Inside City Hall: Does Atlanta’s transportation need more money?
The budget hearing for Atlanta’s transportation department is set for Thursday, and we’re already seeing council pushback over the department’s proposed budget cut.
City Chief Financial Officer Mohamed Balla told the council two weeks ago that the $7.1 million decline in ATLDOT’s budget is a drop in the bucket compared to the department’s “total arsenal” of funding.
In addition to a proposed $50.3 million budget, ALTDOT is also managing Atlanta’s $750 million infrastructure package — which is funded by sales taxes and $400 million in bonds.
“Due to the infusion of so many other capital dollars...adding additional capital dollars for them to deliver at this point is not the best use for that funding,” Balla said.
But several councilmembers — including Marci Collier Overstreet, Byron Amos, Dustin Hillis, and Council President Doug Shipman — said the budget should be proactively addressing the routine issues on Atlanta’s roads.
“You can always tell the state of a government by the conditions of their roads,” Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari said. “My concern is that the condition of our roads does not state where we are.”
ATLDOT’s budget hearing begins Thursday, from 3-4 p.m.
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ATL311: Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens says Myesha Good is going to be Atlanta’s Customer Service department commissioner. Good has been the department’s interim commissioner since October 2021.
Good joined City Hall in 2001 and worked for two City Council member districts before becoming a City Council Chief of Staff. She’s also held several roles at the city’s ATL311 call center. Residents can call 311, visit the ATL 311 website, or tweet @ATL311 on Twitter to address potholes or missing trash cans, among other non-emergency services.
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Train trapped: Atlantans — particularly those in marginalized communities — have been voicing concern to council members over stalled trains trapping them either within or outside of their neighborhoods, often for hours at a time.
At the May 1 council meeting, Hunter Hills resident Trina Demar-Tucker said trains that stop on Chappell Road Northwest have made her and her husband late to work in the morning. But the situation could possibly be more dire, she said and noted she has young teenagers — one with Down’s syndrome — who could need her in an emergency.
“I can’t get to my babies because of the train on the track,” she said. “I can’t get to my babies, no matter what’s happening in my house.”
There’s little movement on a solution to this problem at the local level.
Last week in Congress, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock led provisions in the pending Railway Safety Act of 2023 that would work to eliminate railway crossings along a school bus route or within a mile of a school. Another provision would create a process for residents to report nuisance crossings.
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Budget schedule: The Atlanta City Council’s budget briefing schedule for Fiscal Year 2024 has been revised. Beginning 10 a.m. Tuesday, the council will take on the budget hearing for the city Auditor’s office, followed by the city’s Ethics office and Inspector General office. Invest Atlanta, the city’s IT department, and ATL311 will have their hearings Tuesday afternoon.
The budget hearings for the city departments of HR, Public Works, Watershed Management, Aviation, and its new Labor office will begin 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Beginning 10 a.m. Thursday, the budget hearings will be held for the Atlanta Police Department, City Solicitor, Municipal Court, Public Defender, the Procurement department and ATLDOT.
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Got tips, tricks or just want to say hello? Email us at riley.bunch@ajc.com and wilborn.nobles@ajc.com
About the Authors
Riley Bunch is a reporter on the local government team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering Atlanta City Hall. She covers the mayor and Atlanta City Council while also keeping an eye on the city’s diverse neighborhoods.
Wilborn P. Nobles III covers Atlanta City Hall for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He began covering DeKalb County Schools for The AJC in November 2020. He previously covered Baltimore County for The Baltimore Sun and education for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He interned at the Washington Post. He graduated from Louisiana State University.
