City of Atlanta union leaders came out of a Friday meeting with Mayor Kasim Reed without a salary deal, but with hope.
On the table are raises for a majority of the city’s workers, including police officers and firefighters, as part of the $539 million budget. Reed is proposing spending $2.7 million to give raises ranging from 1 percent to 3 percent.
“It was an open conversation where some ideas got thrown out on the table, some frustrations got vented, and some eyes got open,” said Stephen Borders, president of the Atlanta Professional Firefighters union. “It is a large rock to move, but we are slowly starting to figure out how we are going to move it.”
City workers, some of whom haven’t had raises in years, want more — up to 5 percent, in addition to a sustained plan to continue to increase salaries over time. The initial proposal endorsed by the union would cost between $10 million and $12 million.
“We had a very constructive conversation. They certainly understand that I would like to pay them more,” Reed said. “They have detailed proposals and I am going to listen to them and we are going to try to get there. I have some ideas about how we may be able to spread out raises over two years as opposed to one, but at least some employees will have a sense of where their salaries are going.”
Reed noted that he gave police and fire personnel 3.5 percent raises in 2011 as part of his first budget, which also included a one-time $450 bonus for most other city employees. He added that the budget he is proposing is more than $100 million less than the $645 million budget passed in 2008.
“When we went through those things I think it is kind of hard to claim that I don’t want to pay employees more,” Reed said. “But there is a reason that the city is working well right now. A reason why we are not laying off employees.”
The sides will meet next week to further discuss proposals. Atlanta’s 2014 budget has to be approved by the end of the month.
“The mayor has given us a task,” said Gina Pagnotta-Murphy, president of the Professional Association of City Employees. “We have given him a task. We are all very hopeful right now, but we have some work to do.”
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