DeKalb County committee approves FY2026 capital amendment, allocates $5 million for jail repairs

The DeKalb County Finance Audit and Budget Committee voted to amend the fiscal year 2026 capital budget and appropriate funds for a series of facility, IT and public‑safety projects, including a $5,000,000 allocation for county jail repairs.

Chair Commissioner Ted Terry opened the discussion of item 0860, saying the county is moving now on a set of time‑sensitive initiatives while staff develops a multiyear capital improvement program. Tisha, a county staff member, described reallocated funds that include $3,000,000 from a COPS‑restricted fund for the Maloof Annex, $2,600,000 from a Memorial Drive URA allocation for multiple building upgrades, and a $7,320,000 general‑fund package that contains the jail funding and IT projects.

Why it matters: committee members said the requests address public‑safety and service‑delivery shortfalls the county has raised for years. Chief Atkins of the sheriff’s office told the committee the $5,000,000 is only the first phase of work. "The 5,000,000 is kind of a drop in the bucket," he said, adding that an assessment identified roughly $11,700,000 in immediate needs and that the sprinkler system alone is about $4,000,000.

The appropriation covers a range of projects listed by staff: $1,500,000 for HVAC replacement at a county facility; $100,000 for a Judicial Tower water booster pump; $150,000 for solar batteries; $60,000 for fleet paving; $50,000 for fencing replacement; $36,000 for asphalt repair at Fire Station No. 18; $250,000 for uninterruptible power supplies at nine 9‑1‑1 antenna sites; $200,000 to convert pole lights to LED in county parking lots; $50,000 to replace a fire‑alarm panel at the Mountain View personal care home; and $200,000 for Department of Finance office renovations. Staff said the 9‑1‑1 fund will also receive transfers from the fire and police funds to cover two 9‑1‑1 projects: $1,600,000 for a backup radio site and $3,500,000 toward an AT&T phone‑system upgrade.

Commissioners pressed for implementation detail and public updates. Commissioner Shakira Johnson asked when the new Oracle permitting and licensing system will be operational; staff responded the rollout will be phased and is expected to take about 18 months, with kickoff in the coming weeks. Staff said CityWorks expansion and other IT investments will be coordinated with user departments and that staff will present routine updates to public committees.

The committee voted to approve item 0860; the motion carried with the committee recording assent and the chair announcing the motion carried. Staff said a full facility‑condition assessment for the jail is nearing completion and that additional capital requests may follow once safety‑sensitive vulnerabilities are reviewed and priced.

The committee held one resolution (the customer bill of rights) for further coordination of numbers and language but completed the day’s agenda and adjourned.