ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A Fulton County commissioner responded Tuesday to a letter from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, escalating a financial dispute between city and county leaders over the future of the Atlanta City Detention Center and a broader package of fiscal demands.

Commissioner Dana Barrett, in a letter sent Tuesday, said Dickens' offer to sell the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) to the county for $80 million was not a standalone proposal.

Barrett said the full package presented to the county also included more than $1 billion in Tax Allocation District (TAD) extensions, a $200 million investment in a hospital, and tens of millions in additional county commitments - totaling more than $1.4 billion in value, in exchange for an asset the city valued at $144 million.

Barrett disputes mayor's characterization

In his July 30 letter to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Dickens said the city proposed selling the Atlanta City Detention Center - appraised at approximately $144 million - to the county for $80 million. He said the deal would have expanded detention capacity, protected workers, preserved the Diversion Center and saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Barrett disputed that framing.

 The purchase of ACDC was one component of a much broader package,  she wrote, adding that the city asked for more than $1.4 billion in value in exchange for an asset it valued at $144 million.

Barrett said she shares the mayor's assessment that purchasing the detention center for $80 million could save the county approximately $200 million, but said the assumptions used to reach that figure are misleading. She also said the mayor's letter understated the cost to renovate the facility at $40 million, writing that multiple independent advisers estimated the actual renovation cost at approximately $75 million.

 We're actually happy to receive any response from Fulton County on issues that are this important,  said a mayor's office spokesperson, who said Barrett's letter was the first formal response since the TADs vote in July.

Barrett also pushed back on th

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