Who Keeps the Ticket Money? The $13 Million Dispute Deadlocking Mableton’s Police Deal

City of Mableton Mayor Michael Owens with Cobb County Chairwoman Lisa Cupid at a joint town hall in 2025.

Mableton’s police services agreement with Cobb County officially expired at midnight on May 31, 2026. While a temporary stopgap measure is in place, with Cobb County Police officers being actively deputized by Sheriff Craig Owens to ensure 911 calls are still answered, the political battle over a long-term contract is completely deadlocked.

During mediation on May 22, both sides agreed on a $13 million price tag for one year of police services. But the deal collapsed at the last minute over a fundamental question of power: When a city pays a county $13 million to enforce the law, who owns the resulting citations, and more importantly, who keeps the revenue?

Here is a look at the two sides driving the current stalemate.

Is This a Last-Minute Demand?

• The Mayor's View (Michael Owens): According to official city statements, this is not a surprise demand. Ensuring that local citations are routed through Mableton's newly established municipal court is basic "due diligence" and "responsible government".

  
  

• The County's View (Chairwoman Lisa Cupid): According to a news conference held on June 2, this was absolutely a last-minute surprise. Over the past year of negotiations, Mableton’s only stated desire for a local court was with respect to code enforcement. Demanding that standard police misdemeanors bypass the Cobb County State Court system was dropped on the county at 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before expiration.

Precedent and Practicality

• The Mayor's View: Mableton is a city with a municipal court, a municipal judge, and a legal responsibility to its residents. Any public safety agreement must respect that local structure and the city's legal authority to handle matters within its own jurisdiction.

  
  

• The County's View: Mableton is asking to break county precedent. All six other established cities in Cobb County route their state-law misdemeanors through the county's State Court. Altering this framework requires complex technological and operational changes that make no sense for a temporary, 12-month contract.

Money and Motivation

• The Mayor's View: Mableton has acted in good faith, accepted the core mediated terms, and remains at the table ready to sign an agreement that protects the city’s municipal court structure.

  
  

• The County's View: Chairwoman Cupid argued that "the county should not be responsible for Mableton making commitments for services that they have not determined how they will receive funding."  

The Takeaway

Public safety is expensive, making court revenue a highly contested prize. Mableton sees itself as a paying customer entitled to the ticket money generated inside its borders. The county sees Mableton as a new city trying to use Cobb's established court systems without paying for the extra administrative work.

What Do You Think?

When a ticket is written in Mableton, who should get the money?

Should the city keep the funds to help pay for its $13 million police contract and new municipal court? Or should the money stay with the Cobb County State Court system, just like it does for every other city in the county?

Let me know in the comments.