Janet Williams said she complained to her boss that she was being sexually harassed by a co-worker.

One week later, a supervisor for Atlanta's General Services office told Williams she was being laid off.

Williams is one of at least 30 former Atlanta employees appealing the city's decision to let them go.

"I think it was unfair," said Williams, 46, who worked for Atlanta for 2 1/2 years, most recently as a mailroom employee.

Mayor Shirley Franklin laid off 441 city workers and eliminated 347 vacant positions in the past week as part of a plan to balance her proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. The budget had a projected $140 million shortfall and Franklin's staff says the layoffs and job reductions saved $57 million.

The city's Civil Service Board will listen to the appeals in the next 30 to 60 days and decide whether the workers should be rehired.

Franklin is also proposing a property tax increase to raise $40 million to help fill the budget gap. The City Council has scheduled a public hearing at 7 p.m. Thursday to hear from citizens about the mayor's budget plan. The meeting will take place in the old City Council chambers at City Hall, 68 Mitchell St.

Council members heard at a budget hearing Tuesday from several angry employees who were laid off. Some workers argued they were let go by vindictive supervisors. Others said they should not have been laid off because they had not been evaluated for more than a year. Evaluations were supposed to help department directors decide who should go.

"We've been finding errors," said Gina Pagnotta, a Public Works employee who is president of the 357-member Professional Association of City Employees. "We don't know if they're intentional errors or human errors."

Nancy Lenk, a leader at a city union that represents about 2,000 city workers, said she has heard similar complaints from laid-off employees.

"I think there's been inappropriate layoffs," said Lenk, assistant director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 1644.

Roshunda Coffen, a former Public Works employee, thought her job was safe. The former city truck driver said she got high marks on her most recent evaluation. She worked for the city for 18 years.

Coffen now suspects she was let go because she criticized management on some issues.

"I didn't expect my name to come because I had seniority," said Coffen, 37, a mother of three. "I feel hurt."