If you want to see a show at Atlanta's civic center, it may cost a $1.50 more to do so.

You want to start a business in the city, the fee could soon be $25 per employee instead of the current $15 rate.

Property owners who don't take care of an Atlanta housing code violation could pay $500 instead of the current $350 fine.

And annual recycling costs could soar from $35 to $88.

These are some of several fee increases Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and his staff have in mind to raise revenue at City Hall, which has been battered by budget cuts and layoffs the past two years. The proposals were introduced last week as Reed unveiled his first budget proposal, which keeps spending at status quo in most city departments and raises it in a few.

The largest increase -- $12.4 million  -- is in the police department budget.

Reed's $558 million general spending plan is $17 millionmore than the current $541 million budget. In addition to the new revenue, Reed is counting on two key deals to help balance the budget: leasing the jail to Fulton County and selling City Hall East.

The City Hall East deal is not included in the proposed budget because it may take more time to work out. City officials believe they can save as much as $13 million a year by leasing the jail to the county because many of those Corrections Department employees would work for Fulton County.

Reed said often during his campaign that he would do a better job collecting fees and raising revenue as mayor. His staff compares the changes to several revenue "enhancements" approved by state lawmakers to deal with their budget woes.

Charles Hoff, interim chief executive officer of the 2,063-member Georgia Restaurant Association, said he understands governments are struggling financially but so, too, are restaurants and other businesses.

"When permit prices go up, it makes it more difficult (to operate)," he said. "Higher fees are something we do not favor."

City officials note many of these fees -- such as the business license fee-per-employee -- have not changed in two or three decades. As for recycling, Chief Operating Officer Peter Aman said the administration also wants to change recycling pick-up from once a week to once every other week. City officials say they've lost money for years on trash pick-up, recycling and other associated services.

"We need to raise that rate to cover the cost of the service," Aman said.

City officials say the money from the civic center ticket surcharge will fund improvements to the facility.

"It's getting more and more expensive to run the building," interim Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs Commissioner Paul Taylor said after a City Council committee meeting Tuesday. "It's a grand old lady."

Reed's top budget priority is hiring 100 police officers and increasing the pay for all officers by 3.5 percent. Some council members have said they are hesitant to increase their pay because they fear it will lower morale among other employees. Some council members have said they want to wait until the city is on stronger financial footing before raising their pay.

Reed also wants to spend $500,000 on a pay and class study, start work on a 311 information call service and set aside $3.1 million for workers' compensation costs, more than double the current $1.4 million cost.

Atlanta has hired 97 police officers since Reed took office on Jan. 4, city records show. Most of those officers began their training last year. In all, 277 people have joined the city payroll since Jan. 4, the records show. Those 277 new employees include eight people who worked for or received reimbursements from Reed's mayoral campaign. Reed officials said those workers are highly-qualified employees who filled vacancies.

The mayor's proposed budget would add 49 workers to the parks and recreation department, many of them would work in its recreation centers that are now called the "centers of hope."

Reed's budget includes one more prosecutor in the city's solicitor's office and an investigator. Councilman Ivory Lee Young Jr. has said often that Atlanta needs to hire in the city's court system. Young said he's watched cases be dismissed because city officials were not at a court hearing.

"There is gross under-staffing in our court system," Young, who is chair of the council's public safety committee, said during a meeting Friday.

The council must adopt a budget by June 30.

Councilman Howard Shook has asked for more details about the fee increases.

"We need to know if a fee is being increased for a rational reason as opposed to a budget-filling gap," Shook said.

Here's a breakdown of most departments in Atlanta's budget:

Department      Current budget    Proposed budget

City Council              $6.7 million                  $6.8 million

Corrections               $23.1 million               $16.1 million

Courts                        $8.1 million                  $8.5 million

Executive Offices     $18.8 million                $19.6 million

Finance                      $11.5 million                $10.4 million

Fire Rescue               $72.4 million                $74.3 million

Human Resources     $2.8 million                 $3.1 million

Information Technology   $27.1 million       $28.1 million

Law                             $5 million                     $4.6 million

Parks & Recreation   $25.4 million               $29.4 million

Planning                      $10.2 million               $8.9 million

Police                           $154.4 million             $166.8 million

Public Works               $23.5 million               $20.7 million

*Aviation                    $377.6 million             $401 million

*Solid Waste              $41.1 million                 $43.9 million

*Watershed Management $483.1 million $479.4 million

* These departments are funded through different accounts.

Source: City of Atlanta