Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat has approached the county commissioners with a plea for increased funding to cover deputy overtime pay. Labat voiced concerns over low morale among his deputies due to heavy workloads and the removal of overtime pay, instead offering comp time for hours beyond their scheduled shifts. “Our overtime, if you recall when the budget was ratified, it was reduced by $2 million,” Labat shared with the commissioners, as reported by
FOX 5 Atlanta
.
Tasked with monitoring an extensive number of registered sex offenders and ferrying inmates between various facilities, the sheriff’s department has felt the crunch of limited financial resources. Labat is seeking an addition $1.2 million in overtime funding for the last quarter of the year, emphasizing that his team provided heightened security during election season with “as many as 15 to 20 different candidates, whether they [were] presidential or vice-presidential, coming to our area,” Labat noted in a statement obtained by
FOX 5 Atlanta
. However, his request was rebuffed by the commissioners, with Commission Chair Robb Pitts citing that the department’s budget had already grown substantially, suggesting a mismanagement of funds.
Similarly,
Atlanta News First
reported Labat expressing the urgency of the funding needs, saying, “When we start paying comp time, we’ve already lost over 60 people with respect to when we stopped paying double time.” The sheriff’s department overtime budget was slashed earlier, forcing a reliance on compensatory time that proved unpopular amidst his staff, spurring attrition.
Discontent with the current financial allocation, Labat voiced his intent to sue Fulton County in pursuit of the necessary funds to pay his deputies. Pitts remains skeptical of the need for additional funding. “We have a fiduciary responsibility to review and oversee how he’s spending that money and we’re going to do that,” Pitts stated to
Atlanta News First
.
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