FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts is continuing to speak out about how the City of Atlanta has not signed a new agreement for animal control services.
The county announced last Friday that its agreement to provide animal control services to cities within the county expired at the end of 2023. Since then, a new agreement was put in place, which Chairman Pitts said 14 of the 15 cities signed.
“The other cities now are watching this, ‘well, we signed we had an increase. So why should we be treated differently? Why should we pay our increase if you're going to enter into a special deal with the City of Atlanta? We can't do that,” Pitts explained, saying the City of Atlanta needs to pay and the mayor needs to sign the agreement.
Pitts said Atlanta is the only city that has not signed as of Tuesday. Services to the city were stopped on April 5 after officials said the county had been operating out of good faith efforts for more than three months without a signed intergovernmental agreement in place.
“That’s all that we're waiting for,” Pitts said on Tuesday. “We cannot legally continue to provide animal control services within the corporate limits of Atlanta without a signed intergovernmental agreement. Period.”
Pitts explained that the new agreement, which he said has been in discussion since July 2023, included a cost increase to cover inflation and operational costs. He added that Fulton County does not pocket any of the money.
“The other 14 cities within Fulton County have all, all, all signed the new intergovernmental agreement,” he said. “All, all, all with an increase in their pro rata share of the operational costs.”
Pitts said in the agreement that expired on Dec. 31, 2023, the City of Atlanta paid about $2.5 million. He said the new agreement, which started on Jan. 1, 2024, would require the city to pay around $6 million.
“Atlanta accounts for 55% of all the calls that we get at the animal shelter,” said Pitts. “Therefore, their cost per pound for providing a service is higher.”
Pitts said he didn’t know who was handling the calls for animal control services in the City of Atlanta currently. He explained the Fulton County shelter has had a few people bring animals since the services stopped, not knowing what to do with them. He said the shelter accepted the animals.
“A police officer brought the dog, and he said, ‘What am I going to do?’” said Pitts, adding that the shelter took in that dog, as well.
Pitts said that since the county stopped providing animal control services for the city, calls for animal control services at the shelter have decreased.
The city said when it comes to animal services, residents should call 311 for minor matters and 911 for emergencies. Officials claimed in a statement last week that the county had backed out on a tentative agreement that had been reached to provide services to Atlanta. The statement also called out other issues, implying that the city would not react in the same manner when it's operating under "good faith" negotiations.
According to the city, the Atlanta Police Department has received two calls since Friday: one for a deer in the road and one for a loose dog, which was not on the scene when officers arrived. 311 has received six calls since Friday.
Atlanta officials said discussions with the county are ongoing. Pitts added that he believes the city will agree to move forward.