Big issues wrap up City Council’s year

The Atlanta City Council today holds its last scheduled meeting of 2008, and, as usual for the year’s last gathering, the agenda offers a smorgasbord of new legislation and initiatives.

Here’s a look at some of the more prominent items up for consideration.

Council budget

Council members are considering appropriating about $200,000 from their individual council accounts to help pay salaries of city workers. Mayor Shirley Franklin is cutting city workers’ hours —- and pay —- by 10 percent to deal with a projected budget shortfall of at least $50 million. Rather than reduce the hours worked by their two dozen staff members, City Council members are contributing the $200,000 to the city’s general fund to cover the cost of that work.

Transportation plan

After more than a year of work by city planners and consultants, the council will vote on a long-term vision to improve traffic over the next quarter-century. The plan, projected to cost at least $3.3 billion, includes streetcars along Peachtree Street, widening some busy roads, adding bicycle lanes, improving traffic signals and building sidewalks. It’s unclear where the city will get the money.

Some Neighborhood Planning Units have complained they haven’t had a chance to thoroughly review the plan. City officials say the plan can be revised in the future.

Iran and Sudan

Councilman and mayoral candidate Ceasar Mitchell offers legislation that would prohibit Atlanta from doing business with companies that have direct investments in Iran or Sudan.

Both nations are on the State Department list of terror sponsors. If approved, proponents of the legislation believe Atlanta would be the first major city to have such guidelines. City officials say they don’t know of any city investments in either country.

A group of students from the Atlanta University Center recently approached Mitchell, a Morehouse College graduate, with the idea.

911 charge

Councilwoman Anne Fauver wants to add $1.50 a month to telephone bills for people who use broadband Internet connections for their home telephone service.

The charge would help offset the city’s cost to operate its 911 system.

City officials estimate they would collect about $3 million a year from the surcharge.