FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Fulton County commissioners are having second thoughts about moving forward with a new jail.
On Monday, the county posted a project manager request for proposal (RFP). On Wednesday, commissioners voted to rescind that listing.
"Putting a pin in a train that had already left the station with a $2 billion price tag to say stop was a huge vote," Chairman Robb Pitts told 11Alive. "It was probably the biggest vote that we've taken in the last four or five years."
Pitts does not support building a new jail for Fulton County. He said other commissioners are now reconsidering their options because several factors changed.
The jail population at Rice Street dropped from 2,576 in August 2023 to 1,720 in May 2024.
They've invested $13.2 million to repair cells, fix common areas and restore 13 housing zones.
Plus, the state has "no appetite" to allow an increased sales tax in Fulton County that could help pay for a new structure.
"That means that the taxpayers of Fulton County would have to bear the burden of that $2 billion price tag," Pitts said. "We never fully evaluated what it would cost to renovate Rice Street, renovate Union City, fully utilize Alpharetta and, more importantly, to acquire the city jail."
Still, some commissioners worry they won't have a choice.
"If you don't pay some now, you're going to pay more later," commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said. "I think it's going to be better for us to pay some now for this jail rather than paying these million-dollar settlements."
"The model that we have now is no good. Must I remind us all about the number of deaths that we have had in that jail," said vice-chair Khadijah Abdur-Rahman. "The jail that we have right now — in this state — is not conducive for anything but chaos.
11Alive reached out to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office for their response to the vote, but they have not yet commented at this point.