DeKalb County ERPS Committee Meeting - February 17, 2026

This was a meeting of the Employee Relations and Public Safety (ERPS) Committee, chaired by Commissioner Ladina Bolton, with Commissioners Shakira Johnson and Marita Davis Johnson. The committee reviewed public safety grants, a major animal shelter contract, fire rescue supplies, a police fleet addition, two ordinance proposals, and received budget and pension updates. Several items were approved, while others were deferred for further analysis or state legislative action.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes (Item 2026-0324): Approved minutes from the February 3, 2026 meeting.

Discussion Items

Public Safety – Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grants

• Item 2026-0320: Approved a $382,606.81 grant for a new bomb truck, audio-visual downlink capability for the helicopter, and aircraft service support. Chief Pagri explained that DeKalb County is one of five UASI agencies (with Atlanta, Fulton, Clayton, and Cobb) and that the equipment will be shared for regional emergency management. Commissioner Terry asked about FIFA World Cup funding; the Chief noted that only overtime reimbursement is currently offered, and a previous equipment grant request was denied.
• Item 2026-0322: Approved a $10,073.24 amendment to extend the performance period of the 2022 UASI grant to August 15, 2025, due to federal government shutdowns. All equipment has been received.

Animal Shelter Operations – Lifeline Animal Project Contract

• Item 2026-0284: This item seeks to ratify and extend the contract with Lifeline Animal Project for shelter operations through December 31, 2027, with a total not to exceed $22,244,500. The base services are approximately $9.9 million per year, covering the current facility and 10 new kennels. Additional funding includes $570,000 (2026, prorated) and $750,000 (2027) for spay/neuter services (targeting 4,000 free surgeries in 2026 and 6,000 in 2027), a mobile clinic, pet food bank, community outreach, and a transport vehicle. The committee discussed the need for proactive community engagement to reduce shelter intake. The item was deferred for two weeks pending audit review (motion carried).

Fire Rescue – Emergency Medical Supplies

• Item 2026-0183: Approved a change order to ratify and extend the contract for emergency medical supplies with Bound Tree Medical LLC through June 30, 2026, with an amount not to exceed $360,000. The extension is a stopgap while a new procurement is underway.

Facilities Management – Security Cameras

• Item 2026-0272: Deferred for two weeks as no representative from Facilities Management was present to speak to the $146,741.40 purchase of indoor/outdoor cameras for the video surveillance system.

Police Fleet Addition

• Walk-on Item: Approved the purchase of 16 vehicles at $62,169 each (total $994,708) to address a shortage caused by a 9% increase in sworn staffing (from 530 to 590 officers) and a 91% retention rate. The vehicles are needed for the 22 recruits who just graduated and 27 recruits in current academies, plus a planned class of 40. SPLOST funds have been identified. Delivery in about two weeks, with outfitting taking one to two months. Motion carried.

Ordinance Discussions

• District 7 Blasting Ordinance (Item 2026-0281): Deferred for 30 days (four weeks) to allow time for state feedback on the proposed control blasting and safety ordinance. The committee agreed to wait for state input.
• Scrap Tire Enforcement (Item 2026-0683): Deferred to the April 21, 2026 ERPS meeting. Staff presented a red-line version with revisions, including a workaround to fine $1,000 per tire dumped. The state legislature is considering increasing penalties, and the committee decided to wait for that process. Commissioner Terry advocated for immediate action on the business license revocation provision, while Commissioner Davis Johnson raised concerns about restorative justice and the impact of high fines on low-income violators. The author, Commissioner Patrick, supported the deferral.

Budget Discussion

• TJ (Budget Director) reviewed departmental budget proposals. Key points:
  • Human Resources: $8.2 million (3% increase for consulting and salary surveys).
  • Police Fund Contributions to CIP: $0 this year (pending a CIP planning process). Last year’s $2.269 million was for the real-time crime center.
  • DEMA: $1.9 million (45% increase for a director position, generator, and weather stations).
  • Fire General Fund: $5.8 million increase (58%) due to the new ambulance service contract.
  • Police Fund: 3% decrease due to staggered funding of vacant positions and removal of one-time costs.
  • Non-departmental funds: Decreases due to cost allocation adjustments.
• E911 Director reported improved answer times: from 73% to 83-86% (goal is 90% within 15 seconds). The department is 15 positions short, with a new class starting April 13.
• The committee requested a comparison of last year’s departmental budgets versus this year’s requests.

Pension Discussion

• Ed Wall (Pension Board) presented three items:
  1. Line of Duty Death Benefit: Approved a home rule amendment to provide a full retirement benefit to beneficiaries of public safety employees who die in the line of duty. Annual cost: $64,000 (includes all employees, including public works and watershed). The benefit will be retroactive to cover two employees who died in 2025. Motion carried with one abstention (Commissioner Zach? Unclear, but noted abstention).
  2. Retiree COLA: Proposed a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for 5,593 retirees, costing $2.993 million annually. The committee asked for further fiscal impact analysis before deciding.
  3. Moving Group 3 Employees to Group 2: Proposed to move 4,024 employees hired after 2016 from a 1% multiplier (plus 3% defined contribution) to a 2.25% multiplier (eliminating the defined contribution). The net cost would be $4.416 million annually if the amortization period is extended from 18 to 20 years. The committee requested a detailed breakdown of options, including costs for public safety only, and a 30-day fiscal impact analysis from the COO. No vote was taken on this item or the COLA.

Key Outcomes

• Approved: Minutes, UASI grants (0320, 0322), Fire Rescue medical supplies, Police fleet addition, Line of Duty Death Benefit.
• Deferred: Animal Shelter contract (2 weeks), Facilities cameras (2 weeks), Blasting ordinance (30 days), Scrap Tire ordinance (to April 21), Retiree COLA and Group 3-to-2 pension change (pending further analysis).
• Next Steps: Staff to provide detailed budget comparisons and fiscal impact for pension options; police fleet purchase to proceed; state legislation on scrap tires to be monitored.