$101,000 spent on DeKalb wallpaper and paint

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Budget cuts? You bet. But first, new wallpaper.

While DeKalb County officials ponder possible layoffs to offset a $50 million deficit in next year's budget, the DeKalb County Commission approved a $101,000 contract last week for wallpapering and painting county buildings.

The contract award comes as the commission is looking at laying off workers, offering early retirements, slashing library funding and not buying more police cars, among other cuts, to meet a $50-million decline in tax revenue.

“Everything is under the microscope,” said Commissioner Connie Stokes, who chairs the budget committee.

Stokes said she was reluctant to approve the paint and wallpaper contract, but said it was necessary to maintain county buildings.

“I had the same concern too about why are we doing wallpapering. But they told us it’s all for replacement for flood or water-damaged wallpaper,” Stokes told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. “They’re not decorating and adding new wallpaper.”

Real estate agent Mark Pozner said he knows that some wallpapering can be put on hold.

“They can wait quite a while if they [the walls] are reasonably taken care of,” said Pozner, a past president of the Tucker Civic Association. “There are things that we need and things that can wait. This is something that can wait.”

The $101,000 year-long contract, which was awarded to Southern Perfection Painting Inc. in Snellville, will cover various buildings in the county, said Angela Walton, a county spokeswoman. The county received bids from 12 companies and chose the lowest, officials said.

“This does not pertain to any individual’s office, but to the needs of the county on an as needed basis,” Walton said in a statement. “This is regular maintenance and has been an existing contract with the county for several years.”

It’s unclear why any of the county’s 8,000 employees, including the county’s facilities department, can't do the work. Walton did not respond to three requests for information about why county workers are not responsible for the maintenance.

She also could not provide a breakdown of what percentage of the contract will go toward wallpaper.

Keith Barker, the county’s chief operating officer, said the painting and wallpapering is necessary, but that the county is trying to cut back on facilities maintenance. He pointed out that last year, the county spent $129,738 for paint and wallpaper.

“This contract is not to exceed $101,000. We hope it’s less than that,” he said.

Pozner said he hopes that the wallpapering is not symbolic of the type of expense that would lead to a tax increase. DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis has proposed a 1.86-mill increase, but county commissioners have said they are working to cut expenses to avoid any tax hike.

“We are dealing with an economy where everybody is devastated. To even think about raising taxes is just ridiculous,” said Pozner, a 16-year Tucker resident. “When you tell me they are doing wallpapering for $100,000, no. If this is what we know about, then I'm wondering about what expenses do we not know about.”