FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that the outstanding balance owed to Strategic Security Company, who provides guards at the Fulton County Jail, will be paid on Friday.
Channel 2 Action News previously reported that the office owed the company more than $1 million, and guards had been told to walk out after a lack of payment to their company in August.
At several points in the intervening months, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat had appealed to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners to have funds set aside for payment released to cover the balance, and other needs, but those efforts were not successful.
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Instead, while the contract with SSC was needed in August, the sheriff’s office said they had found funding to satisfy their obligations as part of their end-of-year close-out process.
Still, the sheriff’s office said “we are still not adequately funded for an agency of this size with the mandates required. This is an issue that our team has been actively addressing with Fulton County Government officials since 2021. Over a four-year period, FCSO has successfully managed to operate effectively despite only a 15% increase in resources, even in the face of inflationary pressures.”
The sheriff’s office went further, saying that while the issue with SSC was being resolved, “systemic funding inadequacies remain a critical concern,” for the agency, and the shortfall in their budget has impacted both contractual obligations and critical operation capacity, which “directly affect public safety and community trust.”
The sheriff’s office said the full $1,404,799 owed to SCC would be electronically delivered on Friday.
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