East Point adopts budget, but controversy continues about the spending plan

By April Hunt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

More than two months after the budget year began, East Point finally has a spending plan.

The City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday night to adopt the budget, which is retroactive to July 1. It includes $36.5 million for a general fund for basic city services and $53 million in enterprise funds, such as for water and electric utilities.

Even though those are decreases of 23 percent and 9 percent, respectively, leaders and residents in the financially troubled city continued to debate the budget even after the vote.

“This is a very padded budget,” said Councilman Marcel Reed, who dissented along with Councilman Greg Fann. “I don’t know that we can afford this.”

A handful of vocal residents have shown up at repeated council meetings, asking the same thing. Even with the cuts, the budget includes a 3 percent cost-of-living raise for the city’s 500 employees. Police and firefighters get an additional 2 percent bump in pay.

Though the city tax rate is holding at 14.75 mills, the raises alone account for $976,750. The tally drew criticism when it was unveiled on the same day that the federal government announced that Social Security would not give cost-of-living raises for the next two years. East Point has many residents who qualify for the aid who worried the freeze would slash their household budgets.

“They have failed the seniors,” said Jean Wilson, a retired federal worker.

Fann, though, was among those who pushed for the pay increases. The city was losing many experienced workers because of the low pay, officials said, especially in public safety jobs.

Still, Fann questioned why the budget created new top-level jobs, such as an assistant city manager who will earn between $90,000 and $96,000 a year to help with the daily business for the city of 40,000 people.

Supporters of the budget, though, pointed out that it is designed to help the city eliminate its $6 million ongoing deficit by next summer. The city has been on a “financial recovery plan” for two years, which has helped it whittle down the deficit from its peak at $11 million.

“We are being responsible,” Councilman Lance Rhodes said of the mix of cuts and raises. “We have a long way to go, but we have come a long way. I think it’s a move forward.”