[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6503505,"mediaKeyId","5558934-0593cc59e7a056a1574e290397cd99dd","parentId",5558934,"title","DeKalb County budget committee approves amended midyear budget amendments; forwards package to full board","audioSeconds",4821,"startMs",79000,"endMs",4900000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5558934-0593cc59e7a056a1574e290397cd99dd&start=79&end=4900","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5558934-0593cc59e7a056a1574e290397cd99dd/thumbnail_79000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6503505/DeKalb-County/Georgia/DeKalb-County-budget-committee-approves-amended-midyear-budget-amendments-forwards-package-to-full-board","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6503505-0c46d66dc6f5409daa4d0877b0ac4a70/orig.mp4?Expires=1770483014&Signature=NJWr-Cwcu4vETGoEYq~986wBfKWa8qMSBq136aRncgCx9ZqYukcVYKi2FRGFiSKM5jzJ50rGkvXRCpBGQ8MMqtXzrlLVPQ-YXUMo1Hb~JFaJQeKH~4v2~x9eZkrqEMCsF5tq5HzwNJjUAEHdiXbziDMu-dKTPmufdjwYWrd4FXZfuyOwbUS09NRdH1jTNzH025n-ZTt~AQcsbinXx3j6dYnt4sQaGaAw9LTW8hs03fGsUDWb5knCqy8TIWFto3ffYzMAtZfW~jV9bDm3eGALbnD5OALek7QnJxcQYq~LOKfLF3mXFN5i2hN0HCvkV9DzD-X7lS9KrfmQ1sK2pLT1Ow__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","DeKalb County","date","2025-08-11T00:00:00Z","article","The DeKalb County Finance, Audit and Budget Committee on Monday approved an amended midyear budget amendment spreadsheet and directed staff to prepare the package for the Board of Commissioners. Committee Chair Commissioner Ted Terry said the budget \"is our top priority here today.\"

The committee reviewed two sets of requests: longer-term capital improvement program (CIP) items and a short-term list of items proposed for this fiscal year. Budget Director TJ Siegler walked the committee through the spreadsheets and told members the first two pages were longer-term CIP projects totaling about $61.9 million that will be folded into a five-year CIP plan for FY2026 consideration. Siegler said the administration will recommend funding sources and return recommendations with the FY2026 budget.

Members discussed several line items and made adjustments to how some requests will be presented. Commissioners asked that certain design and construction costs be separated into distinct line items — for example, Mason Mill Senior Center design costs were clarified separately from an $11.36 million construction estimate. Committee members also agreed to evaluate whether specific CIP projects are SPLOST-eligible; COO Williams noted the county will consider SPLOST and other funding before using general fund dollars.

On items slated for near-term funding, the committee approved a set of prorated or partial-year allocations for organizations and programs, including: Leadership DeKalb (recommended $50,000 for the remainder of this fiscal year, down from a requested $100,000); Mosaic Health Center (increased to $200,000 on the committee sheet); and a $350,000 countywide allocation for youth programming, with $50,000 per commission district to be managed through the human services department and implemented with input from each commissioner.

Several district-priority items were moved or clarified on the lists: Midway Park and Recreation Center was elevated for planning and repairs; Briarcliff Road sidewalk was reported in final design pending right-of-way work and permitting; and Sugar Creek tennis and pickleball improvements were consolidated into a $3 million project shared by Districts 3 and 6. The committee also asked staff to add LED street-lighting and specific safety lighting requests (Evans Mill Bridge and Henderson Mill Road) to the short-term list with cost estimates.

Public-safety technology and equipment were discussed: commissioners asked administration to fold individual camera purchases into a broader real-time crime center strategy. Commissioner Patrick and other members said prior district allocations for Flock cameras and camera trailers should be reconciled and deployed where already approved. COO Williams said the CEO will present a strategy that will include Flock and other cameras, and TJ Siegler said staff will bring an update before the end of the year.

On human services and animal services, committee members asked that existing salary savings and cost-center reallocations be used to cover a number of short-term requests, including $20,000 for Central DeKalb Senior Center programming. Commissioners also discussed Lifeline contract amendments and a proposed $15,000 for spay/neuter services; committee members asked administration to consider waiving that fee in a contract renewal.

The committee also confronted a recurring agenda item: a proposal to create a DeKalb County Community Land Trust (CLT) and begin ground-work funding. Commissioner Michelle Long Spears requested $122,000 to contract Ground Solutions for CLT startup work. Committee members agreed to a deferral to give the newly appointed chief housing officer time to review the proposal with administration; the committee set a 45-day review to let the housing officer and CEO weigh in and report back to the PECS committee. Chair Terry said the item will remain on the committee list and staff will continue discussions with the sponsoring commissioner.

The committee approved the amended spreadsheet and asked staff to prepare the substitute agenda item for board consideration the next day. After the motion to approve was moved and seconded, Chair Commissioner Ted Terry cast the recorded vote and said \"aye;\" the motion carried and staff was directed to finalize materials for the full board.

The committee also requested staff return with clarifications and documentation on several specific items before full-board consideration, including the status and placement of the Arts Council startup funding ($150,000 proposed, to be clarified as operating vs. capital), the list and deployment schedule for Flock cameras and camera trailers, and a reconciliation of sidewalk and district allocations previously transferred into CIP.

For transparency, TJ Siegler and COO Williams were asked to circulate an updated spreadsheet that incorporates the committee edits and to append explanatory language and a second schedule that lists internal reallocations and cost-center transfers. That substitute agenda item will accompany the FY2025 midyear amendment package at the Board of Commissioners meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","DeKalb County - Special Called FAB Committee Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The DeKalb County Finance, Audit and Budget Committee on Monday approved an amended midyear budget amendment spreadsheet and directed staff to prepare the package for the Board of Commissioners.","taxTitle","DeKalb County, Georgia","taxId",3571,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6503495,"County auditors find data-quality problems in water-sewer delinquency reports and open application review",365,4971000,5336000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5558934-0593cc59e7a056a1574e290397cd99dd&start=4971&end=5336","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5558934-0593cc59e7a056a1574e290397cd99dd/thumbnail_4971000.jpg","/articles/6503495/DeKalb-County/Georgia/County-auditors-find-data-quality-problems-in-water-sewer-delinquency-reports-and-open-application-review","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6503495-1578ed285f5081de4dbe6e4745e25c8e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770483014&Signature=mtRhSqhaYwVo4NYUuud3pipaqEeJel5HWXY~DfzlH20Vaj5untDqVkvCYXP7jvxi~EHNhgNLVXLsp2Vk1c7O7z4mhmypEu729YSydsPQUP3tnA8GJym-6kZMA~-U4ANKZf4d1UH0zkoRCRccH1-wITcXytYJIF50PdMT-vt1E9t75cmuXvivfTMlvDS6wcXcNLRQUmib7Db1kxz31UqTBOUI2WcUDBpolz0aiCc3ZyZjI1n8SIONZ13huxwoHAvHIoLNmUx2ZOZpQbofpRYCMBNhW13~Hf-jxdBzDPg7t71WTZXTrMp2hn8p3UiEoEh7w84gxB2I4Z1~v8wEYYPBOA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","DeKalb County’s Office of Independent Internal Audit told the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee that recent presentations on water and sewer delinquencies contained reporting inconsistencies and incomplete fields that make headline delinquency totals difficult to verify. Director of Audit Patrice Campbell said the office has begun a formal application and data review.

\"About approximately $10,000,000 or 9% of those bills were actually flagged as current,\" Director Campbell said while summarizing the May 20 presentation and subsequent data pulls. The audit team compared the May presentation, a June data extract and a July 2025 report and found divergent totals driven largely by which account statuses and account types were included in the various exports.

Campbell told the committee the May 20 presentation had been limited to four customer types and active accounts at the request of commissioners; when the audit team requested more expansive extracts that included inactive and final accounts, the total outstanding delinquency figure rose substantially. The July summary, which included active, inactive and final accounts, reported a gross delinquent balance markedly higher than the May active-only number.

The auditors flagged multiple data-quality problems, including missing or inconsistent ZIP codes and addresses, frequent misspellings of city names, blank customer-name fields and account-classification mismatches. The audit team said those issues make reconciling summary aging reports to detailed account-level reports difficult. In one example, audit staff identified a list of roughly 135 property liens in a summary report but found no corresponding balances on the underlying account detail provided by the billing system.

Campbell recommended the audit office perform a full review of the Inquesta application, including: data migration integrity from legacy systems, input and processing controls, accuracy of balances and aging across account statuses, and the reporting and export tools that produce the summary figures. She said the review will also work with finance staff on a practical “cutoff” or freeze process to allow consistent report extracts; department staff reported that the current application does not support a clean transaction cutoff and that payments processed concurrently can cause aging summaries and detailed reports to disagree.

County Attorney William Lankus said legal staff is researching the county’s options around long‑delinquent balances; Campbell noted many delinquent balances are older than four years and would present collection challenges through ordinary civil remedies.

The audit team estimates the application review and data verification work could take roughly two more months and said it will return to the committee with findings and recommended controls. The committee requested follow-up on outstanding liens, enforcement activity and the administration’s plan for reconciling prior district allocations tied to camera and other equipment purchases.","The Office of Independent Internal Audit reported data-quality issues in recent presentations of DeKalb County water and sewer delinquent billing totals, and the auditors are conducting a system-level review of the utility-billing application (Inquesta) and reporting processes.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6503500,"DeKalb medical examiner seeks opioid settlement funds for fellowship, toxicology and outreach",138,4155000,4293000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5558934-0593cc59e7a056a1574e290397cd99dd&start=4155&end=4293","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5558934-0593cc59e7a056a1574e290397cd99dd/thumbnail_4155000.jpg","/articles/6503500/DeKalb-County/Georgia/DeKalb-medical-examiner-seeks-opioid-settlement-funds-for-fellowship-toxicology-and-outreach","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6503500-323ddae90e354f2cf5c984e40fd2ead9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770483014&Signature=WsYBytqRgVqyxf7tiIgbU0p6sGoGykYM1boNgv1~0rP~rwTu6vMd5k2hWFQxUvfJvO5EgcPEnFpSbpILSxnFegTNDyDwxBydSvx2Du~hgH8K6jk5r1rIFxWWfiwv252ShfgjJKh6TIeayzv4YZ86VP~lmk92ISuLFYTT5~382muxWM~BbS1r69TcUc7qopdHUak9xm0hIXiEcb1SBzimK23VSPhQUarnCUvX58bXS9rChWZnMgdT4rgk8gmnEdUMs4DrIx1kZtAKRh0nDJq8ckKIeWX7ZeCjhAsiJle3caSoQ69T1XmUvPFeHzPcWKH~8gU70DrGcxJiDDwvqE2YIg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The DeKalb County medical examiner briefed the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee on a proposed use of opioid settlement funds that would expand the office’s investigative and forensic capacity. Director Marita Loveless outlined a package that she said would improve case processing and support community outreach.

\"The salary for that position is $150,000 all inclusive,\" Director Loveless said of the planned fellowship position, referring to a forensic fellowship secured with Morehouse School of Medicine. She told the committee the fellow would handle an estimated 200 examinations a year under supervision and that the county’s office already has one fellow starting July 1 under an accelerated accreditation process performed with Morehouse.

Loveless outlined several potential uses for roughly $380,000 in opioid settlement funds, including:
- a fellowship salary and associated training and travel ($150,000),
- expanded toxicology panels to detect emerging or novel substances (panels can cost more than $400 each for comprehensive testing),
- an additional death investigator to respond to rising caseloads, and
- a proposal to pilot a social worker position to improve family liaison work and post‑death services.

Committee members commended the office for using the funds to build long-term capacity. Commissioner Michelle Long Spears said the fellowship and partnerships with an HBCU were especially noteworthy; Loveless described the Morehouse connection as the first forensic fellowship program tied to an HBCU and said it could help expand the national forensic workforce.

Loveless provided data showing the county’s drug-related deaths and casework have risen sharply even as the county population grew modestly: she said caseloads increased about 30% from 2015–2024 while drug-related deaths rose roughly 116% over the same period. That trend, Loveless said, was driven in large part by fentanyl and other novel substances.

Committee members asked for follow-up cost detail and implementation plans but expressed general support for the proposed uses of settlement funds. No formal committee vote on this specific opioid-funding request was taken during the meeting; the medical examiner’s proposal will be handled through the budget process and potential opioid settlement spending plans.","The DeKalb County medical examiner presented a request to the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee for roughly $380,000 in opioid settlement funds to support a forensic fellowship, expanded toxicology panels and two staff positions including an investigator and a social worker. Committee members voiced support and asked for follow-up details.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

DeKalb County budget committee approves amended midyear budget amendments; forwards package to full board

County auditors find data-quality problems in water-sewer delinquency reports and open application review

DeKalb medical examiner seeks opioid settlement funds for fellowship, toxicology and outreach