four zero four event. It's essential that we engage community violence interrupters and fund them properly.

To my knowledge, there hasn't been approved or published a plan between the city and the county for court services over things like diversion, over things like jail. We have been involved with the Justice Policy Board in drafting a plan that does emphasize diverting people from geo, reducing the geo population, treating public safety as a public health issue, funding community violence interrupters. Yep, I'm going wrap up. Okay, next slide. So again, are we ready?

That really depends on who you are, but feels like from our side, we're feeling on some of the fundamentals, especially like we haven't done enough planning for Fulton County Jail. Next slide. We're not quite at the final whistle, although I am. Fulton County can, as I mentioned, not allow the sheriff to or encourage the sheriff to decline misdemeanors, ensure and encourage the full utilization of the diversion center so that people are not cycling back into jail, ensure that there is the passage of a court and system and justice system plan for 300,000 visitors. So they don't end up in Fulton County Jail.

I mentioned this care first plan that we've worked on with the county officials. There should be live tracking and reporting of the impact on the jail population of World Cup and World Cup arrests need to support community organizations like Community Violence Intervention Organizations and PAD. And again, I would say like a big part of the problem is the county hasn't been represented in the host committee. So that is something that you should push for because and next slide and final slide, you'll be pleased to know. Atlanta has entered a cycle of mega events.

We have the Super Bowl coming up, right, we're just going to do the World Cup. Let's talk about Final Four. Let's talk about all these other events. It's very important for Fulton County to have a seat at the table. It's very important for community to have a seat at the table. We should be discussing what are the implications of these big events when it comes to things like the jail population, things like the unhoused community. But that's not happening just now and that's why we need Fulton County on the planning committee, we need community in the planning committee and we need the commission to work on these issues. And my organization, Playfair ETL, is ready and willing to partner with you on that. And thank you. Thank

you. You've said a lot. And one thing I wanna get back to in a moment after you hear from vice chair. But you're saying that the I think I have this correctly. That the as a constitutional officer, the sheriff has the authority to decline certain charges, certain offenses?

Yes. Yeah. I mean, we have folks from the southern center.

You know, mean, I'll ask him about it because if he does, that may solve a lot of the problems. I mean, if you're talking about urination, public drunkenness, things like that during this period of time Yeah. That would certainly have a, I think, a positive impact on the jail population.

No, we agree. We And

that coupled with utilizing the diversion center. Yes. Because it's not realistic to think that some guy in Spain keeps coming up who gets drunk in a fight, gets charged. He's going to go back to Madrid and come back for a court date.

No, that's exactly going happen.

Let's be realistic about that.

Yes. And again, like I think that with the jail population, what we don't want to see is 300,000 people come and then we see the jail population tick up and we see all the issues that have been raised today. So yes, something like the share of utilizing his constitutional authority to decline certain misdemeanors.

We can talk to

him about that. Sure.

Alright, Vice Chair Abdul Rahman followed by Commissioner Arrington.

Thank you, Chairman. Thank you for that and it's one thing that you keep saying, are we ready? And, I'm a person that I see what people do, not what they say, but what they do. I don't think we're ready. Hear me out, Chairman.

I want to bring this out forward and thank you for this discussion. In our recent meeting, CEO, Jonathan Hunt of MATA, he came down here and he said the new system that they're putting in place, and we know the reason for that new system being put in place is to accommodate all those people that are coming to town. We know that is a fact. I asked the current interim general manager, CEO, Jonathan Hunt, were they prepared for the changeover? Did he have a game plan?

Did he have a group, a hotline, a way that he was going to deal with people that had cards, did not get the new cards, any problem that you could possibly have that could possibly happen, did he have a game plan? He said, Yes, we've got that all in place. Chairman, you heard him. Well, guess what? We had seniors and handicapped people standing around the modded building waiting on cards that were supposed to be mailed to them.

At my senior summit, I had over 250 seniors tell me that they were told that their card was going to be mailed to them, they don't have the card, when they called Marta and asked Marta, they said, oh, you're going to have to just come to the building. So, you came down here and told this body or sold us a bill of goods, because I'm going to call it out, that you were ready. And now, we look at something as simple in their minds, not mine, because to me it's one of our most vulnerable populations. You're talking about seniors at handicapped that was waiting chairman on something as little as a card to come in the mail. So you mean to tell me, CEO Hunt, that something as simple as sending a card in the mail, Martyr couldn't get right?

What in the world make me think they're gonna get this right?

Yeah. No, I think it's a good point and I mean I saw the horrifying images of like elderly people queued around the block for the Martha updates. And I think like on Martha specifically, there was a board meeting about a month ago and one of the people in the board asked, is the World Cup is this like on level with a Taylor Swift concert or a Beyonce concert? And so like someone had to explain to me like, no, this is a major global event. It's beyond that.

It's taking place over like a month. So I think one of the disconnects with the preparedness aspect is the preparedness has gone into the business side of it, right? There are, as I mentioned, the host committee has been leading the planning and the focus from what we see is almost exclusively being how can we make money out of the World Cup. And people are going to make a lot of money, but that money is not going to flow back to the residents of Fulton County or Atlanta. And in fact, these issues that are popping up whether it is what's the impact on the geo, what's the impact on the unhoused, the Martha changes.

That's not on their radar because that's not how they think, that's not how they operate. That's how our coalition has had to like step in and say, hey, City Council, you have to be thinking about increasing diversion during the World Cup. You have to be thinking about the consequences for the unhoused immigration. But in reality, it shouldn't be us that say that, this should be already part of the planning process, but it's not.

I think it's a great, not only is a disconnect chairman, but somebody has to advocate for the people here in Fulton County. Because once that World Cup leave, the people still got to live here. And so, we are not going to be the tax paying citizens that's going to be stuck with a bill, Chairman. I think it's very unfair that the tax paying citizens will be stuck with a bill because some people wanted to get rich behind the World Cup. I am all for Atlanta being on the map, I am all for us doing what we need to do to internationally host, but if we are going to leave our most vulnerable population behind, if we're going to over bulge the jail because we don't have a game plan in place like you said, Jeremy, what about that person that may get into a fight?

What about that person that may jaywalk? What about that homeless person that has nowhere to go and is going to be locked up? Until we as elected officials, chairman, take this seriously, and I would be remiss if I didn't tell you, county manager and chairman, I'm feeling some kind of way about Fulton County being at the table fully invested in this. I don't believe our voice is being respected as it should be, chairman. And I'm gonna put that out there.

And so what I'm saying today, since we're having the discussion, let's not sugarcoat what's happening right now, and please, let's do not leave the tax paying citizens of Fulton County to foot the bill because somebody's inability to prepare for this correctly. Thank you.

Yeah, I think we still have time to to take care of the things and that we're responsible for and we need to do that. Commissioner Arrington.

Thank you, mister Collins. It was great to attend the fair play ATL event and hear discussions from the residents in regards to Fair Play and making sure that small businesses and others are not left out of World Cup preparations. You know, one of the biggest problems is that the first line of defense is not the sheriff refusing people. The first line of defense is the arresting officers. Right?

The whole pre arrest diversion revolves around someone being diverted before being arrested, right? And so, in 2016 when I brought that to Atlanta and Fulton County with Kwanzaa Hall, it was around we went to Seattle. There was a homeless man that had been arrested 87 times for trespassing. Right? Just like your example.

And so someone finally said, hey, what does it cost to arrest him 87 times, house him 87 times, feed him 87 times. Right? But the first line of defense is with the police officers. Right? The the Fulton County Jail is really a holding facility for those that have been arrested by the police officers from the 15 cities.

Right? And so the first line of defense is those police officers more more than 50% of the people in the jail are arrested in Atlanta by Atlanta Police Department. And so the first line of defense, I think, is city of Atlanta and their police. And they are partners with us not only in pre arrest diversion but also in the diversion center, right, at ACDC. And so, we need to also be thinking about the other cities because with 300,000 people, they're not just coming to Atlanta.

They're gonna be in East Point. They're gonna be in College Park. They're gonna be in Roswell. They're gonna be all around Fulton County. And so, would suggest that we also speak to those arresting agencies because those are the ones that are really on the front lines that would be transporting the people to the Fulton County Jail to be checked in.

Right? And so, that is what I would say where we need to start. And then, as it relates to housing, you know, I don't know what all we can do as it relates to to to housing or what ability we have at at this late stage to talk about plans for housing. Certainly, with immigration, I have put forth a resolution asking to make sure that all Fulton County employees make sure that everyone's constitutional rights are protected. Right?

Because we have no idea what ICE is gonna do. Hopefully, they will not be here because I think that number one, I think they've already discouraged people from even traveling to The United States for these games based on their behavior and the depth of the people in Minnesota. And so, any further presence by ICE is only gonna bring more harm and and less people. Right? And, you know, I had discussions with mayor Dickens about the county being involved and being on the host committee.

I think our county manager had indicated that we had a million dollars, but for whatever reason, we were never able to be fully vested in that host committee. Right? Similar to the rapid housing project that we just did, we contributed $2,000,000. They have a big press conference and it's got city of Atlanta and its partners and there's no Fulton County there. And that's because we don't have leadership at the top that has a relationship with the people there in order to get that done. But, we're working on that. Thank you.

Yes. And on the share of piece with the light of defense, I think you're right. I think there's a lot around what APD should be doing to utilize the diversion center and other agencies as well, right. And it has we have to get to a situation where diversion center and diversion in general is similar to body worn cameras, right. Body worn cameras are not a choice for law enforcement. You must wear them. It's mandatory. If you don't wear them, you'll get sanctioned. We're in a situation where diversion is a choice. It's up to the officer and there's no accountability within the police department.

I will say like, there are many people who blame for the jail crisis. I think people need to step up and the share of utilizing his constitutional power around declining charges certainly would be helpful. If the charges arrive there, then I think that's something that he should do. I also think like there has been a loss of confidence certainly on the part of our coalition members around the share for a number of years now. This is someone who is being subject to consent decree and the consent decree report from DOJ, it goes into some of the sheriff's staffing issues, some things that are in his control, some things that are not in control, particularly conduct and lack of training, abusive inmates.

It does also touch on his responsibility around some of the health issues. I know that he's also been held in contempt over a lawsuit that's currently with Southern Center over health issues. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that like there is a major concern for us around the geo generally, but particularly with Sheriff Patrick Labatt at the helm and his incompetence that like we are really concerned as we go into the World Cup that people are going to arrive at a facility that is run by him and there are going to be hugely negative consequences?

Yeah, well, as I stated earlier, he was reelected. He's going to be the sheriff for another two years. So we've got to work with him and I'm happy to work with you and have those conversations. It it I would encourage you that part of having those conversations, it makes it more difficult to have those conversations when you label someone as incompetent. Right?

It makes it a lot harder for that person to sit down and have a conversation with you. So, would encourage you that as we talk about having those conversations, you think about reframing how you label someone because that probably makes them more resistant to work with.

I I I've been doing this work for like four or five years. I'm not interested in a conversation with Sheriff Labatt. I don't really

Alright guys. We got

That doesn't concern me at

Gentlemen, it's 141. Alright. Commissioner Thorne.

Yes. Thank you for coming down here, Mr. Collins. I didn't know you had a new role, but I'm

glad you're

here New role, old. New

role, I think you have a little bit broader reach now.

Yeah.