FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Months after Fulton County Jail workers walked off a job because they were unpaid, there is now a dispute with the security company that provided the workers about whether that million-dollar debt has been paid.
On Tuesday, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office said that its leadership worked diligently to devise a plan to pay an outstanding balance owed to Strategic Security Corp. (SSC) from its existing budget. The company terminated its services at the jail in August after it alleged its contract was breached at the jail.
The sheriff's office said the full balance owed is $1,404,799 and that it was being processed for payment. A spokesperson said the amount is based on the previous amount due that was sent to the sheriff's office from SSC.
"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," a release wrote.
But SSC CEO Joseph Sordi said that as of Wednesday, there were no incoming wires and that officials had not been advised of any checks being mailed. Sordi also said that the balance is in excess of $1.5 million. The company added it was promised it would see the wire transfer for the full balance "tomorrow." It added that it would provide an update if any new developments unfolded.
"We have not been paid," Sordi wrote 11Alive. "We have been promised countless times before, 'the check is in the mail.'"
"Hopefully this time is different."
This all comes after SSC announced last week that it had filed a mechanics lien against Fulton County for the unpaid services. A mechanics lien is essentially a legal claim placed against a property to secure payment for work done. SSC is also pursuing legal action seeking the enforcement of both the lien and criminal charges of fraud, grand larceny and theft of services against Sheriff Pat Labat, both in his official capacity and as a civilian.
The company cites Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts' statement back in August that said the sheriff's office signed the contract to provide staffing for watchtowers within the jail without the involvement of the county purchasing department.
Pitts told the Associated Press at the time that the commissioners allocated $1.3 million in approved funding as part of the fiscal year budget. Pitts said it wasn't until August that the sheriff's office told county management that it had already gone more than $1 million over budget.
In a statement, a Strategic Security Corp. spokesperson said that the company has tried persistently to resolve the issue, citing "numerous emails, phone calls, meetings, and formal notices directed to both the Sheriff's Office and the County Commissioners Office," but that no resolution has been proposed.
"Regrettably, six months have passed since Fulton County and Sheriff Labat acknowledged liability for this significant debt, yet there has been no timeline provided or good faith effort to settle the outstanding balance," Sordi said.
Sordi said that the company is "open to dialogue and cooperation" to resolve the unpaid debt and to find a mutually agreeable solution.
The company was responsible for supplementing jail staff with nearly 80 security officers. Despite workers in the jail walking out, Labat said back in August that it created an opportunity for the county to actually hire those same individuals for the job vacancies. Labat explained that the positions would be funded by the county.
Labat said he did not blame the contract company for pulling out, but he found their messaging advising employees to walk off the job at the last minute during negotiations "disingenuous."
"We were not in a position (to pay them). We talk about the historic underfunding of the sheriff's office, and that played a large part," Labat said back in August.
Data over the last five years shows funding for the Fulton County Sheriff's Office and Jail has increased by 66%, with $184 million budgeted for this year alone.
Sheriff Labat has repeatedly attended county commission meetings to request more money to improve conditions at the jail. These requests have mainly been rejected due to concerns that money has already been given to the jail, but that improvement is not at the level it should be. However, the commission did vote to pay one of the outstanding invoices owed by the sheriff's office to another vendor back in October.
In a release by the sheriff's office on Tuesday, it said that the FCSO has successfully managed to operate effectively despite just a 15% increase in resources. The sheriff's office said that systemic funding inadequacies remain a critical concern.
"This shortfall has impacted not only contractual obligations but also critical operational capacities that directly affect public safety and community trust," the sheriff's office said.
11Alive reached out to Fulton County officials for any further comment about this matter, and we are awaiting a response. We are also awaiting a response from SSC to clarify the difference in cost mentioned regarding the outstanding balance.
