Members of the Atlanta City Council will revisit Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ proposal for closing the city’s mostly empty jail during a virtual work session Thursday.
The discussions will focus on the Municipal Court, including how the city’s signature bond program and changes to municipal code violations have affected the Atlanta City Detention Center and court operations.
Members of the Council’s public safety committee are also expected to review the Bottoms’ administration’s proposal to move booking and processing to the city courthouse in order to ultimately close the detention center. The Municipal Court typically handles minor traffic violations, misdemeanor criminal offenses and city ordinance violations.
Bottoms’ top deputies first presented their plan to the Council two weeks ago. Atlanta Chief Operating Officer Jon Keen explained how the city would also eliminate a number of jail employees and spend that money on programs to reduce bookings with pre-arrest diversion programs. The proposal also encourages ticketing instead of arresting for some low-level, non-violent charges.
The plan could cost $5 to $10 million, Keen said.
The proposal was met with hesitation from several Council members who wanted to city to take a closer look at the possibility that Atlanta could sell the jail to Fulton County. The new county sheriff, Pat Labat, publicly proposed that option during his first week in office.
Leaders of the public safety committee said they wanted to hold several more work sessions before voting on the mayor’s proposal. Future work sessions could include input from Fulton officials.
A 52-member task force created by Bottoms in 2019 recommended the city raze the jail and build a “Center for Equity” on the property. Local social justice advocates have pushed for the city to follow through with those recommendations and shut down the detention center.
Thursday’s virtual work session will be available to stream online on the Council’s website, YouTube channel and Facebook and Twitter pages at 1 p.m.
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