Atlanta City Council member Michael Julian Bond is urging colleagues to reject the proposed sale of the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County, warning that it would leave future city leaders without leverage.
Atlanta’s public safety committee on Sept. 28 advanced the resolution 4-2 to the finance committee, a move that would allow the City to sell the jail at 254 Peachtree St. for $68 million to Fulton County, which is outgrowing its current jails. Atlanta would lease back part of the facility, paying Fulton’s per-detainee costs associated with housing, food and medical care.
“In my own personal life, I wouldn’t sell my house and then turn around [and] try to negotiate to rent a room out of the house that I just sold,” Bond said.
Council members Bond and Antonio Lewis voted against the resolution, while Andrea Boone, Dustin Hillis, Wayne Martin and Thomas Worthy supported it.
A longtime member of the city council and son of the late civil rights leader Julian Bond, Bond said the City has an obligation to work with Fulton County on the overcrowding of jails.
Fulton County jail, also known as Rice Street, is under a federal consent decree after the U.S. Justice Department found the unsafe conditions violated detainees’ constitutional rights. Since 2022, the federal investigation has exposed two deaths, filthy living conditions and reports of excessive violence.
Bond has been advocating for over a decade to help Fulton County reduce the number of arrests. He suggested Atlanta – “the number one contributor to overcrowding” – form a joint authority with the county.
“Sharing the burden would be better,” Bond said, referring to water and sewer agreements in place between the parties.
Lewis said letters from District Attorney Fani Willis, Chief Public Defender Kenneth Days and incoming Fulton County Commission Chair Mo Ivory express opposition to the proposal. Nearly every part of Fulton County’s justice system is asking for additional resources, Lewis said. Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat needs funding to staff the jail. The courts, the prosecutors and public defenders have asked for additional personnel support, technology and operational supports, he said.
“A building does not solve that,” Lewis said. “It does not provide medical or mental health care. It does not move cases through the courts, reduce the backlog, maintain itself, or satisfy the requirements of the Department of Justice.”
Like Bond, Lewis wants to make Fulton County “part of [Atlanta’s] group project.” His idea: split the proposed $68 million to support Fulton County courts, medical and mental health services, future use of ACDC, and a joint health authority. Lewis said he “does not believe the city should remain in the business of incarcerating people.”
“Transferring another building to Fulton County without fixing the problems throughout the justice system in Fulton County is not a complete solution,” Lewis said.
“Atlanta taxpayers should not transfer the building and pay for the upkeep,” Lewis said. “Let us invest into a different type of partnership.”
“We would be dooming future mayors and future councils and future judges and our courts …” Bond said.
The resolution will appear before Atlanta’s finance committee on Sept. 30.
