Rockdale County trims Boys & Girls Club contract to $100,000 after public appeals

Rockdale County commissioners voted Feb. 25 to reduce the county's annual contract with the Boys & Girls Club of Rockdale County from $125,000 to $100,000 for 2025, after several residents and the club's regional CEO urged continued county support.

The change order (contract 2024-207, change order No. 1) covers professional services for mentoring youth with a term of Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2025. The board approved the amendment by voice vote after discussion about precedent, transparency and alternative funding sources.

The vote followed more than two dozen public comments at the meeting's public-comment period. David Jernigan, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, described the network's outcomes and said local financial support is essential to keep club doors open. "Every day that goes by, I meet a young person or, in many cases, an adult who will say the phrase to me''The club saved my life,'" Jernigan said. He told commissioners the local board had already identified $15,000 toward a $100,000 matching goal.

Local speakers described the club as essential child care for working parents and urged the board to preserve funding. Michelle Walcott, who said she is a single mother of six and a small-business owner, told the board she would not have been able to work without the club's child-care support when she arrived in Conyers. "Without the Boys and Girls Club, how would I have been able to drive Lyft...work in a restaurant within the same day?" Walcott said.

Several commissioners expressed concern about setting a precedent for direct funding of nonprofits, noting a county resolution that generally limits direct nonprofit funding. One commissioner said the contract is structured as a paid, contracted service rather than an unrestricted grant, which the official said distinguishes this case from the policy.

County staff confirmed the county had already made one quarterly payment of $31,250 under the original contract; the reduction will lower subsequent payments so the total county outlay for 2025 will be $100,000.

The vote: motion to approve the change order carried by voice vote with commissioners answering "aye"; an opposing voice was recorded and counted as "nay" for other motions in the meeting, but the Boys & Girls Club change order passed.

The board and staff said they expect the local club board and community partners to continue fundraising and that county oversight will include monitoring return on the county investment. Commissioners also said they hope the county can provide nonfinancial support such as training, fundraising guidance and partnership through the community resource network.

The county provided no detailed breakdown of the Boys & Girls Club's current financial statements during the meeting; a commissioner said financial reporting and a competitive procurement process are items the board may require in future nonprofit contracts.

The club contract reduction was one of several social-service and procurement items on the Feb. 25 agenda; commissioners also discussed broader budget priorities at the meeting's beginning and acknowledged citizen concerns about transparency and program selection.

The county clerk recorded the action as Item 2025-50 (Boys and Girls Club change order No. 1).