- Current Estimate for Nichols Murder Trial: $2 Million
Posted December 14, 2006
And that's just the price tag that's resulted from an inept security force
at the Fulton County courthouse whose incompetence permitted Nichols to
kill several people and bring unaccountable grief into the lives of dozens
of survivors. Read the latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution
story about the ever-growing dollar cost of the prosecution and defense of Nichols
in Nichols' murder trial.
When it comes to providing courthouse security, the county's hiring and
supervision practices - at least before Mr. Nichols came on the scene -
certainly turned out to be as expensive as they were ineffective. Because
the expenses for Nichols' trial comes from state government coffers instead
of (or in addition to) county ones, Fulton County's ineptitude is costing
taxpayers throughout Georgia.
February 22, 2007 Update:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (and explains) the
cost of Nichols' defense so far.
- $185 Million More Needed to Fix County Jail
Posted November 16, 2006
The skyrocketing costs of maintaining "PrisonLand" in Fulton County will
certainly affect the annual budgets for other county services, like
libraries, for years to come. On the other hand, the library system's
annual upkeep costs are quite a bargain compared to the $65,000-per-year
cost of imprisoning a Fulton County inmate.
Details of the latest (and also expensive) jail consultant's report are
reported in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Sheriff Hires Lawyer #3; Taxpayers Bill Now Exceeds $500,000
Posted November 8, 2006
The rising cost of the county sheriff's legal fees is on top of the $55
million it's going to cost taxpayers to improve conditions at the Fulton
County jail.
Details in yesterday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- County Tax Assessment Fiasco Fix Far Costlier Than Expected
Posted October 20, 2006
Why are we not surprised? Read the
details reported in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Fulton County Able to Locate Only Half the People It Needs
for County Jury Duty
Posted October 3, 2006
According to a
story in this morning's Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
responding to a summons for jury duty is optional in Fulton County.
How fair is this to the folks who do go to the trouble to show up? And all
these years taxpayers thought they were paying taxes to operate a
functional justice system. Now it's clear that the the jury-organizing
part of the county's so-called justice system is just as dysfunctional as
the prison-operating part of it.
Makes you wonder why library employees bother verifying addresses
every two years for citizens with county library cards. Couldn't library
staff just claim that the library department just "doesn't have the
resources to do this" like the court people do?
Maybe if county government wasted less money paying huge legal settlements
resulting from the incompetent behavior of its employees (see below),
county commissioners could divert that money to hiring enough staff to
enforce its orders for citizens to take their turns serving on juries.
Here's something else to wonder about: how many residents of Fulton County
who have deliberately ignored a jury summons are using library cards to
borrow county property?
- Fulton County May Have to Pay $2.5 Million to Former Inmate
Posted September 29, 2006
It would be cheaper for county taxpayers - if the county government hired
employees (including clerks) who did their jobs, instead of paying whopping
legal judgements (or settlements) resulting from the negligence of
incompetent workers. This particular "oversight" resulted in the prolonged
imprisonment of a convicted sex offender (whose prolonged incarceration
also cost taxpayers more money than necessary).
As always, the county's lawyers are claiming in this case that they are
conveniently "immune" from any liability for their employees' conduct.
Read the
details of the lawsuit as reported in this morning's Atlanta
Journal-Constitution.
- $10,000 per Month Consultant Compiles Vague, 13-page Report - Late
Posted September 14, 2006
The "compliance officer" hired by Fulton County's sheriff to help him
issue monthly reports required by a court order beginning last February
has finally managed to issue a report...sort of. Today's Atlanta
Journal-Constitution has the infuriating, tax revenue-wasting
details.
- County Sheriff's Office Adds $93,000-a-year Lawyer to His Staff
Posted August 24, 2006
Fulton County already pays for plenty of staff attorneys to cope with the
county's many legal matters, but apparently another one is suddenly needed
at this county department.
Details in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hey, why not just encourage every county department to hire its own staff
lawyer, so the attorneys down at county headquarters are bothered with
even fewer duties?
- Consultant(s) for County Tax Office Could Cost $200,000
Posted June 2, 2006
Add that figure to the millions in lost tax revenues due to mistakes in
property assessments (uncovered by three audits, one of them costing
$175,000 to complete), to whatever legal fees and lawsuit settlements ensue
from those mistakes, and to the $115,000 salary still being paid to the office's
previous administrator who's been relieved of her administrative duties.
Details of the consultant(s) from the state revenue
department who the county will pay to help the tax office's next director
were published today by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Consultant to Fulton County Jail Paid Huge Fees
Posted May 12, 2006
This Atlanta Journal-Constitution
story about the consultant re-hired by the county to help get it into
compliance with a federal court order contains some amazing figures for how
much the county has paid and will continue to pay this consultant for his
services. Guess where this $10,000 per month comes from???
- Best County Job So Far: No Duties, $115,000 Salary
Posted May 4, 2006; updated May 6, 2006 and May 22, 2006
Details from this morning's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
May 6th Update: We aren't alone in our
dismay at this latest high-handed waste of taxpayer funds. One of the AJC's
editorial writers had
this to say about it.
May 22nd Update: Another AJC
editorial about the continuing mess, complete with the
usual reactions from county commissioners Emma Darnell and Nancy Boxhill.
- County to Spend Another $175,000 for Third Tax Office Audit
Posted April 25, 2006
This nauseating little factoid is mentioned briefly in the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution's
latest report on this ongoing scandal in Fulton County governance.
Apparently two damning audits of its chronically inept tax assessment
operations just weren't enough. The county's commissioners have approved
another chunk o' cash to pay yet another set of consultants to tell the
commissioners what needs to be done to straighten out this 15-year-old mess.
- County Hires 8 Outside Law Firms to Fight Courthouse Shooting Lawsuits
Posted April 7, 2006
(Initial) cost to the taxpayers: $500,000. Details.
What we want to know is what O.V. Brantley and all the other lawyers on
the county's payroll are paid to do, other than to audition the outside
law firms lining up to defend the county against lawsuits? Since the county
subcontracts out so much of its legal work, getting rid of Brantley & Co.
would at least muffle somewhat that ominous sucking sound made by all the
money flying out of the county's treasury to pay the county's legal expenses.
Jettisoning its legal department would leave more revenues to fund
day-to-day county operations like library services.
- More (Expensive) Problems in the County Sheriff's Office
Posted March 22, 2006
Details as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Why, we wonder, do county commissioners continue to funnel grant money
to companies and organizations whose officers also work for the county?
Haven't the commissioners heard of "conflict of interest"? And doesn't
the county's sheriff's department have enough troubles already?
- Two County Tax Assessors Board Members Appealing Removal
Posted March 22, 2006
Meanwhile, the county's legal fees for getting rid of two of the tax
assessors the commissioners appointed will continue to mount, as the
assessors have appealed a judge's recent ruling to remove them.
Details.
-
Bill for Removing Commissioner-Appointed Tax Assessors: $43,000+
Posted March 18, 2006
-
Price Tag for County Incompetence Gets Higher and Higher
Posted March 9, 2006
- Taxpayers Group Files Lawsuit to Remove County Tax Assessors
Posted January 27, 2006
Fulton County Taxpayer Dollars Wasted in 2005
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