Atlanta Jail employees back City Council meeting

ATLANTA - Nearly two hundred Atlanta Jail workers told city leaders that if the city jail is sold, it will lead to more vagrants, criminals and the mentally ill crowding downtown streets and close-in neighborhoods.

The workers showed up at a public safety panel meeting to speak against a resolution offered on behalf of the mayor to end jail operations by the city.

Keisha Lance Bottoms said it is just too expensive to keep funding a facility whose population has dwindled.

The mayor believes an attractive proposal can be made to an agency that needs beds. Employees point out that while Fulton County is required to take felony offenders who commit crimes inside city limits, they do not have to take inmates who violate city ordinances.

And many of those left on the street impact what is often called the quality of life.

For the public safety panel, there are too many unanswered questions. Members voted to hold the proposal to try and get those questions answered.

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