Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DeKalb County committees report deferred sewer contract and canceled Constitution Day event; commissioners preview Sept. 23 agenda and several walk-on appropri-
Summary
Committee chairs reported on a series of items on Sept. 16, including deferral of a roughly $21 million small-diameter sewer cleaning contract, cancellation of a Constitution Day program, deferred resolution to create an LGBTQ+ police liaison, and a set of walk-on district allocations scheduled for the Sept. 23 business meeting.
At the Committee of the Whole meeting on Sept. 16, DeKalb County commissioners heard committee reports and an executive-agenda preview for the Sept. 23 business meeting. Committee chairs described multiple deferred items, administrative approvals and a set of district walk-on appropriations that will appear on the upcoming agenda.
Key committee updates
- County Operations (Ops/IRBs): Commissioner Marita Davis Johnson said the operations committee met Aug. 28 and approved minutes from Aug. 19. The committee considered a statewide contract that had not returned from audit and approved an item to observe Constitution Day in DeKalb County (agenda item 2025-1296) "approved out of committee," per Johnson. The ops committee held a special meeting Sept. 8 to discuss the county’s 2026 state legislative agenda and conducted a methodology overview to narrow legislative priorities.
- Public Works & Infrastructure (PWI): Commissioner Robert Patrick reported the committee had a short agenda. He said a small-diameter sewer cleaning item with an estimated value of about $21,000,000 was deferred pending audit. Patrick also said a three-year contract for standard brick purchases and a change order for decab beautification were approved in committee.
- Finance, Audit & Budget (FAB): Commissioners said FAB is coordinating an operational assessment with internal audit and external consultants (Malden and Jenkins) and is developing a timeline to assess departments that report to FAB.
- Employee Relations & Public Safety (IRPS): Commissioner Ladina Bolton said IRPS received a status update on the county’s flock cameras and heard a resolution from District 6 requesting the creation of a DeKalb County Police Department LGBTQ+ police liaison position. That resolution was recommended for deferral to gather additional information and to consider whether a broader hate-crimes liaison would be appropriate. IRPS also recommended approval of a contract to provide psychological counseling services to all county employees for personal and work-related stressors.
- Public Facilities, Employee & Community Services (PECS): Commissioner Nicole Messiah said PECS reviewed 11 items at its Sept. 9 meeting; five were recommended for approval and six were recommended for deferral to the Sept. 23 Board meeting. Items deferred included a blighted property tax matter and a sound ordinance among others; specific item numbers were not all read into the Committee of the Whole record.
Executive agenda preview and walk-ons
County staff reviewed items planned for the Sept. 23 business meeting. Notable items flagged for committee review included: a proposed appointment of Sarah Galica to MARTA’s board (to appear in PWI), a CEO request to amend the fiscal 2025 budget to appropriate funds for the Malouf Annex renovation to complete construction by Feb. 1, 2026, and a proposed purchase and renovation of an American Fueling System compressed natural gas station for $2,600,000 for use by the sanitation division.
District 7 submitted five walk-on appropriations that staff listed for consent on Sept. 23: an allocation of $22,009.20 to the Police Athletic League for a playground and basketball-court enhancement; $50,000 to 100 Black Men of DeKalb for education programming; $2,500 to the United by Loss Foundation for a remembrance event; $10,000 to Scottsdale Early Learning Center for literacy programming; and $2,000 to support World Planning Day programming hosted by the county’s planning and sustainability department. Commissioners affirmed consent for those items during the executive preview.
Other business and procedural notes
Staff noted several additional items mapped to specific committees (contracts, leases, procurement approvals and memorial/appropriation items). Commissioner Robert Patrick and others requested clearer titles for some agenda entries for the public record. Interim staff recapped committee assignments for dozens of agenda items that will be heard by FAB, Ops, PECS, PWI and ERPS on Sept. 23.
Formal action recorded
The Committee of the Whole closed without a request for executive session. A motion to adjourn was made, seconded and carried.
Ending: Several items deferred for audit or further information will return to committee or the Board on Sept. 23. Commissioners signaled routine consent on multiple walk-on appropriations; staff will post final agenda language and item titles before the business meeting.
