OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

DeKalb County Committee of the Whole Meeting - May 5, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Tuesday, May 5, 2026
BodyDekalb County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees
DateTuesday, May 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:38:36

Transcript — Verbatim
0:10

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the committee of the whole.

0:13

Today is May 5th, 2026.

0:16

I am presiding officer and District 4 Commissioner Shakira Johnson.

0:21

We will get started with our committee reports.

0:23

Commissioner Ted Terry will go first with his FAB report.

0:28

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.

0:30

Um the finance audit budget committee last met on Tuesday, April 28th.

0:34

Uh we were joined by myself, Commissioner Shakira Johnson, Commissioner Michelle Long Spears, and Commissioner Robert Patrick.

0:40

Uh we went over briefly the condominium complex water billing debt and uh spoke with CEO Williams and County Attorney Phillips on uh continuing that discussion in the FAB meeting um and uh the county uh law department will provide a timeline on their strategy to address the uh condo complex water billing um issues and so it sounds like we got some ideas in mind, so that's positive, and we just want to keep that at the top of the agenda for the FAB committee.

1:13

We also went over or we deferred item 1525 um to the meeting this afternoon, madam chair.

1:19

So we'll talk about the uh water customer bill of rights.

1:22

Um Zach, we did ask um if y'all would review the the resolution and come back to the committee with any feedback you might have.

1:31

Um I believe we're doing most of the things in the resolution, but uh let's just you know go through that if we can today.

1:38

And then I did present on the uh item 0158, uh, which is the resolution to establish a fiscal policy called the for the people AI Tech Dividend Fund.

1:50

And so I provided uh printouts and handouts.

1:53

I believe we did email the presentation uh to all the commissioners.

1:57

Um I know at the last meeting there were some questions uh from the floor about what this resolution is and does, and I think if you go back and watch the committee meeting or you know, review the PowerPoint, uh those those answers will be very uh very uh present.

2:14

And we concluded the meeting a little bit early.

2:16

At 257 p.m.

2:18

Yield back, Madam Chair.

2:19

Thank you, Commissioner Terry.

2:21

Commissioner Masaya for the PECS report.

2:23

Thank you so much, Madam PO.

2:25

Good morning to all.

2:26

Thank you, Madam PO.

2:27

I'm the Commissioner Nicole Messiah, and I have the honor to serve as the PECS Chair, Planning, Economic Development, and Community Services, along with committee members Commissioner Robert Patrick, District 1, and Commissioner Long Spears from District 2.

2:42

Our last regularly scheduled meeting was April 29th, and those in attendance were myself, Commissioner Patrick, Commissioner Long Spears, and Commissioner Terry joined along with there were 10 printed items on the agenda, five of which were recommended for approval.

2:58

Five items were um recommended for deferral.

3:01

All due back to the Board of Commissioners on 512, 2026.

3:06

We also present uh had a presentation by Director Alan Mitchell from community development.

3:12

Um his item was approved out of committee, and I wanted to ensure uh well highlight excuse me that the DeCAP CARES Pumbling program funding is available to our residents.

3:25

Um that amount is 9.9 million dollars.

3:29

And so um residents of uh of the CAP County, please do take care take that and look into so you can take advantage of that, excuse me.

3:40

Um we uh know in our account uh we had our CAUT evening meeting on uh 6-2.

3:48

We'll have even more engaging dialogue uh around the agenda items related to data centers.

3:55

We also uh continue those discussion in PECS, and we uh will uh continue to address the text amendment and make certain that the concerns that are shared by our constituents are reflected and we have the necessary protections in place.

4:10

That ends our um our committee meeting, our next PECS meeting is Tuesday, May 12th at 3 30.

4:17

And I yield back to you, Madam P.O.

4:18

Thank you.

4:19

Thank you, Commissioner Massaia.

4:20

Next we'll go to Commissioner Bolton for the ERPS committee report.

4:24

Good morning, everyone.

4:25

I am Ladina Bolton, Super District 7 Commissioner and Deputy Presiding Officer, but I also chair ERPS committee, which is employee relations and public safety.

4:35

At our last meeting on April 21st in attendance, we did have committee members, uh Commissioner Davis Johnson and Commissioner Messiah, but also joining us.

4:46

We had Commissioner Patrick Spears and Terry.

4:49

During that meeting, we had a few agenda items.

4:53

It wasn't too many on there, but 2026 0532.

5:00

This was a request for fire stations 5, 16, and 27, 26 million dollars or just over 26 million dollars.

5:08

It was deferred.

5:09

We had not had that item come back from audit as of yet, so we look forward to hearing more about that at the next meeting.

5:16

Under police services, there are a couple of items 2026 0592.

5:22

That of course was approved because this was uh an amendment to the fiscal year 2026 Metro Atlanta multi-jurisdictional DUI task force.

5:34

This was a grant in the amount of $30,000 or just over $30,000.

5:39

So we were proud that our public safety or police department was able to receive that.

5:45

Item 20260635 was also approved for the police department.

5:51

And this was to obtain a subscription to leads online power plus investigations.

5:58

This is to help them search for and identify stolen items, potential suspects, and criminal activity patterns.

6:08

So we're always in support of tools and resources to help them be more effective and efficient in their duties.

6:14

A few items proposed by District 2 in particular 2026 0728.

6:21

This was an ordinance to amend the code of DeCap County to regulate the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet shops.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████33%
Transportation Safety████████████████████20%
Public Engagement██████████10%
Community Engagement██████████10%
Fiscal Sustainability████4%
Public Safety████4%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Appointments██2%
Capital Improvement Planning██2%
Summary of Proceedings

DeKalb County Committee of the Whole Meeting - May 5, 2026

The DeKalb County Committee of the Whole met on May 5, 2026, at 2:15 PM (reconvened later for executive session) with Presiding Officer and District 4 Commissioner Shakira Johnson. The meeting included committee reports, a quarterly update from MARTA, review of the proposed executive agenda for May 12, 2026, and board member comments. The board also held a special call meeting for executive session and approved tax refunds.

Committee Reports

  • Finance, Audit & Budget (FAB) Committee (Chair: Commissioner Ted Terry): The committee met on April 28, 2026, joined by Commissioners Johnson, Long Spears, and Patrick. They discussed condominium complex water billing debt and will receive a timeline from the law department on a strategy. Item 1525 (Water Customer Bill of Rights) was deferred to the afternoon meeting. Commissioner Terry presented on Item 0158, a resolution to establish the "For the People AI Tech Dividend Fund."
  • Planning, Economic Development & Community Services (PECS) Committee (Chair: Commissioner Nicole Massaia): The committee met on April 29, 2026, with 10 printed agenda items. Five were recommended for approval, five for deferral (all due back May 12, 2026). Director Alan Mitchell from Community Development presented on the DeKalb CARES Plumbing Program, which provides $9.9 million in funding for residents. Data center text amendment discussions will continue.
  • Employee Relations & Public Safety (ERPS) Committee (Chair: Commissioner Ladina Bolton): The committee met on April 21, 2026. Item 2026-0532 (request for fire stations 5, 16, and 27, totaling $26 million) was deferred pending audit. Item 2026-0592 (amendment for the FY2026 Metro Atlanta Multi-Jurisdictional DUI Task Force grant, $30,000) was approved. Item 2026-0635 (subscription to LeadsOnline Power Plus investigations) was approved. Items regarding the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits (2026-0728) and tethering were deferred pending law review.
  • County Operations (OPS) Committee (Chair: Commissioner Marita Davis Johnson): The committee met on April 21, 2026. They discussed and approved changes to commissioners' speaking time, to be effective at the following commission meeting and included in procedural rules. Charter review was briefly discussed regarding Section 6 (vacancies) and Section 9 (powers and duties). The OPS committee will meet again at 1:00 PM on May 5.
  • Public Works & Infrastructure (PWI) Committee (Chair: Commissioner Robert Patrick): The committee met on April 21, 2026, with 13 items voted on. Six items (totaling just north of $50 million) were held under audit review. Seven additional items were approved. Presentations included the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) update and the KB Advisory report on alternative funding for bus rapid transit/mass transit.
  • Women's Commission (Commissioner Michelle Long Spears): The first meeting of the DeKalb County Women's Commission will be on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, from 6:00–7:30 PM at 178 Sam Street.

Quarterly Update from MARTA

MARTA Interim CEO Collie Greenwood provided the quarterly briefing. Key points included:

  • Ridership: Year-over-year growth, past pre-pandemic levels on paratransit (Mobility). Rail ridership shows a significant bump due to a new estimation methodology (statistically valid sampling, manual counts, video footage) starting in December 2025. The previous system undercounted taps due to malfunctioning gates and fare evasion. Bus ridership data was provided: for the first three days of the NextGen rollout (April 18-20), nearly 15,000 bus trips carried almost a quarter million customers. For the first week, over a million trips carried just under 700,000 customers.
  • Proposed FY 2027 Budget: Projected operating revenues: $679.9 million. Sales tax is the largest contributor at 63.1% ($428.7 million). Federal assistance: $101.7 million.Passenger revenues estimated at $86.9 million, a large jump due to new fare gates. Total proposed operating expenses: $663.1 million. Capital sources: ~$1.5 billion; planned uses: $919.8 million. A large debt issuance of $385 million is planned for 40-year generational improvements (rail, traction power stations) over the next 8–10 years.
  • NextGen Bus Network: Launched April 18, 2026, as the first complete redesign in 40 years. 315 buses operate daily across 81 routes (down from 113). Tripled the number of routes with headways of 15 minutes or better. Over 900 transit ambassadors were deployed daily. MARTA is in a 6–12 month evaluation period, reviewing data, customer feedback, and on-system surveys.
  • Better Breeze Fare System: Launched March 28, 2026. Old Breeze cards no longer work as of May 2, 2026. New cards are available in Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet; Apple Pay/Apple Watch coming later this month. Reduced fare customers: ~47,000; mailing ended April 30. Extended hours, hired temporary staff, and added transit ambassadors to handle lines. Approximately 320 individuals came on Friday, May 1; about 12% were new applicants.
  • Capital Projects: Buford Highway ART – 30% design, locally funded, solicitation for final design released, award expected by end of Q3 2026. Candler Road ART – locally funded, construction expected to begin in 2028. South DeKalb Transit Hub – received $25 million in federal obligated funding, advancing to final design. Stonecrest Transit Hub – at 30% design, advocating for additional state/federal funds. East Lake Station – South Pedestrian Bridge installed, ribbon cutting on May 30, 2026. Kensington Station TOD – re-released RFP was unresponsive; working with CEO's office and HADC on an alternative approach.
  • Legislative Advocacy: HB 297 (creating the Georgia Transportation Efficiency Act and extending MARTA's sales tax penny for 10 years through 2067) passed but has not yet been signed by the Governor. Bus camera enforcement bill did not pass.
  • Public Safety: Year-over-year overall crime on MARTA is down 27% as of April 2026. MARTA experienced its first homicide in 15 months on April 27 at Oakland City Station, with three suspects apprehended. Sworn officers now at 270–278, beating the goal of 250.
  • Community Engagement: Events included the Buford Highway Walk Audit (with Commissioner Long Spears), presentations at the DeKalb Aging in Place meeting and Lou Walker Senior Center, and upcoming meeting in Tucker.

Discussion Items

  • Executive Agenda Review (May 12, 2026): Led by CEO Zachary Williams and Chief of Staff Lee May. Items were assigned to committees:
    • Public Hearing: Resolution 0795 (Constitution Road Freight Corridor Improvement, $2,205).
    • Proposed Preliminary Items: Fiscal Year 2026 budget amendment (FAB), venue change for DeKalb County Day Center (PECS), FY2026 FIFA World Cup grant ($1,487,037; ERPS), stormwater utility fee increase (PWI), SPLOST funding for South Peachtree Creek Trail extension (PWI), lighting agreements (consent), acceptance of funds from Atlanta Regional Commission (PWI).
    • Purchasing and contracting items assigned to ERPS, OPS, PECS, and PWI.
    • Board of Commissioners agenda items included appointments to the Women's Commission, Sports Commission, Community Councils, and the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs Board.
    • Item 2026-0801 (amending standing rules to set commissioner speaking time limits) will be on the agenda for first reading on May 12, with a second reading and vote likely on May 21 (COW) or May 26 (BOC meeting).
    • Consent Agenda: Approval of May 5 COW minutes, district reserve allocations (District 2: $9,000 for spay/neuter survey, $10,000 for Global Academy summer camp, $176,050 for Pendergrass Park improvements; District 3: $30,000 for Law Clinic, $10,000 each to DeKalb Pro Bono, Start Me program, DA Domestic Violence Unit, Atlanta Masjid Sisters United; District 7: $3,000 for career day, $35,000 for Flat Rock Archives, $2,100 for parade, $3,500 to two domestic violence agencies, $15,000 for youth summer program, $5,000 for food pantry, $1,000 for World Planning Day), and approval of April 26 BOC minutes.
    • Commissioner Terry requested staff to streamline the bureaucratic process for small-dollar commissioner allocations.
  • Comments from the Board: Commissioners reported on community events, grant applications, district initiatives (beautification grants, parks fund, unhoused plan), and expressed concerns about the use of AI in government (Commissioner Terry noted no county AI policy exists after 1.5 years, and criticized a lack of transparency regarding an inaccurate AI-generated map from county leadership after the Clarkston arsons).

Key Outcomes

  • The board voted unanimously to approve tax refunds from executive session totaling $252,672.46 plus statutory interest for three specific parcels related to tax refund litigation. (Commissioner Long Spears was not present.)
  • The proposed executive agenda for the May 12, 2026 business meeting was reviewed but no formal vote was taken.
  • The board took no action on the MARTA quarterly update, which was informational only.
  • Commissioner Terry's request to streamline small-dollar fund allocation was acknowledged by CEO Williams.
  • Commissioner Terry expressed that the administration has not delivered a requested AI policy after a commitment made 1.5 years ago.
  • The next PECS committee meeting is May 12 at 3:30 PM; the next PWI meeting started at 3:30 PM on May 5; the next FAB meeting will continue discussion on water billing.
  • The next Joint BOC/BOE meeting is planned for late October 2026.

Executive Session

The board held a special called meeting in executive session for litigation, after which they voted to approve the tax refunds.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the committee of the whole. Today is May 5th, 2026. I am presiding officer and District 4 Commissioner Shakira Johnson. We will get started with our committee reports. Commissioner Ted Terry will go first with his FAB report. Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Um the finance audit budget committee last met on Tuesday, April 28th. Uh we were joined by myself, Commissioner Shakira Johnson, Commissioner Michelle Long Spears, and Commissioner Robert Patrick. Uh we went over briefly the condominium complex water billing debt and uh spoke with CEO Williams and County Attorney Phillips on uh continuing that discussion in the FAB meeting um and uh the county uh law department will provide a timeline on their strategy to address the uh condo complex water billing um issues and so it sounds like we got some ideas in mind, so that's positive, and we just want to keep that at the top of the agenda for the FAB committee. We also went over or we deferred item 1525 um to the meeting this afternoon, madam chair. So we'll talk about the uh water customer bill of rights. Um Zach, we did ask um if y'all would review the the resolution and come back to the committee with any feedback you might have. Um I believe we're doing most of the things in the resolution, but uh let's just you know go through that if we can today. And then I did present on the uh item 0158, uh, which is the resolution to establish a fiscal policy called the for the people AI Tech Dividend Fund. And so I provided uh printouts and handouts. I believe we did email the presentation uh to all the commissioners. Um I know at the last meeting there were some questions uh from the floor about what this resolution is and does, and I think if you go back and watch the committee meeting or you know, review the PowerPoint, uh those those answers will be very uh very uh present. And we concluded the meeting a little bit early. At 257 p.m. Yield back, Madam Chair. Thank you, Commissioner Terry. Commissioner Masaya for the PECS report. Thank you so much, Madam PO. Good morning to all. Thank you, Madam PO. I'm the Commissioner Nicole Messiah, and I have the honor to serve as the PECS Chair, Planning, Economic Development, and Community Services, along with committee members Commissioner Robert Patrick, District 1, and Commissioner Long Spears from District 2. Our last regularly scheduled meeting was April 29th, and those in attendance were myself, Commissioner Patrick, Commissioner Long Spears, and Commissioner Terry joined along with there were 10 printed items on the agenda, five of which were recommended for approval. Five items were um recommended for deferral. All due back to the Board of Commissioners on 512, 2026. We also present uh had a presentation by Director Alan Mitchell from community development. Um his item was approved out of committee, and I wanted to ensure uh well highlight excuse me that the DeCAP CARES Pumbling program funding is available to our residents. Um that amount is 9.9 million dollars. And so um residents of uh of the CAP County, please do take care take that and look into so you can take advantage of that, excuse me. Um we uh know in our account uh we had our CAUT evening meeting on uh 6-2. We'll have even more engaging dialogue uh around the agenda items related to data centers. We also uh continue those discussion in PECS, and we uh will uh continue to address the text amendment and make certain that the concerns that are shared by our constituents are reflected and we have the necessary protections in place. That ends our um our committee meeting, our next PECS meeting is Tuesday, May 12th at 3 30. And I yield back to you, Madam P.O. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Massaia. Next we'll go to Commissioner Bolton for the ERPS committee report. Good morning, everyone. I am Ladina Bolton, Super District 7 Commissioner and Deputy Presiding Officer, but I also chair ERPS committee, which is employee relations and public safety. At our last meeting on April 21st in attendance, we did have committee members, uh Commissioner Davis Johnson and Commissioner Messiah, but also joining us. We had Commissioner Patrick Spears and Terry. During that meeting, we had a few agenda items. It wasn't too many on there, but 2026 0532. This was a request for fire stations 5, 16, and 27, 26 million dollars or just over 26 million dollars. It was deferred. We had not had that item come back from audit as of yet, so we look forward to hearing more about that at the next meeting.

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