Thursday, May 15, 2025
Good morning! This is Jake Shore. Today, we’re reporting on the large drop in overdose deaths, transparency concerns with the Chatham emergency center project, and a look at the state of public safety.
On a personal note, tomorrow is my last day working as a reporter at The Current. It’s been an honor telling the stories of Coastal Georgia residents. I appreciated the chance to make public safety journalism more accessible, transparent and responsive.
Thank you for reading.
As always, reach out with questions, comments or story ideas to staff@thecurrentga.org. Let’s dive in:
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC HEALTH
Overdose death numbers plunge
Overdose deaths dropped in Georgia by 24% between 2023 and 2024, according to the latest predicted numbers from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention this week. The 629 fewer deaths in the state matches a national plunge in drug deaths, the single largest one-year decline ever recorded.
Chatham County Counter-Narcotics Team Director Michael Sarhatt previewed this trend at a county commission meeting on February 21. He reported that there were 51 overdose deaths in 2024 in Chatham compared to 86 in 2023.
“The reason it’s down is a lot of different things. There’s no one thing, but I’m pretty excited about that number,” he said. One major factor is the amount of narcan — the overdose reversal treatment — available has allowed more people to survive from overdoses, he said.
Sarhatt said that fentanyl showed up in a majority of toxicology screenings for 2024’s deaths and warned of the inclusion of new drugs, like xylazine.
NEWS: GOVERNING
ICYMI: Nixed vote on $78M contract raises more questions
The process to build the “Multi-Agency Public Safety Facility” in Chatham County, intended to replace the aging 911 and emergency center, continues to raise concerns about transparency and fiscal responsibility.
A day before commissioners were supposed to vote on a $78 million contract to build the site, Chairman Chester Ellis quietly pulled the vote from the agenda and did not address the delay. Then, after the meeting last Friday, commissioners received a surprise presentation urging them to vote for the $78 million bid, despite being $7 million more expensive than the lowest qualified bidder.
The presentation struck some commissioners as odd, including District 4 Commissioner Patrick Farrell. “In my 20 years of service, this is a first for the county,” Farrell told The Current.
ANALYSIS: PUBLIC SAFETY
The state of public safety
In my nearly three years covering public safety in Coastal Georgia, I’ve seen the good, the bad and the promising. Here are two trends I’ve noticed and I hope you’ll keep an eye out for in the future.
Flocking to surveillance: Police departments are increasingly turning to digital surveillance to solve crimes. The Savannah Police Department, which has had stubborn vacancies hovering at around 100 officers for years, is aiming to build a real-time crime center and asks residents to register at-home cameras with its Fusus software. The Glynn County Police Department has a contract with Flock Safety for Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), while the City of Brunswick has previously pitched its own citywide camera system.
While the jury is still out on its effectiveness in solving crimes versus cost, departments have said the technology is another tool in the toolbox. Privacy advocates likely disagree.
Getting serious about mental health: Law enforcement administrators, like sheriffs who run local jails, begrudge how much of their crime-stopping work is taken up responding to society’s ills. As former Chatham County Sheriff John Wilcher put it many times before: “I’m not a mental health hospital and I’m not a homeless shelter.”
Under Glynn County Sheriff Neal Jump, the jail has a partnership with Coastal Community Health to provide health care to detainees, which includes mental health services. The Savannah Police Department has a mental health unit of its own to respond to emergency calls. The expansion of psychiatric services and mental health care centers signed by Gov. Brian Kemp for next year’s budget will hopefully ease the burden on police agencies and jails alike.
Firm running Georgia’s struggling Medicaid experiment was also paid millions to sell it to public
Deloitte Consulting is taking in tens of millions in tax dollars to build, manage and market Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement program. Yet only 3% of eligible residents have enrolled.
He became the face of Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement. Now he’s fed up with it.
A 54-year-old mechanic called Pathways to Coverage a “great program” at the governor’s press conference. But after getting kicked off the health insurance program for low-income Georgians twice, bureaucratic red tape has him at his wit’s end.
Concerns arise after vote for $78M Chatham emergency center contract nixed
Vote for $78 million contract to build Chatham County emergency operations center shelved, raising concerns about transparency and fiscal responsibility.
Hyundai avoids millions in fines over wastewater violations
Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America was fined $30,000 by Georgia regulators for improper disposal of wastewater from its Bryan County EV manufacturing site, with the potential fine being up to $7.15 million.
Carter highlights Trump support, trans stance as he appeals for US Senate vote
Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, a six-term congressman from St. Simons, urged Coastal Georgia Republicans to support his campaign for U.S. Senate, citing his support for Trump and opposition to trans women playing in women’s sports as key issues.
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