Fulton County sheriff pays $1.4M to former security contactor after jail walkouts
Sheriff pays money owned to jail contractor
Dozens of security officers walked off the job in August after the sheriff's office failed to pay the contractor the $1.4 million it was owed.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A stalemate over funding for private security guards at the Fulton County Jail is coming to an end.
In August, Strategic Security Corporation (SSC) announced that it had terminated all services with the troubled jail due to what the company called a "breach of contract for non-payment of services."
The 87 SSC contract employees received a text message on Aug. 29 saying that their contract had ended effective immediately, and they would be clocked out by 2:15 p.m. that day.
SSC president and CEO Joseph Sordi said since the contract began last July, the sheriff's office has never made a full payment, only paying small amounts.
"In 22 years of private security and public sector service, we have never had to suspend services to any client," Sordi said.
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Using a different budget, the sheriff's office hired more than half of those workers.
Still, the outstanding balance of more than $1.4 million remained owed to SSC for three months. Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat blamed a funding shortfall for the emergency situation.
"This is a budgetary issue that we have continually fought for," Labat said.
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick "Pat" Labat
On Tuesday, Labat said in a press release that they had been able to pay off the debt through the agency's end-of-year close-out process, but he argued that the jail and his agency still suffer from a lack of funding.
"We are still not adequately funded for an agency of this size with the mandates required," Labat said. "This is an issue that our team has been actively addressing with Fulton County Government officials since 2021."
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Speaking to FOX 5 after the walk-outs, County Commission Chair Robb Pitts called Labat's claims that underfunding was the reason for the payment problems "pure nonsense."
"We've given him the money that he has asked for to run the jail. He chooses to use it on things that have nothing to do with running the jail. That's his primary job running that jail," Pitts said.
This is just the latest in a series of arguments between the county and the sheriff's office over funding.
Labat has pushed for the county to build a new jail at the estimated cost of $1.7 billion. County commissioners balked at the price, instead choosing to support a $300 million project to renovate the existing jail and build a new building to house inmates with special needs.
Fulton County Sheriff’s Office leadership has worked diligently to formulate a plan to pay the outstanding balance owed to Strategic Security Company (SSC) from our existing budget. Due to a funding shortfall at the end of August 2024, SSC chose to end the contract. The amount of $1,404,799 is the full balance owed and is currently being processed for payment.
As a part of the FCSO end-of-year close-out process and by demonstrating efficient resource management, we are able to satisfy the obligation, although 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.
While the immediate issue with SSC is being resolved, systemic funding inadequacies remain a critical concern for FCSO. This shortfall has impacted not only contractual obligations but also critical operational capacities that directly affect public safety and community trust