Reed hints at big changes at City Hall

Since 2008, the city of Atlanta has cut general spending by 20 percent and laid off several hundred employees.

Atlanta's new mayor, Kasim Reed, suggests more cuts are coming.

"We have just been through a tough recession, so I think it’s fair to say Atlantans can expect some austerity cuts. But we will stand by our commitments, such as funding for the Beltline parks,” Reed told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Reed, who took office in January, is expected to deliver his proposed budget in about six weeks to the City Council.

The mayor asked his commissioners one recent morning to identify things they should not be doing or are not a core function of government. The “bold ideas” surprised him, Reed said in one recent speech.

The mayor met with several council members Thursday to discuss the budget. Councilman Howard Shook said he left the meeting with a clear impression of what's to come.

"The administration is drawing up some tough cuts," Shook said.

The potential changes come as more Atlanta residents clamor for the city to build better sidewalks, increase the police presence and reduce blight by clearing out abandoned buildings and dumped tires in their neighborhoods.

Like virtually every metro government, Atlanta has had financial troubles in recent years. Its general fund budget has dropped since fiscal year 2008 from $645 million to $541 million.

Cristina Beamud, executive director of the Citizen Review Board, said Reed's staff asked her to prepare a budget with 10 percent cuts. The board, created to investigate allegations of police misconduct, has a current budget of $321,000. Beamud said she has heard some departments have been asked to go deeper, as much as 25 percent.

Beamud said she would have to lay off one of her three staffers in order to achieve the proposed cut.

"I don't see where we can cut this and maintain the department anymore," Beamud said in an interview.

During last year's campaign, Reed said he would reduce overtime spending and do a better job of collecting fees. Candidate Reed also said he would look into cutting spending in the city's Information Technology Department. Its budget has risen since 2004 from about $13 million to about $27 million. Then-Chief Financial Officer Jim Glass warned that cutting that department's budget would not be wise.

Reed has said the city is facing a $50 million budget shortfall, and he has vowed not to support a property tax increase.

The shortfall is largely due to an expected decline in revenue, particularly from sales taxes and commercial real estate. It's also due, in part, to some items the mayor wants to add to the budget.

The mayor told the AJC he wants to hire more police officers and reopen more than 20 shuttered recreation centers, which he calls the "centers of hope."

Reed said during the campaign he wants to hire 750 police officers in his term, which equates to about 190 officers a year. Traditionally, city officials say it costs about $100,000 to hire, train and equip a police officer. Using that estimate, the city must spend about $19 million to do so with 190 new officers.

The mayor has said he wants to give police officers raises, which Lt. Scott Kreher, the leader of the police union, estimates would cost $4.5 million. City Councilman C.T. Martin is pushing for raises for other city workers who receive a rating of “effective” or better.

Reed has said he wants to increase spending by at least $10 million on capital projects. Those projects include improvements to the recreation centers, he told the AJC. The city has more than 300 vehicles that are subject to a recall, according to documents put together by Mayor Shirley Franklin's administration before she left office.

Meanwhile, others have their own wish list from Reed. Community leaders in the West End neighborhood want Fire Station 7 reopened. Franklin ordered the station closed in July 2008 to balance the budget.

Also, several City Council members have complained about the impact of budget cuts to the city's judicial system and want more solicitors and public defenders. Since 2008, the fiscal year budget for Atlanta's court system has been cut in half from nearly $17 million to $8 million.

So where will the money come from?

One idea on the table is to sell City Hall East to a group of developers for $13.5 million upfront and another $13.5 million at some point in the future. Reed is hoping the Atlanta Development Authority can negotiate a deal with the developers next month.

Another plan is to strike a lease-purchase agreement with Fulton County that the mayor's staff says will save the city at least $10 million a year. City Council members raised several questions about the proposal during a meeting earlier this month.

Reed has said he wants to find new sources of revenue. For example, he wants some of the traffic ticket revenue from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport that currently goes to Clayton County. Most of the city-owned airport lies in Clayton.

Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell said in an interview that county code shows the money should come to the county. Bell said he would prefer to talk with Reed about his idea to create more revenue for both governments -- creating a city built around the airport.

"It's a waste of time to fight over anything at the airport over any fees," said Bell, a former Atlanta police chief.