When Atlanta City Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd returned to her office Wednesday afternoon, following a day of meetings, she was surprised to be handed a stack of phone messages.
Her colleague, Felicia Moore, had hardly any.
There was good reason. Sheperd was one of four Atlanta City Council members – along with C.T. Martin, Natalyn Archibong and Kwanza Hall -- targeted Wednesday in a campaign spearheaded by the business community to secure the crucial 10th vote on pension reform.
Moore, who has offered an alternative plan to the current proposal, is deeply rooted in the no column.
“I feel neglected,” Moore said.
Neglected or not, Wednesday was a busy prelude to what could be a historic day in Atlanta on Thursday. The council is expected – if it has 10 votes – to vote on a proposal that would combine a traditional pension plan that promises reduced benefits with a 401(k)-style retirement plan that would shift more risk to employees. The plan was authored by Councilwoman Yolanda Adrean and could save the city $20 million annually.
If it is approved it will come days before the council is scheduled to pass the city’s $545 million budget, which will free up spending, avoid as many as 200 layoffs and help close an $18 million spending gap.
Atlanta, like dozens of states and cities across the nation, must overhaul its pension system to save money. The cities unfunded liability stands at $1.8 billion and could more than double if benefits aren't curbed. Cities across the country, and in metro Atlanta, facing similar problems are watching how Atlanta reduces the cost of public employee retirement benefits to stave off those budget-crippling liabilties.
So, in what was supposed to be a quiet day in City Hall, several council members and members of Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration scrambled to and from meetings and conferences. By midday, talks of a deal had begun to surface, although no one would confirm.
“We're working on something and we're close to getting there,” said City Council President Ceasar Mitchell.
In a letter penned by John Ahmann, executive director of the Atlanta Committee for Progress, a loose group of business leaders who advise Reed, he reminded members how important pension reform was and how close the voting could get.
Going into Wednesday, there are thought to be eight votes in the bag. In addition to Adrean, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Howard Shook, Alex Wan, Aaron Watson, H. Lamar Willis, Ivory Young and Carla Smith are council members who support the plan. With 10 votes needed, Ahmann listed the names and phone numbers of the four members he listed as “uncommitted.”
“I don’t know if it will make a difference, but the intent to the community and the stakeholders was to be clear on what the issues are,” Ahmann said. “No one under appreciates how tough and emotional this is."
In response to the letter, Martin pointed to his oath of office.
“Only people who have been elected to office can make public policy,” Martin said. “We are a deliberate body and we cannot be pressured or intimidated into a vote.”
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