The Brookhaven City Council voted Nov. 24 to spend $179,635 to fund and run the new Social Justice, Race and Equity Commission.
The group was created after the nationwide protests in early summer against racial injustice and police brutality. It will be tasked with reviewing the city’s policies, procedures and public engagement as well as look at the police department’s use of force.
At its regular meeting, the council voted to pay $84,635 to Chrysalis Lab to provide facilitation services to the commission The Atlanta-based company, which is registered with the state as a for-profit but has a social-change mission, will manage and execute the work of the group, The company is partnering with the Ohio-based Kettering Foundation, according to city spokesperson Ann Marie Quill.
The company was selected based on a recommendation from the Atlanta Regional Commission and an interview with Christian Sigman and the committee chair John Funny, according to Quill. She said there was no bidding process required as the contract falls under “professional services.”
The additional $95,000, coming from the general fund, goes to pay for the operation of the commission. The commission will hold monthly public meetings for a year, starting Dec. 17.
The commission was created in September and has 37 members.
–John Ruch contributed
Correction: City official previously gave an incorrect date for the start of the commission’s meetings.