OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Clayton County Board of Commissioners Meeting - January 6, 2026

Board of Commissioners — Tuesday, January 6, 2026
BodyClayton County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners
DateTuesday, January 6, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:14:50

Transcript — Verbatim
2:25

Good evening, everyone, and happy new year.

2:27

Happy New Year.

2:28

All right.

2:29

Good to see everyone here.

2:31

Um the Clayson County Board of Commissioners Board meeting is now called to order.

2:36

The date is January sixth, twenty twenty-six, and the time is six o'clock PM.

2:42

At this time we will do roll call.

2:44

We'll start with District One.

2:45

Here.

2:46

District three.

2:47

Present.

2:47

District Two.

2:48

Present.

2:49

District Four.

2:50

Present.

2:50

And Madam Chair, and I am definitely present.

2:54

Next is we will have our invocation and pledge of allegiance to our flag.

2:58

Our invocation tonight will be done by Associate Pastor Terry Baskin with Lake Wind Christian Center Incorporated from Riverdale, Georgia.

3:06

He will come up and do our invocation, and thereafter we will have the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag.

3:26

I want to take the opportunity to thank you for the invitation to come.

3:31

I'm very honored.

3:33

And I especially want to say Madam Chair, Board Commissioners.

3:37

God bless you.

3:38

And thank you so much, Commissioner Allen, for extending the invitation.

3:42

So let us pray.

3:44

Father in heaven, we give thanks to you, Lord, for the blessings that you bestowed upon our lives this day.

3:50

Father, you ordered our footsteps and you called us to this moment.

3:55

And right now we just thank you, Lord, for every day that we rise, we give you the glory, the honor, and the praise.

4:04

At this very moment, as we come collectively as a county, we want to say thank you, Lord, for the blessings upon this land.

4:13

Thank you, Lord, for blessing the cities, the counties, and this state.

4:18

But right now, Father, we come together to do your business to do your will here on earth as it is in heaven.

4:27

Right now I ask at this very moment that we pray for our leaders of this county.

4:34

So we lift up this body of governance.

4:40

We thank you, Lord, for a hedge of protection over their lives.

4:43

We pray for anointing upon their lives, and at this time that they continue to focus on your will, Heavenly Father.

4:52

So we thank you, Lord, that we will hear from you this night.

4:56

So Holy Spirit have your way in this place.

5:00

Father, you tell us always to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

5:03

And all these things shall be added on to us.

5:06

So we thank you, Lord, for the anointing, the blessings, the purification of what needs to be done here that will be pleasing to you.

5:14

So it is in the precious and powerful name of Jesus.

5:18

We pray this prayer and all in agreement to this prayer.

5:21

Say amen.

5:32

One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

5:46

Next, we will move to the adoption of our agenda.

5:50

Mr.

5:51

Reed, will you please come up?

5:57

Good evening and happy new year.

5:59

Um, Madam Chair.

6:01

Madam Vice Chair and Board.

6:04

Um is a correction to item 22, I believe on the agenda, which is resolution 2026-6.

6:16

Uh the correction is the amount that is being applied for or and accepted is 400,000 as opposed to 300,000.

6:26

The in kind match is still 100,000.

6:30

And there's a corrected resolution on the dice for you reflecting that change.

6:36

The second is a request to add as an emergency resolution 2026-14, which is a resolution of the Board of Commissioners of Clayton County, Georgia, to support Taste of Fort Valley State 2026, hosted by Commissioner Gail Hambrick in partnership with the Southern Crescent Alumni Chapter of Fort Valley State University to authorize the county and its departments to perform all acts necessary to accomplish the intent of the resolution to authorize the chairwoman to perform all acts necessary to accomplish the intent of this resolution to provide an effective date of the resolution for other purposes.

7:11

The reason why this is being added for today is that there is a planning meeting for this event this coming Saturday.

7:19

And in order for that to actually be of some use, we would have to have the resolution authorizing the event uh first.

7:30

And so that will occur before our next um board meeting.

7:35

So you want us to vote on each of them separately to add them to the agenda?

7:39

Just uh the vote to add 2026 14, the resolution 2026 6 is just for your clarification.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████21%
Public Safety███████████████████19%
Public Engagement███████████████15%
Public Comment████████████12%
Pending Litigation███████7%
Economic Development██████6%
Board Appointments██████6%
Transportation Safety████4%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Clayton County Board of Commissioners Meeting - January 6, 2026

The Clayton County Board of Commissioners held its regular business meeting on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 6:00 PM. The meeting included the adoption of the agenda with two corrections, a veteran of the month presentation, public comments covering a range of community concerns, votes on budget amendments, appointments, and resolutions, and approval of settlement agreements and a staff stipend. The meeting adjourned at 8:06 PM.

Presentations & Proclamations

  • Veteran of the Month: Sergeant First Class Rhonda F. Yumana (retired) was recognized for her 20 years of U.S. Army service and subsequent civilian service with the Department of Defense. She received a round of applause from the board and audience.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the consent agenda, which included routine items and the addition of Resolution 2026-14 (Support for Taste of Fort Valley State 2026).
  • Correction noted: Item 22 (Resolution 2026-6) amount changed to $400,000 (from $300,000) with $100,000 in-kind match.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Dr. Henry Anderson praised Commissioner Gail Hambrick and other board members as “election champions,” drawing sports analogies to their electoral victories.
  • Keith Parker (MARTA Citizens Advisory Board member) requested clarity on legal representation and governance structure regarding the MARTA agreement, asking to meet with the COO.
  • Timothy Vondale Jefferson urged urgency on economic development, noting the upcoming 8,500-seat arena and recommending a work session with private consultants, the development authority, and the economic development office to update data and attract restaurants.
  • David Hamrick reported gunshots in his neighborhood on New Year’s Eve, linking low rents to safety issues, and criticized the county’s neglect of tier-one economic indicators (unemployment, per capita income, poverty, population growth, tax base). He urged officials to self-reflect.
  • Mickey Garber (unincorporated Rex) apologized for missing the last meeting and said he would file paperwork in the courthouse regarding unfinished business.
  • Le Pink alleged a stabbing at the Clayton County Jail earlier that day, criticized the sheriff for being absent from the jail, and described inmate mistreatment and lack of transparency.
  • Olga Rodriguez (grieving mother) stated the backlog in the District Attorney’s office led to her son’s murder because a violent offender was not detained. She demanded accountability and reform in the court and jail systems.
  • China McLean used a bonsai tree analogy to illustrate that the county government appears fractured and called on commissioners to govern together as a unified trunk for the community.
  • Carol Yancey cited the Clayton County website to argue the board has exclusive jurisdiction over property and public safety. She detailed failures in courthouse and jail maintenance (inoperable fire alarms, deplorable conditions) and recommended redirecting splash project funds to jail repairs and a DOJ audit.
  • Charity Murphy (Ellenwood) asked for help reaching youth with trauma and challenges.
  • Alexis Alexander (former teacher) noted a disconnect between budget priorities (networks/contracts) and the community’s needs (judicial system, jails), expressing interest in discussing reallocation.

Discussion Items

  • Budget Amendment 2-23 (Item 13): $1,386,000 transferred to the development authority per the IGA. Commissioner Hambrick requested a work session to clarify the authority’s activities. Approved 5-0.
  • Resolution 2026-1 (Item 18): Prescribing public fund depositories. Passed unanimously.
  • Resolution 2026-8 & 2026-13 (Items 24 & 28): Donation of four patrol bicycles (one from Wayne Hall, three from Clayton County Police Foundation) in honor of deceased Lieutenant Warren Toro. Chief of Police described Lt. Toro’s service. Approved unanimously.
  • Resolution 2026-11 (Item 27): Amendment to county legal holidays correcting Memorial Day date (Monday, May 26). Commissioner Reeves requested another copy of dates. Approved unanimously.
  • Board Appointments:
    • Board of Health: Held (need a physician).
    • Behavioral Health Board: Mr. Deroy Bernard appointed (Commissioner Allen).
    • Behavioral Health Board (Hector resignation): Held.
    • Behavioral Health Board (Hooker resignation): Held.
    • Behavioral Health Board (Burney expired): Held for further review.
    • License Review Board: Held until February 3.
    • Veterans Advisory Board: Colonel Angela Odom appointed (Commissioner Reeves).
    • Veterans Advisory Board (Smith resignation): Held.
    • Veterans Advisory Board (Hope resignation): Miss Andrea Byrd appointed (Commissioner Davis).
    • Zoning Advisory Board: Miss Veronica Padgott appointed (Commissioner Allen).
  • Resolution 2026-5 (Item 38): Designation of Vice Chair – Commissioner Gail Hambrick nominated and elected.
  • Resolution 2026-12 (Item 39): Forensic audit of the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office trust and emergency bank accounts. Vote: 2 ayes, 2 nays, 1 abstention – motion failed.
  • Executive Session: Held for litigation and personnel.
  • Settlement Agreements (5 cases): Total $590,000 approved unanimously.
  • Stipend for Marcia Davis: $2,000 one-time stipend for additional duties as clerk of the board, with expectation position filled by February. Approved.

Key Outcomes

  • Votes: Budget amendment (5-0), depository resolution (unanimous), bicycle donations (unanimous), holiday amendment (unanimous), multiple appointments (approved), vice chair election (unanimous), settlements (unanimous), stipend (unanimous). Resolution 2026-12 (forensic audit) failed 2-2-1.
  • Next Steps: Commissioner Hambrick requested a work session on the development authority. Several board appointments held for future meetings. The county will proceed with settlement dismissals and the clerk stipend as approved.
  • Community Concerns: Public comments highlighted jail conditions, DA backlog, economic development urgency, and public safety issues – board acknowledged but took no immediate action beyond noting.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone, and happy new year. Happy New Year. All right. Good to see everyone here. Um the Clayson County Board of Commissioners Board meeting is now called to order. The date is January sixth, twenty twenty-six, and the time is six o'clock PM. At this time we will do roll call. We'll start with District One. Here. District three. Present. District Two. Present. District Four. Present. And Madam Chair, and I am definitely present. Next is we will have our invocation and pledge of allegiance to our flag. Our invocation tonight will be done by Associate Pastor Terry Baskin with Lake Wind Christian Center Incorporated from Riverdale, Georgia. He will come up and do our invocation, and thereafter we will have the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag. I want to take the opportunity to thank you for the invitation to come. I'm very honored. And I especially want to say Madam Chair, Board Commissioners. God bless you. And thank you so much, Commissioner Allen, for extending the invitation. So let us pray. Father in heaven, we give thanks to you, Lord, for the blessings that you bestowed upon our lives this day. Father, you ordered our footsteps and you called us to this moment. And right now we just thank you, Lord, for every day that we rise, we give you the glory, the honor, and the praise. At this very moment, as we come collectively as a county, we want to say thank you, Lord, for the blessings upon this land. Thank you, Lord, for blessing the cities, the counties, and this state. But right now, Father, we come together to do your business to do your will here on earth as it is in heaven. Right now I ask at this very moment that we pray for our leaders of this county. So we lift up this body of governance. We thank you, Lord, for a hedge of protection over their lives. We pray for anointing upon their lives, and at this time that they continue to focus on your will, Heavenly Father. So we thank you, Lord, that we will hear from you this night. So Holy Spirit have your way in this place. Father, you tell us always to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things shall be added on to us. So we thank you, Lord, for the anointing, the blessings, the purification of what needs to be done here that will be pleasing to you. So it is in the precious and powerful name of Jesus. We pray this prayer and all in agreement to this prayer. Say amen. One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Next, we will move to the adoption of our agenda. Mr. Reed, will you please come up? Good evening and happy new year. Um, Madam Chair. Madam Vice Chair and Board.

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