OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Clayton County FY25 Q1 Performance Review – February 12, 2026

Board of Commissioners — Thursday, February 12, 2026
BodyClayton County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners
DateThursday, February 12, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:01:23

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

So good morning, Clayton County Citizens.

0:04

My name is Landry Merkison, and I have the pleasure of serving as your Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Board of Commissioners.

0:10

We're here today to present our fiscal year 25 quarter one Clayton Performance Reviews.

0:16

Our Clayton Performance Reviews are a way for our department directors to come together and present to you our Clayton County citizens their goals, their successes, and their challenges for fiscal fiscal year 25 quarter one.

0:31

As we go through our presentations today, if you have questions that you would like to submit to a department head, please submit your questions to CPRQestions at Clayton County GA.gov, and we will make sure that we get you an answer just as soon as we can pull your information together.

0:48

This morning you're going to hear from 10 of our departments, and then tomorrow you will hear from the other 10 departments that report directly to the chief operating officer.

0:58

So without further ado, it is my pleasure to welcome up number one this morning, Chief Kevin Roberts from the Clayton County Police Department.

1:04

Chief Greetings on behalf of the Clayton County Police Department.

1:25

I'm Chief Kevin Robertson is my pleasure to represent the agency as we continue to serve and protect the citizens with excellence, and we do that through partnerships and data-driven techniques that I'll talk about today in this presentation.

1:40

Our first goal that we set relates to the professionalism and growth management pillar of the county, specifically for us, is our vacancy rate, and we set a goal of maintaining a vacancy rate below 15%.

1:53

You see here we are on track and meeting that goal as we're at 9.9% with our vacancy rate, which is down 6% compared to last quarter of the fiscal year of 2024.

2:07

We also set a goal of reducing our traffic and pedestrian fatalities by 5%.

2:14

We're doing well in that arena as we have decreased our crash fatalities by 50%.

2:22

Our pedestrian fatalities remain the same at three, but we're on track to meet that goal as well.

2:30

From an internal perspective, we set a goal of providing 24 annual training opportunities related to technology for our personnel, and that associates also with the professional growth management pillar of the county.

2:43

We're meeting that goal and on track.

2:45

We've already had four training events.

2:47

I'm sure we will complete that goal and meet that as well.

2:51

That brings us to challenges and proposed solutions.

2:58

Property theft, a crime that's overwhelming the metropolitan area.

3:02

We're still doing well in that regard, but we have some disruption.

3:05

Last year, during the fiscal year, we attempted the partnership with the DA's office and we did gun buybacks.

3:12

Gun buybacks are hard to measure as it relates to effectiveness, so we wanted to change that technique.

3:19

So this fiscal year, we're taking the approach to pass out gun safes so that our citizens can secure their weapons properly and hopefully deter theft and also reduce our crimes against persons because we also often saw those firearms that were stolen were used in crimes later against persons.

3:38

Within that realm, we also continue to partner with our businesses to encourage them to buy into our real-time crime center.

3:45

That's the RTCC acronym you see there, which allows us video access, and we've been using cameras to solve crimes in a vast amount of the last fiscal year.

3:57

Moving down to the next challenge, it relates to a change in the state mandate related to training recruits.

4:04

Previously, the training hours mandated were 408 hours, I believe.

4:10

The mandate has changed to 800 hours.

4:12

What does that do?

4:14

That diminishes our opportunity to have the same amount of academy classes and push out the same amount of solo police officers to the streets.

4:23

So how are we combating that?

4:25

We're partnering with building and maintenance and the COO's office to identify space where we can run dual academies.

4:33

I've already allotted resources as far as trainers go to make that standard happen.

4:38

Once we get the space, I'm sure we'll continue to push out the same number of recruits that we've been doing.

4:45

Lastly, establishing partnerships with the community and other agencies.

4:50

We do well in that regard through our neighborhood watch meetings, our adult citizens police academy, and we recently started a junior citizens police academy, which includes the children from ages 8 to 16.

5:04

The catch is for the children to participate, the parents have to come with them.

5:08

So we're getting two birds with one stone in that regard.

5:11

I'm pleased to report.

6:00

Short term, we'll continue our neighborhood watch meetings.

6:04

We'll continue to coffee with the chief.

6:06

We have one coming up at Eggs Up Grill on October 25th from 9 a.m.

6:11

to 10 a.m.

6:12

I expect to see the community there.

6:14

We have a full scale public safety critical incident exercise that should be forthcoming.

6:21

And I told you about the gun safe distribution events that will be forthcoming.

6:25

Long term, we want to expand that footprint of the real-time crime center.

6:30

Right now we have three people in a small office as we get the funding and construction underway.

6:36

That's going to grow to something very impressive, and we'll continue to see these numbers grow.

6:46

Be safe.

7:06

And we are excited to share with you our accomplishments and initiatives for last quarter.

7:11

So who are we?

7:14

The Clayton County Library System is your community destination for education, relaxation, and resources.

7:21

We provide free, equitable, and confidential access to information for all Clayton County citizens.

7:31

Strategic goal number one to enrich community engagement through impactful programs and outreach events.

7:38

Increasing awareness of library programs through new car registrations, website visits.

7:44

This is the quality of life pillar.

7:46

This goal focuses on foot traffic, outreach events, new cart registrations, and website hits.

7:53

For the quarter, how many patrons are coming into our branches?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety███████████████15%
Library Services███████████████15%
Personnel Matters██████████████14%
Emergency Management█████████████13%
Economic Development██████████10%
Youth Programs██████████10%
Homelessness██████6%
Zoning And Land Use█████5%
Workforce Development████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Clayton County Fiscal Year 2025 Quarter One Performance Review – February 12, 2026

Deputy Chief Operating Officer Landry Merkison opened the meeting, explaining that the Clayton Performance Reviews (CPRs) allow department directors to present goals, successes, and challenges for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (July–September 2024). Ten departments reported directly to the Board of Commissioners, with the remaining ten reporting the following day. Citizens were invited to submit questions via email.

Discussion Items

Clayton County Police Department – Chief Kevin Roberts

  • Goal: Maintain vacancy rate below 15%. Achieved 9.9% (down 6% from FY24 Q4).
  • Goal: Reduce traffic and pedestrian fatalities by 5%. Crash fatalities decreased by 50%; pedestrian fatalities remained at three.
  • Internal training: Provided four of 24 annual technology training events.
  • Challenge: Property theft. Shifted strategy from gun buybacks to distributing gun safes and expanding the Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) partnerships.
  • Challenge: State mandate increased recruit training hours from 408 to 800, reducing academy throughput. Partnering with other departments to run dual academies.
  • Community engagement: Coffee with the Chief (October 25), neighborhood watch, and a junior citizens police academy (ages 8–16 with parent attendance).

Clayton County Library System – Director (unnamed) and Director Parham

  • Goal: Enrich community engagement. Results: 97,011 patron visits, 7,145 outreach participants, 1,362 new card registrations, 28,073 website hits. Monthly targets: 30,000 visits, 1,000 outreach, 300 new cards, 10,000 website hits.
  • Goal: Enhance workforce skills. Had eight vacancies, hired seven, held three job fairs with 1,366 participants.
  • Goal: Create partnerships. No new partnerships; six existing MOUs. Target: one new partner per quarter, 12 per year.
  • Goal: Provide equitable access. Interplay (VR) program: 233 sessions, 20 participants; 120,000+ downloadable e-resources; 8,000+ streaming services.
  • Goal: Offer workshops. 628 adult/youth programs, 312 STEAM, 250 financial/health literacy; total 12,564 participants.
  • Challenges: Limited professional development funding; uptick in unhoused population with negative interactions. Solutions: investigating low-cost conferences, partnering with Clayton State social work interns.
  • Future initiatives: Digitization project with Henry County Library for records from a historic black funeral home (1940s); upgrading accessibility equipment and service desk PCs with state grant; amnesty week in November; new library hours in January 2025; Riverdale Library renovation (completion 2027); bookmobile acquisition.

Office of Economic Development – Director Erica Rocker

  • Goal: Establish partnerships. Partnered with Clayton State University, City of Morrow, City of Forest Park, and Aerotropolis. 50% toward goal of three per quarter.
  • Goal: Invest in marketing. Produced a notable projects video, refreshed print/digital materials.
  • Goal: Nurture small businesses. Held an open house; 25% toward goal of four major events.
  • State project manager visits: 50% toward goal.
  • Challenges: Need for a streamlined workforce development platform; slow retail investment due to economy and cost of borrowing. Solution: propose incentive policy to Board in November, continue business retention visits with landlords.
  • Future: Present incentive policy November 19; launch Quality of Life Index Survey November 13; survey ARPA beautification projects by December; open business incubator (spring 2025); create corporate adopt-a-corridor program; host foreign direct investment event (March 2025).

Department of Housing and Community Development (presented under Community Development section, but identified as housing-related)

  • Goal: Cross-train staff. Completed four training sessions (target two).
  • Goal: Increase homeownership via down payment and closing cost assistance. Held three workshops with 77 participants (27 Clayton County employees); 13 became homeowners.
  • Goal: Homeless education program. Placed 42 families in permanent housing (target 38); received eight referrals from Board of Education.
  • Goal: Improve housing conditions through home repair program. Served 14 homeowners.
  • Goal: Monitor sub-recipients. Completed all 26 annual monitoring visits.
  • Challenges: Inadequate staffing. Solutions: technical assistance workshop for PY24 sub-recipients, prepare for PY25 application cycle, develop grant tracking database.

Office of Resilience and Sustainability & Emergency Management – Interim Director (unnamed)

  • Goal: Train employees and citizens for disasters. Conducted 17 classes (doubled from previous), 309 attendees (doubled from 155).
  • Goal: Handle citizen complaints/concerns. Received three complaints (down from four in FY24 Q4). Attributed to education.
  • Goal: Field contacts. Made 32 field contacts.
  • Challenges: Lack of staffing to fulfill broad mission; complaints redirected from other departments; increased training requests; limited training space. Solutions: request additional funding next budget cycle; improved online portal; use other county training locations.
  • Future: Working on $24.5M Flint River Hazard Mitigation Grant; Clayton County District Pocket Park construction; update Emergency Operations Plan; $400,000 EOC grant (2025); $2.6M Camp Creek Tributary project; Community Rating System; congressional appropriations for Hurricane Creek flooding.

Community Development Department – Assistant Director Cheryl Brooks

  • Goal: Increase efficiency of permits and licenses. Issued 121 permits (93% accuracy), 543 trade permits (99% accuracy), 164 business licenses within 10 days (92.2% efficiency), four alcohol licenses (100% accuracy).
  • Challenges: Need more staff for zoning rewrite, comprehensive plan update, and to fill vacancies. Solutions: implemented 72-hour tracking block and dashboards; soliciting for street project study in January; working with Atlanta Regional Commission on housing issues; procured short-term rental software.
  • Future: Department reorganization and succession plan ongoing.

Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services – Interim Director Tim Sweat

  • Goal: Maintain vacancy rate ≤6%. Achieved 8.4% (38 vacancies); with 13 provisional appointments, effective rate 5.5%. High school pathway program: 19 seniors, 39 juniors (largest cohort). 11 personnel passed EMS testing; new recruit class starts November 11 with 23 recruits.
  • Goal: Maintain fleet utilization at 85%. Achieved 83% (below target due to major repairs). Placed Riverdale Ladder 16, Engine 17, Med 13, and BLS 16 into service.
  • Goal: Enhance technology. Zero devices out of service for two consecutive quarters. Replaced monitors and battery backups; plan to replace iPads and laptops.
  • Health and wellness: 246 personnel (54.6%) participated in free cancer screening; working on improved physical assessment program and county clinic.
  • Future: Chat with Chiefs (monthly virtual), medical director chat; continue capital projects: Fire Station 15 (contract awarded), HQ/clinic, Fire Station 13 on hold, Station 2 ongoing, severe weather rescue simulator; plan next fire apparatus purchase.

Office of Youth Services – Administrator Sierra Dunn

  • Goal: Involve high school students in public service. 42 youth applied for youth commission; 30 accepted (maximum by resolution). 30 youth completed summer leadership orientation and were sworn in.
  • Goal: Provide programs to youth (ages 14–24). Quarter one had 93 participants (voter registration drive); focus on training.
  • Goal: Secure funding. Goal $125,000; received $48,000 (decrease from $126,000 last year) plus health district funding for programming.
  • No challenges reported.

Human Resources Department

  • Goal: Maximize compensation to retain workforce. Turnover rate not yet measured for 2024 (target <11%). Quality of hire: 30 full-time employees met two-year tenure benchmark.
  • Goal: Process personnel actions with zero errors. Processed 1,337 actions with 0% error rate; average processing time 2.7 days (within 3-day standard).
  • Goal: Limit liability through compliance. Zero negative incidents from onboarding; zero E-Verify violations.
  • Goal: Keep employees informed. Held 41 professional development classes (target 20), 1,125 attendees; nine employees graduated from professional development (target five).
  • Goal: Maintain feedback systems. Conducted 21 exit interviews (8.9% of target 25%); 17 stay interviews (5% of target 50%).
  • Goal: Healthy work environment. Hosted 11 wellness initiatives (target 18); 30 departments participated (target 15).
  • Challenges: Manpower shortage – HR ratio one to 160. Solutions: continue transformation; complete compensation survey and civil service rewrite; restructure HR and add a trainer.

Key Outcomes

  • No votes or formal decisions were taken; this was a presentation and information-sharing session.
  • The meeting highlighted progress on strategic goals (vacancy reduction, training, community engagement) across departments, with common challenges of staffing shortages and funding constraints.
  • Several departments pointed to future initiatives (incentive policy, new fire station, library digitization, EOC grant) with specific timelines.
  • Citizens were invited to submit questions to CPRQuestions@ClaytonCountyGA.gov for follow-up.

Meeting Transcript

So good morning, Clayton County Citizens. My name is Landry Merkison, and I have the pleasure of serving as your Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Board of Commissioners. We're here today to present our fiscal year 25 quarter one Clayton Performance Reviews. Our Clayton Performance Reviews are a way for our department directors to come together and present to you our Clayton County citizens their goals, their successes, and their challenges for fiscal fiscal year 25 quarter one. As we go through our presentations today, if you have questions that you would like to submit to a department head, please submit your questions to CPRQestions at Clayton County GA.gov, and we will make sure that we get you an answer just as soon as we can pull your information together. This morning you're going to hear from 10 of our departments, and then tomorrow you will hear from the other 10 departments that report directly to the chief operating officer. So without further ado, it is my pleasure to welcome up number one this morning, Chief Kevin Roberts from the Clayton County Police Department. Chief Greetings on behalf of the Clayton County Police Department. I'm Chief Kevin Robertson is my pleasure to represent the agency as we continue to serve and protect the citizens with excellence, and we do that through partnerships and data-driven techniques that I'll talk about today in this presentation. Our first goal that we set relates to the professionalism and growth management pillar of the county, specifically for us, is our vacancy rate, and we set a goal of maintaining a vacancy rate below 15%. You see here we are on track and meeting that goal as we're at 9.9% with our vacancy rate, which is down 6% compared to last quarter of the fiscal year of 2024. We also set a goal of reducing our traffic and pedestrian fatalities by 5%. We're doing well in that arena as we have decreased our crash fatalities by 50%. Our pedestrian fatalities remain the same at three, but we're on track to meet that goal as well. From an internal perspective, we set a goal of providing 24 annual training opportunities related to technology for our personnel, and that associates also with the professional growth management pillar of the county. We're meeting that goal and on track. We've already had four training events. I'm sure we will complete that goal and meet that as well. That brings us to challenges and proposed solutions. Property theft, a crime that's overwhelming the metropolitan area. We're still doing well in that regard, but we have some disruption. Last year, during the fiscal year, we attempted the partnership with the DA's office and we did gun buybacks. Gun buybacks are hard to measure as it relates to effectiveness, so we wanted to change that technique. So this fiscal year, we're taking the approach to pass out gun safes so that our citizens can secure their weapons properly and hopefully deter theft and also reduce our crimes against persons because we also often saw those firearms that were stolen were used in crimes later against persons. Within that realm, we also continue to partner with our businesses to encourage them to buy into our real-time crime center. That's the RTCC acronym you see there, which allows us video access, and we've been using cameras to solve crimes in a vast amount of the last fiscal year. Moving down to the next challenge, it relates to a change in the state mandate related to training recruits. Previously, the training hours mandated were 408 hours, I believe. The mandate has changed to 800 hours. What does that do? That diminishes our opportunity to have the same amount of academy classes and push out the same amount of solo police officers to the streets. So how are we combating that? We're partnering with building and maintenance and the COO's office to identify space where we can run dual academies. I've already allotted resources as far as trainers go to make that standard happen. Once we get the space, I'm sure we'll continue to push out the same number of recruits that we've been doing. Lastly, establishing partnerships with the community and other agencies. We do well in that regard through our neighborhood watch meetings, our adult citizens police academy, and we recently started a junior citizens police academy, which includes the children from ages 8 to 16. The catch is for the children to participate, the parents have to come with them. So we're getting two birds with one stone in that regard. I'm pleased to report. Short term, we'll continue our neighborhood watch meetings. We'll continue to coffee with the chief. We have one coming up at Eggs Up Grill on October 25th from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. I expect to see the community there. We have a full scale public safety critical incident exercise that should be forthcoming. And I told you about the gun safe distribution events that will be forthcoming. Long term, we want to expand that footprint of the real-time crime center. Right now we have three people in a small office as we get the funding and construction underway. That's going to grow to something very impressive, and we'll continue to see these numbers grow.

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