Fulton County Commission chairman proposes new detention building

“This plan for the future of the jail prioritizes the needs of detainees who need the most care,” Pitts said. “It also mitigates the financial impact to taxpayers compared to building a new jail.”

The County Commission will vote Wednesday on the proposal. Construction would take about five years.

Through a spokesperson, Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat declined to comment until after Wednesday’s vote.

A new jail was estimated to cost $1.7 billion to build. Commissioners narrowly voted last year to reject that plan.

“There was just no appetite for that,” Pitts said.

Fulton County earlier this year entered a federal consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice mandating that the county and its sheriff improve conditions at the jail that federal officials called “abhorrent” and “unconstitutional.”

Anywhere from 40% to 70% of inmates have mental health or substance abuse issues, Pitts said.

If the proposal is approved, Fulton County will have the capacity to house 3,200 inmates in single-bed rooms across both facilities, spokesperson Jessica Corbitt said. The jail on Rice Street has a capacity of about 2,300, but that includes rooms with bunk beds, she said.

It is not clear whether Pitts has enough support from the rest of the commission to approve the proposed facility. Commissioner Dana Barrett likened it to building a new, half-jail and said the revenues from the tax allocation districts would not start rolling in until 2030.

“Where’s the money going to come from in that first five years?” she said.

— This story will be updated.