Speakers press commission to fund Addressing Racial Inequities Resolution priorities in FY26

Public commenters at the May 20 hearing urged the Mayor and Commission to translate the April Addressing Racial Inequities Resolution into funded programs in the FY26 budget, identifying housing, economic development and youth safety as urgent priorities.

Nut graf: Speakers representing grassroots and advocacy organizations asked commissioners to allocate recurring funds for housing security, economic inclusion, youth programming and oversight entities named in the resolution to make the policy actionable beyond symbolic adoption.

Daria Kalantari urged the commission to reflect racial-equity priorities in the budget and called for “sustained commitment and systematic change” in housing, workforce development and youth safety.

Moca Jasmine Johnson (MOCA) and Reverend Dr. Pippen Whittaker both asked the commission to sustain commitments in the resolution, including funding for youth and community enrichment facilities and increased investment in community-based mental-health and social services rather than surveillance. Johnson specifically referenced SPLOST allocations tied to youth facilities (SPLOST 2011 project 22 and SPLOST 2022 project 23) and asked whether those projects are included in current budget proposals.

Speakers asked the commission to fund the Human Relations Commission, People and Belonging department and the Public Safety Civilian Oversight Board to ensure those bodies can carry out oversight and engagement duties.

Discussion and next steps: Staff and commissioners acknowledged the requests and directed that the FY26 budget deliberations include discussion of programmatic funding for the resolution’s priorities; no budget decisions were made May 20.

Ending: Final FY26 budget vote remains scheduled for June 10, 2025.