FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Council Communications
Atlanta City Hall
55 Trinity Ave. SW
Atlanta, GA 30303

May 15, 2023 

Atlanta City Council Member Dustin Hillis Introduces Legislation To Strengthen City's Yearly Commitment to Parks, Recreation Centers, and Trails 

ATLANTA — District 9 Council member Dustin Hillis introduced legislation during Monday’s meeting to make the largest new, yearly commitment to parks in Atlanta in half a century. The legislation, which is a City Charter amendment and would be part of the City’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget process, will bolster the City’s dedicated Parks Improvement Fund by approximately $16 million annually.

The legislation also accounts for the City adding hundreds of new acres of parks over the past several years by ensuring the City has the funds to properly maintain new and existing parks, recreation centers, and trails. The adjustment would allocate 50 percent of the Parks Improvement Fund to capital projects and acquisition, 40 percent to maintenance, 5 percent to safety and security, and 5 percent to other associated costs.

“While the City has been working toward its goal of adding more park land to get us closer to the national standard of having all our residents within a 10-minute walk to a park, we have not made any major investments in the Parks Improvement Fund in around 50 years. That has kept funds dedicated to maintenance at around $1.6 million per year,” Hillis said. “This legislation will show our citizens and philanthropic partners that we are committed to improving and maintaining our new and existing parks, rec centers, and trails by adding an additional $11 million for maintenance. The change will also allocate around $1.6 million per year to security and safety, which will be used to improve our park ranger program and place more security cameras and emergency call boxes in parks and along trails.”

Hillis added, “I appreciate the support of my City Council colleagues, our parks advocacy organizations like Park Pride, and the continued support from the philanthropic community. Once passed, I truly believe this will unlock a true ‘golden age’ of parks here in our great city.”

The legislation is co-sponsored by Council members Matt Westmoreland, Jason Winston, Jason Dozier, Liliana Bakhtiari, Alex Wan, Byron Amos, Marci Collier Overstreet, Amir Farokhi, Michael Julian Bond, Keisha Sean Waites, and Antonio Lewis. It was referred to the Community Development/Human Services and Finance/Executive committees.

About Atlanta City Council
The Atlanta City Council is the chief policy-making body for the City of Atlanta. It acts by considering and enacting all laws that govern the City. The Council also approves the operating and capital budgets for the City as recommended by the mayor, and it continually monitors revenues and expenditures for local government operations. The Council reviews and has final say on many land-use and zoning matters. Major economic development projects for the City also fall under the Council’s consideration.

Comprised of 12 districts and three at-large posts, Council representatives include: Council President: Doug Shipman; District 1: Jason Winston; District 2: Amir Farokhi; District 3: Byron Amos; District 4: Jason S. Dozier; District 5: Liliana Bakhtiari; District 6: Alex Wan; District 7: Howard Shook; District 8: Mary Norwood; District 9: Dustin Hillis; District 10: Andrea L. Boone; District 11: Marci Collier Overstreet; District 12: Antonio Lewis; Post 1 At-Large: Michael Julian Bond; Post 2 At-Large: Matt Westmoreland; and Post 3 At-Large: Keisha Sean Waites.

To learn more about the Atlanta City Council, please visit http://citycouncil.atlantaga.gov/. For the latest updates, follow the Atlanta City Council on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Office of Council Communications Contacts:

Zena Lewis

zolewis@atlantaga.gov

404-330-6309

Michael Ulmer

mmulmer@atlantaga.gov

404-330-6056