ATLANTA — While the Atlanta City Council approved a renewed contract with the Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative in November, issues with that contract prompted the agreement to temporarily lapse.
PAD provides what are known as jail diversion services, which keeps people in Atlanta who face arrest from going to jail and provides resources to help them with social services instead.
In November, Channel 2 Action News reported when the city council approved a two-year, $5 million contract to renew PAD’s services with the city, but those services were temporarily put on hold.
The Atlanta Mayor’s Office announced Thursday morning that the agreement had been put on hold due to a conflict over the contract’s terms.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The statement from the mayor’s office reads:
“After negotiating in good faith, and arriving at a new agreement with PAD, their Executive Director has announced that they are suspending their work with the City of Atlanta, nevertheless. The previous agreement lacked the necessary performance metrics that would ensure taxpayers were getting the services for which they paid. The updated contract, complete with new performance metrics, was agreed to by PAD.”
Moki Macías, Executive Director of PAD, told Channel 2 Action News that a contract was received by the organization at about noon Thursday, after the mayor’s office announcement.
She said the city council’s Nov. 18 contract authorization was a step toward renewal, but that the organization had still not gotten a final version before the city’s announcement.
Macías said PAD received a contract from the City of Atlanta on Dec. 30 which included new metrics the city requested for performance for the contract. She said PAD responded “promptly” and was told on Dec. 31 that the city had agreed to revisions, which they agreed to.
Before they received the contract on Thursday at noon, PAD had discontinued their month-to-month contract with Atlanta. That discontinuation was why the city said calls to ATL311 would be serviced by the City’s HOPE team until the contract with PAD was finalized and signed.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Bourbon Street crash: Who are the victims of the New Orleans terror attack?
- Rescuers pull off first of its kind operation after retired Channel 2 anchor tumbles down a ravine
- After Channel 2 investigation, Georgia law to prevent deed theft takes effect
“In anticipation of any potential delays from the signature process, the City offered to extend its ongoing month-to-month contract until this process was complete to ensure PADs work would continue. PAD refused,” city officials said. “Diversion services will continue to be offered via the City’s HOPE team until a new contract can be finalized with a qualified contractor. Residents can continue to call 311 for individuals experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis.”
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office told Channel 2 Action News that they’d requested a continuation of the month-to-month service with PAD until the contract was formally signed, due to potential delays during the New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day holiday, but “PAD refused.”
Speaking on background, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said the addition of performance metrics to the new PAD contract was to ensure $5 million in taxpayer dollars were being spent as intended.
Officials for the City of Atlanta told Channel 2 Action News that ATL311 services had continued with work by city teams in the interim.
“We are hopeful that we can get the contract executed by end of day today,” Macías said Thursday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said they were hopeful the contract would finalize as well, adding that all of the back-and-forth in the past few days “was a manufactured controversy.”
Channel 2 Action News reached out to PAD, but they declined to respond further, only saying that the contract was still not in place.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
