Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said his administration will focus more on unemployment, wage growth and neighborhood stabilization in the coming months.
The mayor outlined his plans at the Hungry Club Forum on Georgia State University's campus on Monday. With his mother and father in the audience, the crowd gave Reed several standing ovations as he outlined policy goals for the second half of his first term. At several points, Reed seemed to slip into campaign mode, telling a crowd of about 200 that he needed their support.
Reed said about 450 Atlanta employees will get pay increases from a $800,000 fund set aside for that purpose.
"Employees are going to be paid better," he said.
The increases would average $1,780 per employee. Earlier in his administration, police officers and firefighters, as well as city employees making less than $70,000, received raises or bonuses.
Reed plans to appoint a cabinet-level homelessness czar, to be funded by a $3.1 million grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies. His choice for that position has not yet been made public.
Reed promised to clear a backlog of 1,500 code violation cases within 180 days. That tally has been cut down from 5,000 when Reed took office in January 2010.
"It was crippling our city," the mayor said.
In a bid to stabilize troubled neighborhoods that have been rocked by foreclosures, Reed's office is urging major banks in Atlanta to tap into the city's foreclosed housing and sell those properties to the city's first responders. That would help ensure that "neighborhood after neighborhood isn't ruined again," Reed said.
Atlanta's funding for the arts will increase by at least $250,000 in the city's next budget, Reed said. The increase could reach as much as $500,000 if corporate matching funds come through. Earlier this year, Reed reversed course and restored arts funding to its previous level after initially cutting it.
Reed plans to direct the Atlanta Workforce Development Authority to focus more on recruiting veterans for jobs in city departments, especially the police department, fire rescue, corrections and code compliance.
Reed also touted a variety of transportation projects that will get funding from a 1 percent sales tax if it passes in a referendum next year. Those projects include the Atlanta Beltline, MARTA, a streetcar project and others. He said Atlanta has a chance to be one of the country's top centers for infrastructure investment. The transportation issue is used against Atlanta in its competition with Charlotte, Dallas and other cities. That costs the city jobs, he said.
"If anybody wants to make the case that it's not about working families ... I would submit to you that you're wrong," he said.
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