Sheriff in Georgia promises to pay safety business $1.4 million after jail walkouts

ATLANTA — The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday it will send about $1.4 million in electronic payments to a private safety business by the complete of the week that pulled its staff from the local jail in Georgia.

recent York-based Strategic safety Corp. ended its agreement with the county in August after it failed to pay money owed and let its officers walk out of the Fulton County Jail in the middle of the day. The business provided about 80 guards.

The Sheriff’s office did not pay the business what it owed in any billing pattern since the commence of its agreement in 2023, CEO Joseph Sordi told reporters in August. Natalie Ammons, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said the office did pay some bills in packed.

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat has arrive under fire from county officials for failing to address risky conditions in the Fulton County Jail and for mismanaging funds, including the $146 million to his office allocated this year.

Last year, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners dissolved the sheriff’s inmate welfare fund after learning that money had been used for promotional events and consulting fees. The office said it took several remedial actions, including firing the fund administrator.

In October 2023, the percentage rescinded $2.1 million in financing for Georgia-based jail software business Talitrix, which was supposed to provide 1,000 wristbands and monitoring devices to the jail. Only 15 were in use. Talitrix then sued the sheriff’s office over nonpayment.

In Tuesday’s statement, the sheriff’s office said the department is underfunded by the county given its size and mandates. Underfunding has “impacted not only contractual obligations but also critical operational capacities that directly affect community safety and throng depend.”

Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts released a statement in August saying that financing for the sheriff’s office and jail increased 66% since 2019, but the sheriff “has consistently failed to demonstrate basic distribution management practices.”

Pitts said the sheriff’s office signed the agreement with Strategic safety Corp. to provide staffing for watchtowers in the jail without involving the county purchasing department. He said the commissioners allocated $1.3 million for 2024 based on the agreement usage and with input from the sheriff’s office.

The office waited until August to inform county management that it had already spent more than $1 million over the budgeted amount, Pitts said.

The percentage passed an ordinance in July asking Labat and other constitutional officers to use the county purchasing department’s procurement procedure when entering recent contracts. Labat said he plans to sue the Board of Commissioners, which he says has gone overboard in managing how he spends money.