Fulton commissioner calls for compromise, warns city shouldn’t leverage Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative

Fulton County

August 6th, 2026

A recent letter by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens was critical of the Fulton County Commission's majority vote to "commit approximately $1.3 billion" toward a new Fulton County Jail. On "Closer Look," Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett called the letter "over the top" and doesn't think it tells the full story of the county's decision. (LaShawn Hudson/WABE)

It’s an ongoing saga: what to do with the Fulton County Jail. The list of problems is long, including chronic overcrowding, deteriorating infrastructure that has led to flooding, staff shortages, criminal activity inside the facility and repeated incidents of inmate violence and suicides.

Some leaders argue the county needs an entirely new jail; others believe the focus should be on a massive, comprehensive renovation. In the meantime, the county has relied on the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) to house 700 detainees.

Now, a very public dispute between the Atlanta Mayor’s Office and the Fulton County Commission is escalating. Last week, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens sent commissioners a sharply worded letter responding to their recent majority vote to “commit approximately $1.3 billion” toward building a new Fulton County Jail.

In the letter, Dickens threatened to end the current agreement that allows Fulton County to house 700 detainees at ACDC and urged commissioners to be more responsive and collaborative regarding the city’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative.

Dickens also cited a previous proposal in which the city offered to sell ACDC, appraised at roughly $144 million, to Fulton County for $80 million. He argued the deal would have expanded detention capacity, protected workers, preserved the Diversion Center and saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

However, Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett says the mayor’s letter leaves out critical details.

“It was, yes, $80 million for ACDC, but only if we invested $200 million in a hospital and extended all the TADs [tax allocation district funding] for 30 years…six of the eight existing TADs,” Barrett said.

“By my calculations, it’s over a billion in value over the 30-year period.”

Barrett told “Closer Look“ host Rose Scott that the best solution for ACDC requires compromise and that the city should not use its push for Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative benefits as leverage.

“We would like to buy it, but we cannot buy a $144 million asset by giving $1.4 billion in value,” she said.

Meanwhile, the current ACDC agreement between Fulton County and the city expires at the end of the year. Barrett says reaching a new deal is critical.

“After December 31st, the price will go from $50 per bed per day to $150 per bed per day,” said Barrett. “So that would change our annual expense from about $9 million per year to about $27 million per year.”