Public safety was the most heavily questioned section of the SPLOST 9 work session. Fire officials told the commission the fire department’s revised request of $21,800,000 is driven primarily by apparatus replacement and one replacement station; the chief said the bulk of that figure—roughly $15,000,000—covers fire trucks and that one new station was included in staff’s current package.

Commissioners pressed for details. Staff and the chief said prior packages had not included the fire department’s apparatus needs, which led to greater existing pressure on the department’s internal fire fund. The chief described three stations—Station 9, Station 13 and Station 14—identified by condition; he said Station 9 is about 58 years old, Station 13 about 54 and Station 14 over 44, and added stations 9 and 13 are the busiest in the system.

Fleet replacement across departments also drew scrutiny. Staff said central services and the vehicle-replacement policy drive SPLOST fleet numbers; commissioners asked staff to verify recent purchases and to confirm requests reflect replacement needs rather than discretionary wants.

The sheriff’s office described acute vehicle obsolescence—an example email read by the sheriff’s representative noted a 2016 Impala in need of parts that are no longer available—and outlined options for fleet management, concluding that financing has tradeoffs and that buying replacements via SPLOST remains preferable. Staff also announced that the sheriff secured an $8,700,000 grant to fund 30 positions for three years; administrators said those positions will be funded by the grant for the three-year period and that the commission will need to identify future funding beyond that window.

Separately, commissioners discussed a proposed $85,000,000 detention center renovation. Staff described breaking the project into two prefab pods (two pods totaling roughly 288 beds) to speed delivery and reduce cost compared with full brick-and-mortar construction, and said the $85,000,000 figure includes $70,000,000 in building costs plus $15,000,000 for immediate capital repairs.

Officials emphasized the difference between discussion and formal action: there were no votes during the workshop. Commissioners asked staff to provide more granular cost estimates, life-expectancy data, and the operational cost impacts that would start appearing after construction and staffing changes.