The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted on Wednesday to pay an overdue $643,275 invoice for the Sheriff’s Office but deferred on another as it waits for Sheriff Pat Labat to explain how he will balance his budget.
Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. renewed a motion made during the commission’s Oct. 2 meeting to spend $2.2 million to pay two outstanding invoices from the Sheriff’s Office.
Labat signed contracts with companies including LeoTech for automated inmate call screening and Strategic Security Corp. for additional security staff at the jail. Commissioners approved paying the $643,275 invoice for LeoTech but did not pay the $1.75 million invoice from Strategic Security.
Arrington said since the commission implemented a rule requiring the sheriff and other constitutional officers to follow the county procurement process, it would make sense to approve paying both invoices. He reminded his fellow commissioners that a state Senate subcommittee looked into this issue and is watching the county.
“We can either approve the money today, or we can pay more later, plus attorney’s fees, I move that we approve it today,” Arrington said.
Commissioner Bob Ellis made a substitute motion to pay only the $643,2725 invoice for LEO Tech. The sheriff failed to operate within his budget, Ellis said. His motion also would direct a letter to be sent from the omission asking the sheriff what he can do to reprioritize spending to stay within the budget allocated for his office.
Commissioner Dana Barrett said the commissioners can drag it out and wait until the county is sued for payment, showing they don’t’ care about paying bills in a timely manner. Or they can just pay the bill.
Commission Vice Chair Khadijah Abdur-Rahman said she appreciated the sheriff coming to the commission’s last meeting and seeming to want to change the tone of the relationship with commissioners. Abdur-Rahman said she has asked for a reprioritization by the sheriff of his budget because if you don’t have the money and you created the bill, you have to do the same as anyone else and spend less money on other things so you can pay the bill.
Abdur-Rahman said she was trying to meet the sheriff halfway by seconding the motion by Ellis to pay one of the two invoices.
Barrett said they were advised by the county attorney and county manager to pay both bills. The county manager’s office said what part of the county budget would provide the funding, she said.
“So forcing this to go into a legislative process and cost the taxpayer taxpayers more money to prove a point to the sheriff’s department that he should operate a particular way does not benefit the taxpayers,” Barrett said.
Commissioner Natalie Hall cited the Senate Public Safety Committee on the Fulton County Jail’s recommendations that said the commission’s relationship with the sheriff has been tenuous, unprofessional and not the conduct the citizens should expect. She said the sheriff has attempted to work with the commission.
The substitute motion made by Ellis to pay the single invoice was approved.
On Sept. 4 the commission rejected a request from the Sheriff’s Office to add $5.9 million to its budget to pay all its vendors through the end of the year.
