Comments on: It's Gone! It's Back! It's Gone Again!

By: DWS

DWS — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:51:34 +0000

It is my understanding from reading the AJC online that the (Atlanta) mayor attempted to avoid cuts to police and fire by laying off other city workers and proposing a modest tax increase to make up the difference. It was the city council who defeated the mayor’s tax cut and informed the mayor that she would have to find an additional 2.5% to cut. Were there other options? I don’t know. It sounds to me that cities like Atlanta, East Point, GA and Scranton, PA are now trying to make up for years and years of fiscal mismanagement amplified by an economic slowdown by turning to the ever popular “easy” target. The Fire Department. Close stations, cut manpower (my department goes down to 2 firefighters on an engine rather than call in OT for sick leave), and roll the dice. It is only a matter of time before a citizen or a firefighter has to pay the price for our politicians’ failures. Unfortunately, our elected officials maintain the right to mismanage our cities and towns and we are the ones left holding the leaking bag of you-know-what.

By: Creative Loafing Atlanta » Fresh Loaf » Blog Archive » Atlanta’s unlucky #7

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:04:49 +0000

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By: Dal90

Dal90 — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:47:51 +0000

Schools, Police, and Fire are usually the big targets because that’s where most municipal expenditures are at.

This is Atlanta’s budget. It’s one of the very worse presentations I’ve ever seen.

Out of $1 Billion in revenues in the General & Airport funds (Airport fund apparantly subsidizes the PD & FD), I can only account for $110 Million in funding to the PD & FD. Nor can I find school expenses.

I suspect you’d find a lot of PD / FD costs are buried in other items — such as lumping health insurance and retirement costs into a pool with all other city employees, or putting the fuel costs for all departments in one line item.

It screams to me that the City does not have a good top level view of what each department truly costs…or at least they don’t have one they want to share with the public or the city council.

Usually among major cities, if the schools are under hte municipal budget, to see a break down similiar to 40% schools, 25% police, 15% fire, 10% non-enterprise public works, and 10% everything else. I can’t tell at a glance in Atlanta where those numbers fall.