“Shut up! Shut up! I’m talking,” Arrington shouted repeatedly.
“Make me!” Abdur-Rahman called back. Soon afterward, Arrington walked out.
Pitts announced April 5 that the county was cutting off animal control services to Atlanta that day in the absence of an intergovernmental agreement, including city willingness to pay a higher annual rate for that service — $6.8 million a year, or nearly double what the annual fee had been.
A lengthy back-and-forth with Atlanta officials failed to produce a signed agreement, Pitts said. Even now it would take city council until April 15 to approve it as a resolution, or May 6 if it has to be passed as an ordinance, according to Pitts.
Commissioner Bridget Thorne said the city could hold a special meeting sooner if council members wanted. In negotiations, city officials said they didn’t want to pay for services the county already provided from Jan. 1 to April 5, she said.
Commission Chair Robb Pitts asked County Attorney Y. Soo Jo for an opinion on the city’s letter of intent.
“A letter of intent is a promise to enter into a promise. It is not legally binding,” she said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Andre Dickens issued a brief response Thursday morning that did not address the issues brought up by county officials.
“The city continues to encourage residents to call 311 for animal services in the absence of Fulton County providing services, and call 911 for emergency situations,” he said.
The city’s claim that it is owed money for past water bills amounts to a “smokescreen,” in the words of Commissioner Bob Ellis.
Since the April 5 service cutoff, Atlanta residents brought about 40 dogs to the county shelter, according to Joe Barasoane, director of emergency management, which oversees animal services. They weren’t turned away, since staff knew they’d be “tied up on the fence line outside the shelter” if not taken in, he said.
Animal control has received many calls from Atlanta residents requesting…
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