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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Finance, Audit, and Budget Committee Meeting - September 29, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Tuesday, September 29, 2026

BodyDekalb County, Georgia

SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees

DateTuesday, September 29, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:31:53

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:08

Committee chaired by myself, Commissioner Ted Terry, joined by committee members, Commissioner Michelle Long Spears and Commissioner Shekira Johnson.

0:15

Also joining us is Commissioner Robert Patrick.

0:18

Thank you all for being here.

0:19

All right, so we've got our agenda in front of us today, Commissioners.

0:24

We will start off first with our meeting minutes from the last meeting.

0:28

Uh 2026 1418 agenda item minutes for the September 15th, 2026 finance audit and budget committee meeting.

0:35

And if there's no changes or uh edits, I'll open the four for a motion.

Speaker 2

0:40

Move to approve.

0:41

Second.

Unassigned speaker

0:42

All

Speaker 1

0:42

right, motion and second.

0:43

Seeing no further discussion.

0:44

All favors again say aye.

Speaker 2

0:45

Aye.

0:46

Aye.

Speaker 1

0:46

Chair vote side.

0:47

Motion carries.

0:48

All right.

0:48

Um commissioners.

0:50

Let's take care of our agenda items first.

0:53

Um so actually, I did talk to um CO Williams, and he would like uh an additional uh couple of weeks to um come together on item 1525.

1:04

So we're just gonna hold that in committee for now.

1:06

Uh thank you, CO Williams, for uh working with me on that.

1:10

Um, and just so y'all know we we did reach out to the city of Philadelphia about their like amnesty program, and so we got some response back, but we need to kind of analyze what they sent us.

1:19

So that's the reason for the dis the delay, but hopefully we'll be able to work that out in the next few weeks.

1:26

Um let's jump down to one that's been on the agenda for a while.

1:30

Um, that is item 2026 0839.

1:34

This is request for proposals number 2025-048-RFP financial advisor services multi-year contract for use by the finance department to obtain financial advisory services in connection with various financing transactions and programs awarded to public resource advoc advisory group amount not to exceed 1,167,000.

1:57

And then we do have a substitute for this item.

2:00

Um, so if Director Butler or whoever would like to uh present the substitute and just make sure just for the good of the whole, give everyone um a recap of why we have a substitute and anything in the packet here that you think is important for us to uh know about or discuss today.

Unassigned speaker

2:20

All

Speaker 3

2:20

right,

Speaker 1

2:20

director Butler, welcome.

Speaker 3

2:22

Thank you.

2:22

Uh, thank you guys for being patient as we work through this review process.

2:26

Um so as you know, we've been present a few times asking your permission to continue with the review, and so we have completed that.

2:36

Uh the recommendation is the same.

2:39

Uh public resource advisory group is still the highest scoring proposer and the recommended awardee uh at 1,167,000.

2:49

What is changing and what is in front of you are only the documents that have changed from that original packet.

2:55

So that's the main page, the agenda notes page, and then that evaluation tabulation that summarizes all of the things that the evaluation committee did.

3:04

Um their scoring.

3:07

So that main page reflects what I just told you that we've made some changes.

3:11

It does update the score, the resulting scores.

3:16

So you will see under that their score is now 75.81.

3:24

It was previously 77.4 in the original packet.

3:28

Uh PFM, their score is now 80.80.

3:33

It was previously 84.57, and Piper Sandler.

3:37

Um you'll notice that their score is 82.90.

3:40

It was previously 83.28.

3:42

Uh the recommended award is still scored at 87.80.

3:49

Um, you do notice that the second and third position did shift with the change of those scores.

3:54

But the number one,

Unassigned speaker

3:57

the

Speaker 3

3:58

highest scoring has not.

4:01

Let's see.

4:03

On the agenda notes page, uh, the only thing that's really changed is to let you know that the date of the solicitation prices um is now October 31st.

4:14

Um, and we've updated the attachments to better reflect what you have in your packet, which is a user department recommendation and an evaluation tabulation.

4:25

On the evaluation tabulation, the scoring table has been revised to reflect what I just mentioned, um, that the total score has changed, and it also gives the breakdown.

4:38

So in this scoring tabulation, the cost breakdown was adjusted as well to align with what was discovered after the review.

4:47

So PFM's cost points is now 3.80.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procurement Policy█████████████████████████████████████████████59%

Budget Equity Analysis█████████12%

Procedural████5%

LSBE Regulation████5%

Capital Improvement Planning██3%

Arts And Culture██3%

Food Insecurity██3%

Affordable Housing██3%

Parks and Recreation██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Finance, Audit, and Budget Committee Meeting - September 29, 2026

The Finance, Audit, and Budget Committee, chaired by Commissioner Ted Terry and joined by Commissioners Michelle Long Spears, Shekira Johnson, and Robert Patrick, met on September 29, 2026. The committee approved previous meeting minutes, discussed a controversial recommendation for financial advisory services, and began reviewing mid-year budget adjustments. Key debates centered on the award of LSBE points and the selection of a financial advisor.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes: The committee unanimously approved the minutes from the September 15, 2026 Finance, Audit, and Budget Committee meeting (Agenda Item 2026-1418). Motion by Commissioner Terry, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, carried unanimously.

Discussion Items

Financial Advisor Services RFP (Item 2026-0839): Director Butler presented a substitute for the original recommendation. The recommended awardee, Public Resource Advisory Group (PRAG), scored 87.80 out of 100. Piper Sandler scored 82.90, and PFM scored 80.80. Commissioner Long Spears argued that Piper Sandler should have received LSBE points (10 points) because they demonstrated good faith effort by identifying an LSBE that later became certified, but was not certified at the proposal closing date. She noted that the LSBE requirement was waived during evaluation, but that decision was not communicated prior to the RFP. She believed changing the rules mid-process undermined the LSBE program. Commissioner Johnson raised concerns about PRAG's breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit and SEC fine for texting, and questioned the lack of due diligence on those issues. Commissioner Terry noted that Piper Sandler had the highest technical score, and the cost evaluation was based solely on one hypothetical bond issuance, ignoring other scope items. He moved to recommend Piper Sandler for the contract, acknowledging the LSBE issue but removing the specific LSBE point award from the motion to avoid conflict with the ordinance. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Johnson. Commissioner Long Spears voted no, citing that the ordinance was not followed. The motion carried 2-1. This recommendation will go to the full Board of Commissioners.
Mid-Year Budget Adjustments: The committee reviewed several proposed adjustments:
- BOC Central Staff Requests: $126,200 for staffing and child care assistance (pilot program for BOC staff). Approved with no objections.
- Library Landscape: Commissioner Terry proposed reallocating $350,000 originally for library landscaping to other priorities. Discussion included potential stormwater issues at Embry Hills. Decision deferred to a subsequent special call meeting.
- District Art Murals: A proposal to allocate $350,000 for district-based art projects (murals, etc.) to preserve unspent arts funds. Preliminary support, with details to be worked out.
- MARTA Farmers Market: $28,000 to extend the farmers market at Kensington and Doraville stations through the winter. Approved.
- Eviction Defense Fund: Commissioner Patrick suggested a floor of $15,000 per district ($105,000 total) from the affordable housing fund. Approved.
- Clairitel Mobile Crisis Team: Funding to keep the team operational, either $180,000 or $283,371 depending on timeline. Referred for clarification.
- Emergency Housing Fund: $250,000 to replenish funds for families displaced by fires. Supported by committee.
5-Year CIP Update: The committee acknowledged the delay in the 5-year CIP but noted short-term capital improvements could be addressed via Zach and TJ. Commissioner Long Spears raised urgent sidewalk needs in District 2.

Key Outcomes

Minutes Approved: Unanimous.
Financial Advisor Recommendation: The committee voted 2-1 to recommend Piper Sandler for the financial advisor contract, despite staff's recommendation of PRAG. The motion directed Piper Sandler to utilize the LSBE identified in their proposal.
Mid-Year Budget: Several items were approved or given preliminary support, but the committee agreed to hold a special call meeting before the next Board of Commissioners meeting to finalize the remaining adjustments. Specific unresolved items include the exact amount for the mobile crisis team, the library landscape reallocation, and district art murals.
Next Steps: The committee will meet again to complete the budget review and formalize a recommendation to the full board.

Meeting Transcript

Committee chaired by myself, Commissioner Ted Terry, joined by committee members, Commissioner Michelle Long Spears and Commissioner Shekira Johnson. Also joining us is Commissioner Robert Patrick. Thank you all for being here. All right, so we've got our agenda in front of us today, Commissioners. We will start off first with our meeting minutes from the last meeting. Uh 2026 1418 agenda item minutes for the September 15th, 2026 finance audit and budget committee meeting. And if there's no changes or uh edits, I'll open the four for a motion. Move to approve. Second. All right, motion and second. Seeing no further discussion. All favors again say aye. Aye. Aye. Chair vote side. Motion carries. All right. Um commissioners. Let's take care of our agenda items first. Um so actually, I did talk to um CO Williams, and he would like uh an additional uh couple of weeks to um come together on item 1525. So we're just gonna hold that in committee for now. Uh thank you, CO Williams, for uh working with me on that. Um, and just so y'all know we we did reach out to the city of Philadelphia about their like amnesty program, and so we got some response back, but we need to kind of analyze what they sent us. So that's the reason for the dis the delay, but hopefully we'll be able to work that out in the next few weeks. Um let's jump down to one that's been on the agenda for a while. Um, that is item 2026 0839. This is request for proposals number 2025-048-RFP financial advisor services multi-year contract for use by the finance department to obtain financial advisory services in connection with various financing transactions and programs awarded to public resource advoc advisory group amount not to exceed 1,167,000. And then we do have a substitute for this item. Um, so if Director Butler or whoever would like to uh present the substitute and just make sure just for the good of the whole, give everyone um a recap of why we have a substitute and anything in the packet here that you think is important for us to uh know about or discuss today. All right, director Butler, welcome. Thank you. Uh, thank you guys for being patient as we work through this review process. Um so as you know, we've been present a few times asking your permission to continue with the review, and so we have completed that. Uh the recommendation is the same. Uh public resource advisory group is still the highest scoring proposer and the recommended awardee uh at 1,167,000. What is changing and what is in front of you are only the documents that have changed from that original packet. So that's the main page, the agenda notes page, and then that evaluation tabulation that summarizes all of the things that the evaluation committee did. Um their scoring. So that main page reflects what I just told you that we've made some changes. It does update the score, the resulting scores. So you will see under that their score is now 75.81. It was previously 77.4 in the original packet. Uh PFM, their score is now 80.80. It was previously 84.57, and Piper Sandler. Um you'll notice that their score is 82.90. It was previously 83.28. Uh the recommended award is still scored at 87.80.

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