Council: Atlanta jail task force can take donations

As efforts to close and repurpose the Atlanta City Detention Center continue, the Atlanta City Jail task force can now accept funds from organizations that want to help the city’s efforts in transforming the jail.

On Monday, the Atlanta City Council voted to allow the task force to accept dona- tions. Total donations cannot exceed $25,000.

The task force is already receiving pro-bono services from nonprofit consulting firm Bloomberg Associates. Oak- land-based real estate agency Designing Justice + Designing Space, which is working on two other jail repurposing projects, is being paid about $300,000 to assist with the project. That amount was raised by local social justice group Women on the Rise and Racial Justice Action Center.

In addition to cash dona- tions, the task force will also be allowed to accept dona- tions of goods or services.

According to the City Council’s legislation, the task force must provide a detailed report on donations to the Atlanta Ethics Office, city’s finance department and council members. The report will include the donor names and the number and type of donations.

Council Member Antonio Brown said the cash donations could be used to fly in outside help, particularly city officials who have already transitioned their own jails to new uses.

In the meantime, the 25-member task force, which formed in July, is still determining a new use for the jail, which has 1,314 beds and holds an average of 70 inmates each night.

Closing the jail is part of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ ongoing criminal jus- tice reform efforts. In May, the City Council voted to create the task force, which is charged with finding best uses for the jail. They must present their findings to Bottoms by February.