FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Editor's note: This story has been updated to add the response from the sheriff's office.
The Fulton County Sheriff's Office is experiencing more financial troubles as officials say there are over $2 million in outstanding invoices.
This comes after security guards employed by a third-party contractor at the Fulton County Jail walked off the job in late August after a funding deficit left a roughly $1 million deficit.
Now, during a Sept. 4 Board of Commissioners meeting, the sheriff's office asked for almost $6 million for the unpaid bills and other funding responsibilities.
Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts said officials then discovered that more than just the third-party contractor Strategic Security Corp., which supplied the security guards who walked off in August, was unpaid.
“It came to our attention several weeks ago that there several outstanding invoices, contracts that the Board of Commissioners knew nothing about," Chairman Pitts said.
During the meeting, Fulton County CFO Sharon Whitmore said that one of the unpaid bills is for a vendor who provides phone monitoring services to the jail -- LEO Technologies. Whitmore said it was an amount of $643,275.46.
Whitmore said the sheriff's office has not paid several past-due bills. Chairman Pitts said that’s a huge issue.
“You’re allocated a budget; you have to live within that budget," Pitts said. "And you just can’t continue over and over and over again to ignore the fact that I don’t have the money."
The commission voted to reject the sheriff’s request for more money. However, the issue is slated to come up again at the next meeting on Sept. 18.
“I have no idea what the outcome is going to be, but I know what my vote is going to be. It's going to be no once again," Pitts said.
The sheriff's office said in a statement it has had and continues to have additional monitoring capabilities. It also said there are plans to bring the balance up to date.
To watch the full Sept. 4 meeting, click here. It's the last discussion item before the meeting adjourns.
