Budget finally set in stone

Firefighters get fought-for pay increase
AJC
Ty Tagami - Staff

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

All those marches and demonstrations paid off for Atlanta's firefighters.

The City Council gave them the same 4 percent raise as police in the 2005 budget adopted Monday.

The firefighters, who staged another protest outside City Hall before the 1 p.m. meeting, sat silently after the vote. James Daws, a spokesman for the firefighters union, said they were satisfied with the outcome, though they were still unhappy that employees with the same experience level and rank in the Police Department earn about $2,000 more a year.

"We're happy we haven't lost any more ground to the Police Department," Daws said.

Mayor Shirley Franklin had proposed a final 3.5 percent raise for the 904 sworn members of the Fire Department, after giving them a 1 percent raise in an earlier, tentative version of the budget. On Monday, the council added half a percentage point, at a cost of $221,525.

Attempts to give similar increases to other employees failed. Due to their greater numbers, it would have cost more than $1 million, likely consuming a portion of the money that council members in this election year were targeting for a property tax rollback. Other employees ended up with 1 percent across-the-board raises, plus targeted raises based on a salary study of each position.

The final $530.3 million general fund budget gives property owners a rollback that equals $34.65 on a house valued at $250,000, according to the city Finance Department. However, any changes in property value and the tax levels of other government entities will play a role in final tax bills.

The general fund budget represents the portion of city services that are not self-funded. It does not account for spending on the sewer system, Underground Atlanta and the city-owned airport, which are funded largely by fees for service. Altogether, the city budget including those and other so-called "enterprise" funds is nearly $1.2 billion this year.

The extra half-percentage point for firefighters came via a budget amendment by Councilwoman Felicia Moore of northwest Atlanta. She took the money from proposed spending on computers and cars and on planning for a new Police Department headquarters.

Her amendment passed with nine votes --- one shy of the minimum required to override a mayoral veto.

But the extra vote looks unnecessary: The mayor said she would not strike the amendment with her line-item veto power.

"I'm planning to sign it," Franklin said. "I'm going to be guided by the council's decision though it was not my recommendation."

In other news, a council committee on Monday recommended raises of more than 20 percent for the council members who win election in November.

The committee, whose recommendations will be heard at a later meeting of the full council, also recommended boosting the mayor's pay by $6,000 to $147,500, an increase of about 4 percent.

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