FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A security company is now pursuing legal action against Fulton County and its sheriff, Patrick "Pat" Labat, months after employees at the jail walked off the job following more than $1 million that had gone unpaid to the third-party contractor.
Strategic Security Corp. terminated its services at the Fulton County Jail back in August after it alleged its contract was breached with the jail. Labat acknowledged the debt and said at the time that a funding deficit left them roughly $1 million in the hole.
With Strategic Security Corp. claiming that the debt is still unsettled, it announced Tuesday that it has filed a mechanic's lien against Fulton County for the unpaid services. The company also announced that it is seeking criminal charges against Labat for fraud, grand larceny, and theft of service in both his official capacity and in a civil capacity.
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," said Joseph Sordi, the CEO of Strategic Security Corp.
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 staff with nearly 80 security officers. Despite workers with 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 that he did not blame the contract company for pulling out, but he said he found them messaging employees to walk off the job 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.
It's important to note that 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, according to data provided by Fulton County back in May during a presentation to the Jail Subcommittee from Pitts.