Monday, February 01, 2010
City
Council says ‘now is not the time’ for salary increases
ATLANTA
–Citing
current economic conditions, the Atlanta City Council today opposed any salary
increases for the incoming mayor and city council until across the board cost of
living increases are given to city employees. (Legislative
Reference No. 08-O-2154)
“It’s
a matter of common sense and being sensitive to the impact this economic
downturn has had on so many our residents and on our city employees as well,”
said City Council President Lisa M. Borders. “We will continue to work
diligently to improve the city’s financial position.”
The
Elected Officials Compensation Commission, an independent body which recommends
the salaries of incoming elected officials every four years, initially
recommended increasing the next mayor of Atlanta’s salary from $147,000 to
$225,000 per year. The commission made no recommendation on compensation for
city council members, although the average salary for council members in 10
comparable cities amounted to $50,205 per year.
Any
raises would begin in 2010, when the next mayor and city council take office.
With
Monday’s vote and only if financial conditions of the city improve and the
next mayor gives all general fund workers an across-the-board raise, the
mayor’s salary would increase to $172,575. The council’s annual pay would
rise to the current $39,473 to $46,183. The Council President’s salary would
increase from $41,000 to $47,970 per year.
The
Elected Officials Compensation Commission spent numerous hours conducting
surveys regarding the salaries of elected officials in cities similar to Atlanta
in terms of population and government structure, interviewing city of Atlanta
elected officials, discussing and debating the issue of salaries for elected
officials of the city of Atlanta and the Atlanta Board of Education. The
Commission submitted its report on October 29, 2008.
“We
cannot in good conscience approve salaries increases for any elected official
while we have been forced to cut services, lay off employees and furlough
others,” said City Councilmember Felicia A. Moore, chair of the Committee on
Council, the committee charged with overseeing city council operations and
administrative and board appointments.
The
administration projected a $50 million budget shortfall in the general fund and
budget adjustments were made to meet the shortfall. Officials say the city is
now on track for a balanced budget. The current fiscal year ends June 31.
In
addition, the City Council approved legislation Monday that will enable the City
to recoup 100 percent of debts owed on delinquent accounts in collection. (Legislative
Reference No. 08-R-2319)
MSB
Government Services currently collects delinquent accounts and charges the city
19.8 percent on the principal of the amount owed. The city of Atlanta received
80.2 percent of the outstanding debt.
Under the new plan, sponsored by City Councilmember Anne Fauver, a
recovery charge of up to 19.8 percent would be added to a delinquent account.
The City’s former collection agency,
ACS, collected $5 million from delinquent accounts and received a compensation
of $1.1 million for 2008, according to the city treasury department.
“This is badly needed revenue, Fauver
said, now we can capture this money and in today’s economic climate, every
dollar helps”.
In
other news, Councilmembers approved the rescheduling of the second City Council
Meeting from January 19, 2009 (MLK Day) to January 22, 2009 at 1 p.m. (Legislative
Reference No. 08-O-2357)
The above legislation and a complete list of other items on the
council’s agenda can be viewed in their entirety on the Web at: http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/2009/fca0105.htm
All adopted legislative items and any amendments to those items or
substitute papers can be viewed at: http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/Captions/default.asp
City council minutes can be viewed at: http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/minutes2.htm
Archived video of Atlanta City Council meetings can be viewed at: http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/video.htm