DeKalb County ERPS Committee Meeting - March 3, 2026
DeKalb County ERPS Committee Meeting - March 3, 2026
The Employee Relations and Public Safety (ERPS) Committee of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners met on March 3, 2026, chaired by Commissioner Ladina Bolton. The committee reviewed and approved several items related to public safety facilities, equipment, and animal services, and received the 2025 annual report from the DeKalb County Police Department.
Consent Calendar
- Item 2026-0420 (Minutes of February 17, 2026, meeting) was deferred for two weeks due to the absence of Commissioner Marita Davis Johnson, who was attending to a family emergency. The deferral motion was approved unanimously.
Discussion Items
- Item 2026-0272 (Security Cameras): A statewide contract for integrated security and surveillance products for the Department of Facilities Management, covering indoor and outdoor cameras at 4572 Memorial Drive. The amount not to exceed $146,741.40 was approved unanimously.
- Item 2026-0459 (Public Safety Training Facility Feasibility Study): Approved the use of $500,000 in SPLOST 1 funds to evaluate and propose the most appropriate location for a joint public safety training facility for police and fire. The study will assess existing training centers (e.g., Warren Road, built in 1973; police training in a 1960s school building) and provide up to three options. The motion carried unanimously.
- Item 2026-0460 (East Precinct and Police Training Facility Repairs): Approved $3,019,530 (not to exceed) from SPLOST 1 and SPLOST 2 for asbestos removal, wiring upgrades, restroom renovations, and other repairs at the East Precinct and police training facility. The funding is on top of a previously approved $2 million for roof and HVAC work. Commissioners requested itemized details but voted to approve unanimously.
- Item 2026-0311 (Firearms and Ammunition): Approved a statewide contract with Smyrna Police Distributors, Inc., for the purchase and trade-in of duty firearms, not to exceed $150,074.50. The upgrade will replace aging Glock 9mm handguns for approximately 600 officers, adding modern optics. The motion carried unanimously.
- Item 2026-0284 (Animal Shelter Services – Lifeline Animal Projects): Approved a change order (No. 6) to extend the contract through December 31, 2027, with an amount not to exceed $22,244,500. The contract includes expanded services: spay/neuter surgeries (from 4,800 to 6,000 per year), mobile veterinary clinics twice a week in high-need areas, expanded pet food bank, and new community engagement staff. Commissioner Bolton raised concerns about funding sustainability and regional use, and Lifeline confirmed that all services are for DeKalb County residents only. The committee also secured a commitment from Lifeline to allocate up to $100,000 annually for district-specific events. The motion carried unanimously.
- DKPD 2025 Annual Report (Presentation): Chief Pedrick presented the annual report, highlighting a 9% increase in sworn staffing, a new victim witness advocate program (expanded from 4 to 8), a real-time crime center moving to 24/7 operations, and crime statistics: 91 homicides (first time below 100 in years), 32,000 traffic accidents, 88 traffic fatalities, and a 76.9% homicide clearance rate (vs. 52.3% national average). Internal affairs complaints increased due to proactive self-auditing. The report was informational; no vote was taken.
Key Outcomes
- All voting items (2026-0272, 0459, 0460, 0311, 0284) were approved unanimously by the committee for recommendation to the full Board.
- The minutes from February 17, 2026, were deferred for two weeks.
- The committee received the DKPD annual report without action.
- Commissioner Bolton requested future clarity in funding language (e.g., “not to exceed” instead of “by the amount of”).
- Staff committed to providing itemized details for the East Precinct repairs and to exploring residency verification for animal services programs.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. I am Ladina Bolton, your Super District 7 Commissioner and Deputy Presiding Officer. Also, the chair of the ERPS Committee, Employee Relations and Public Safety. We have an update to our committee members. We now serving now on this committee with me is Commissioner Nicole Masaya, but also Commissioner Marita Davis Johnson, and we want to say welcome to Commissioner Masaya. So we're going to go ahead and jump right into our agenda. Luckily, it isn't too exhaustive, but beginning with item 2026-0420, these are our minutes for the February 17th meeting. Had you had an opportunity to review the minutes? Not yet being new to the committee, and in the absence of Commissioner Davis Johnson, who is attending to family responsibilities and emergency, and our prayers are with her. Okay, and I second that motion for a deferral for two weeks. All right. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries for deferral. Jumping into our previously heard items. We're actually going to move this item for animal enforcement services toward the end. I know Commissioner Long Spears wanted to be present for that, so we're going to give her a little bit of time. Um no, we didn't we don't have to for committee. It's fine. So we'll come back to that. I know we have our guests from Lifeline, if that's okay with you. So we're going to move forward to item 2026 027 to all commission districts. This is a statewide contract number 999 SPD, SPD 000172-006, integrated security and surveillance products and services for use by the Department of Facilities Management. Consists of purchasing from the competitively let statewide contract number that was previously read to purchase indoor and outdoor cameras with sensors for the video surveillance security system awarded to convergent technologies amount not to exceed 146,741 dollars and forty cents. Uh-oh, I don't think we can hear you. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Okay, agenda item 0272 is regarding the security cameras. And then we had several uh offices for the state of Georgia. So the security cameras will serve the entire 35,000 square foot of both indoor and outdoor, with the higher end cameras being utilized in the UCO or the utility customer operations, and that's because they accept money there and require the enhanced surveillance. Um we were able to obtain a portion of these cameras from our IT department, so that's gonna necessitate that a portion of this fee will be used for restocking those to the IT, plus the ones additional we need to purchase. Okay, and I was trying to go back and look at the full report. Did you say this was for 48? Is it 4830 Memorial Drive? It's for uh 4572 Memorial Drive. 4572. And that shopping center just outside of 285. Okay. A memorial drive. Did you have something, Commissioner Masaya? No questions at all, Madam Chair. Thank you. Any questions from Commissioner Patrick or Commissioner Terry regarding this contract? Okay, seeing no questions or comments from commissioners. Do we have a motion for this item? Motion to approve agenda item ending in 0272. Second, all in favor, aye. Motion carries recommendation for approval. Thank you. Absolutely. All right, moving down to new agenda items.
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