South Fulton mayor and city manager cite growth, land purchases and public-safety investments; mayor proposes moratorium on asset forfeiture

At a city anniversary event, City Manager Sharon Soubaden and Mayor Kobe detailed what they called several years of fiscal growth, property acquisitions and public‑safety investments while announcing administrative programs and urging the city council to consider a moratorium on the local use of asset forfeiture.

Soubaden said the city has moved from having no interest‑bearing investments in 2023 to holdings that have generated $14,500,000 in interest. She told the audience the city has acquired hundreds of acres for future municipal use and that recent land transfers and purchases—reported as 231 acres acquired plus a 93‑acre transfer from Fulton County—totaled 424 acres at a cost of $15,500,000, with negotiations under way for another 250 acres.

Those investments, she said, were made “without incurring any debt,” and the city is renovating and expanding facilities from fire stations to cultural centers. Soubaden credited tightened fiscal controls and growing staff capacity for a lower turnover rate and increased program delivery.

Why it matters: the city reported large increases in staffing, revenues and capital control that will shape service delivery and siting of public facilities. The mayor framed the purchases and investments as the foundation for future public buildings, police and fire headquarters, training sites and a permanent city hall.

Mayor Kobe highlighted revenue growth, a decline in crime and investments in roads and emergency services. He said the city’s revenue grew from $26,000,000 in 2017 to nearly $260,000,000 in 2025, and that property taxes now account for about one quarter of the budget rather than the larger share they once were. He said the city has repaved more than $63,000,000 in roads, maintains roughly 638 miles of right‑of‑way, and has purchased land that includes a proposed municipal court complex and a planned permanent city hall site.

On public safety, the mayor said the city has reduced Part I crimes by 26% and expanded police and fire capabilities. He noted purchases of mobile command units and major fire apparatus, added EMS transport units and changes to fire‑station siting and police beats designed to reduce emergency response times.

Announcements and administrative actions: the mayor announced that the municipal court will host an amnesty week in July for City of South Fulton municipal court tickets, saying the city will waive failure‑to‑appear and recall warrants for eligible city cases to allow residents to resolve outstanding municipal matters. He also said he would ask the council to adopt a moratorium on the city’s practice of seizing assets under Georgia’s asset forfeiture law until Fulton County can address a backlog of related cases and the city establishes procedures to hold and, where appropriate, return property pending due process.

The mayor described the forfeiture proposal as a request to council, not a formal council vote at the event: “So I’ll be asking our council and our city to place a moratorium on this policy of confiscating people’s property until Fulton County can clear the 5‑year backlog of our cases,” he said.

Other programs noted included Project Lifesaver (used to locate people with autism or dementia), expanded police real‑time crime center technology, a municipal court Stoplifters restorative program that has diverted 143 first‑time shoplifters, and driver education programs reaching more than 550 young people. The mayor also cited that the city has seized more than $1,000,000 in assets since 2019 and said the moratorium request is intended to protect due process and build procedures for returning property in cases of acquittal.

Discussion vs. decision: the amnesty week was presented as an administrative program the municipal court will run in July. The forfeiture moratorium was announced as a mayoral request for council action, not as a council decision taken at the event. Land purchases and many capital investments were described as completed transactions already executed by the administration.

Community impact and next steps: the administration said residents will have the opportunity to weigh in on the permanent city hall design and that the municipal court amnesty week details will be shared on the city website; the mayor advised residents to text for mobile alerts or consult city web resources for specifics. He urged the council to consider the forfeiture moratorium at an upcoming meeting.

Ending: city officials framed the announcements as part of a broader “evolve” theme marking eight years of cityhood; the mayor said he would focus on completing initiatives during the remainder of his term and encouraged residents to review the city manager’s annual report for further financial and project detail.