Atlanta faces $20m funds deficit
Atlanta metropolis leaders have an issue. They’re attempting to determine methods to clear up a multimillion-dollar funds deficit. Because the mayor works on a brand new funds, they’ve hinted that layoffs and cuts may very well be on the best way.
ATLANTA – Atlanta’s funds are $20 million within the pink, and metropolis officers say layoffs and hard cuts could also be on the best way.
Mayor Andre Dickens plans to suggest a brand new funds subsequent week.
What they’re saying:
“It’s going to be a contraction from prior years,” stated Council member Howard Shook, Atlanta Metropolis Council Finance Committee Chairman. “We’re going to should bear the identical belt-tightening that you just’re seeing so many individuals in each the private and non-private sectors undergo.”
The brand new fiscal 12 months begins July 1. The present fiscal 12 months has despatched the town right into a deficit.
“Steps have been taken by the administration and finance division to attempt to skinny that down as a lot as doable as that fiscal 12 months involves an finish,” stated Shook. “The administration I do know is trying to cut back the workforce and what kind that takes. We’ll see.”
What we all know:
Atlanta is working to fill a $20 million shortfall on this 12 months’s funds, Shook stated. Mayor Andre Dickens will current his proposed funds to the Metropolis Council subsequent week. Town should cross a brand new balanced funds by the top of June.
Shook stated he believes the main target might be on reducing a number of the metropolis’s workforce.
Michael Smith, Mayor Dickens’ press secretary, advised FOX 5 the town’s place just isn’t distinctive.
“The Mayor is dedicated to a secure, thriving Atlanta constructed for the long run with alternative for all of our communities,” Smith stated. “As soon as launched, the general public will see the proposed FY26 funds displays these values whereas defending the Metropolis’s monetary well being and resilience.
The backstory:
In line with Shook, a number of current occasions led to the funds hole, together with snowstorms, President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, and offering safety for the brand new Atlanta Public Security Coaching Heart, which has been the goal of vandals and activists against the challenge.
These prices piled up shortly, pushing the town into the pink, Shook stated.
The council is required to cross a balanced funds by the top of June.
What’s subsequent:
Every metropolis division should justify its funds requests intimately, Shook stated.
The brand new fiscal 12 months begins July 1.
Till then, hiring for vacant positions now reportedly requires particular approval from the Mayor’s workplace.
Officers are additionally ready to substantiate whether or not anticipated federal funding will nonetheless be out there, after the Trump administration’s personal cost-cutting initiative, DOGE.
Town has to plan for main occasions over the course of the subsequent 12 months, which embody preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Shook expects public security prices for the occasion to be excessive.
The Supply: This text is predicated on unique reporting by FOX 5’s Rob DiRienzo. Extra info from Council member Howard Shook and the Workplace of Mayor Andre Dickens.
