The Fulton County Board of Commissioners appears poised to approve a major budget boost to help address horrific conditions at the county’s Rice Street jail and an ongoing backlog of criminal court cases that has frustrated judicial system staffers for years.
The seven-member board on Wednesday delayed its vote on the latest fiscal year budget until its Jan. 21 meeting to give its finance team more time to review budget requests submitted by department leaders late Tuesday night.
The county’s proposed appropriated budget in November was $1.42 billion, which included a $1.053 billion for the general fund.
The commissioners are considering whether to raise property taxes by more than 4% and how to allocate an end-of-year surplus to comply with a federal consent decree to improve conditions at the Fulton County jail. They’re also deciding how much to spend to provide additional staff to two new state court judges.
Public outcry over cost of living increases dissuaded commissioners in August from approving a previously proposed property tax hike after a midyear financial report revealed the county generated a $69 million surplus.
During Wednesday’s meeting, county finance managers told commissioners they ended the year with $20 million more than officials projected during the summer. The total estimated amount the county needs to spend to comply with the federal government’s consent decree is $53 million, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. signaled support for additional funding during conversations with Capital B Atlanta.
“We will have a balanced budget, and the two new judges should have all of the resources they need in order to run those two new courtrooms properly,” Arrington said Thursday.
Commissioner Mo Ivory said she’s open to additional funding, but it has to be paired with “clear goals, accountability, and a long-term strategy.”
“Without that, increased spending alone won’t fix the underlying problems or meet the needs of staff and residents,” she told Capital B Atlanta via text message late Wednesday night.
During Wednesday’s budget hearings, county officials from the solicitor general’s office and the office of the public defender told commissioners they’re still struggling to deal with an accumulation of cases that began five years ago when the courts temporarily shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That backlog has resulted in defendants, many of whom are Black and legally presumed innocent, sitting in jail for more than a year while awaiting trial. Shon Disola and Benjamin Pike were the third and fourth people to die in county custody last year, which saw five inmate deaths total. Those deaths came roughly two years after Lashawn Thompson was found dead after being consumed by bed bugs.
Thompson’s death was later ruled a homicide caused by “severe neglect.”
Solicitor General Keith Gammage leads the Fulton County office that investigates, charges, and prosecutes misdemeanor crimes and traffic violations. He was one of several judicial officials pleading on Wednesday for more funding for additional staff that they say is absolutely needed to ensure people’s due process rights aren’t violated.
He argued failure to do so could mean “justice is denied” for folks who end up in Fulton County courts.
“It means defendants who might be innocent might miss their due process rights,” Gammage said Wednesday. “It means that [county staffers] might spend two minutes with the case. Somebody might get convicted because we didn’t have the resources to go and uncover the truth about it.”
Court Administrator Donald Talley leads the department that manages administrative, business, and operational functions for the Superior Court and its judges. He was “begging” commissioners for more funding and support staff on Wednesday.
“This is not an exorbitant request,” Talley said. “This is something that we absolutely have to have in order to survive.”
Commissioner Dana Barrett said all the information presented Wednesday is relevant to improving conditions at the Rice Street jail, as well as with the backlogged court system.
“We have to invest not just in fixing plumbing at the jail and helping the sheriff get staffed all of the things we need to do, but also to funding the entire justice ecosystem,” she said.
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