FIRE STATION: Council unsure how to force reopening

Atlanta remained locked in its own version of a constitutional crisis Wednesday with the council and mayor at odds and the fate of the now-shuttered West End fire station at stake.

And, there was no indication when, or if, the impasse would break.

The station remained closed Wednesday despite the council’s vote a day earlier to further push Mayor Shirley Franklin to reopen the facility.

Councilman Ceasar Mitchell, a West End resident, said he wasn’t sure what else the council might do after it already has amended the budget to set aside $1.1 million to reopen the station and overridden Franklin’s veto of that action.

The council, as the policy-making body, has made clear it wants the station reopened, but the mayor has to act if that’s to happen.

“At the end of the day, the mayor has the authority to reopen the station,” Mitchell said. “It’s her prerogative. I can’t force her. The council has done what it’s empowered to do. It’s up to the mayor.”

The station controversy has been dragging on for weeks.

The drama began when Franklin first proposed a budget funded in part by a property tax hike.

The council balked and directed Franklin to make more than $14 million in cuts. In July, she instead sliced $21 million and closed the West End fire station.

The move prompted a community uproar. Council members eventually passed a budget amendment setting aside the $1.1 million needed to keep the station open for 12 months. Franklin vetoed that action. The council overrode her veto on Tuesday, setting up the current impasse.

Franklin refused to comment Wednesday on whether she would follow the council’s directive and reopen the station. She said she was attending to personal business.

Vivien Davenport, a community activist, said she appreciates the council’s stance in trying to reopen the station.

“I just don’t know why the mayor is doing this,” Davenport said. “We are disappointed. Services are already not what they should be and they are taking things away from us.”

Jim Daws, head of the city’s firefighters union, said he thinks the council could force the issue by being more direct in imposing its will on the mayor and her administration.

Daws said fire safety, firefighters and residents of West End community continue to suffer as the logjam continues.

“Why would the mayor just let this money sit in an account in order to just win an argument with the City Council?” Daws said. “There is no good reason other than to impose her will.”