Commissioner suggests laying off in-house lobbyists

A Fulton County Commissioner wants to lay off the county’s in-house lobbying staff and replace it with an outside firm. Earlier this month the commission balked at hiring the law firm Arnall Golden Gregory at a cost of $260,416, but Commissioner Robb Pitts said that if the county’s $500,000 intergovernmental affairs division is eliminated, it would save money. Pitts says the staff is ineffectual, but he wants to keep one person to manage state and federal grants.

The panel will consider his proposal Wednesday. Some of his colleagues have expressed concerns that spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbyists would send the wrong message to Republican lawmakers who, alleging the county government is bloated and wasteful, want to pare down its powers.