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South Fulton council approves split of food‑security funds after tense debate over transparency and leftover turkeys
Summary
After hours of discussion about event documentation and food‑security spending, the council voted to hold $200,000 for an RFP on food programs and split the remaining roughly $39,000 among council members for December distributions; debate included sharp remarks about who handled leftover turkeys from a city event.
A contentious discussion over the city events calendar and food‑security spending took center stage at the Dec. 9 meeting, culminating in a council vote to reserve $200,000 for a competitive RFP to support food insecurity programs and to divide the remaining approximately $39,000 among the councilmembers for near‑term distributions.
Council members said the council’s special‑events process is not being completed consistently, leaving staff without necessary documentation and making calendar conflicts likely. Multiple members asked city staff to build a master calendar and to ensure events are properly documented and vetted before appearing on the agenda.
The debate turned personal when Councilman JC Sebastian and Councilwoman Helen Z. Willis described different accounts of how leftover food and turkeys from a citywide Thanksgiving distribution were handled. Councilman Sebastian said volunteers moved leftover items to community partners quickly to avoid waste; Councilwoman Willis said she had not seen full reports and urged greater transparency. "I will love to see more transparency around that," Willis said during the discussion.
To address immediate needs, Councilwoman Willis proposed — and the body adopted as part of an amended agenda motion — holding $200,000 to be distributed via an RFP to nonprofits and dividing the remaining $39,000 among the eight elected officials (with a small adjustment for a prior district purchase). The substitute motion carried and was recorded; councilmembers also directed staff to prepare a more detailed proposal and to workshop the larger fund allocation at a retreat.
Council agreed to bring more of the event approvals and documentation process to the council retreat so members can review a consolidated calendar and recommended forms. Council also asked staff to identify a short‑term distribution mechanism for December needs while the larger RFP is prepared.
