“This came in many ways from thinking about, ‘How do we build trust in City Hall, how do we do a better job engaging the public?” said Atlanta City Councilman Amir Farokhi.
Tag: Budget
Posted inMaggie Lee
If Georgia’s budget were $1, health care and education would get quarters. Most other things would get pennies.
Georgia’s budget, counting state and federal money, is bigger than football, but smaller than Home Depot. Most of the spending is on health care and education.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Georgia Capitol recap: Atlanta airport, rural transit bills fail to move, and more
In news of what the state Legislature didn’t approve this year, put: any takeover or oversight of Atlanta’s airport. Or a tax break for jet fuel. Or a boost to rural transit.
Posted inMain Slider
Explainer: When Georgia lawmakers do — and don’t — know the cost of their votes
The nice thing about a fiscal note is that all sides consider it at least a good-faith estimate, free of industry or partisan spin. But Georgia legislators often don’t have a nonpartisan official estimate of what their votes will mean for the state’s finances.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Georgia’s new governor pitches budget: here’s a look at what is — and isn’t — in it
Georgia will have about $27.5 billion to spend in the year that begins in July. The new governor is making proposed teacher raises a centerpiece. Democrats are pressing to spend on a Medicaid expansion.
Posted inLatest News
Gov.-elect Kemp calls for Georgians to “work together”
Republican Gov.-elect Brian Kemp said it’s time to “put politics behind us,” addressing a group of mainly lawmakers and lobbyists, in a bit of an opening speech ahead of his first legislative session as governor.
Posted inMaggie Lee
Leading Gold Dome Republicans grumble about rising cost of new nukes at Vogtle
A group of Republican state legislators are now among those grumbling publicly about budget-busting costs as the Plant Vogtle expansion drags toward completion.
Posted inLatest News
DeKalb County’s fiscal posture improving, but not out of the woods, Moody’s reports
Analysts with Moody’s Investors Service thought enough of DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond’s promise to balance the county’s budget to include the promise in their credit analysis of the county.
It’s only only a passing comment. But given the gravity of these credit analyses, its inclusion in the July 18 report is noteworthy:
Posted inLatest News
State cash for metro transit? Some GOP candidates more on board than others
Georgia’s majority-Republican legislature has warmed to mass transit funding in metro Atlanta and other areas — a bit. Some of the GOP contenders for top office are more on board with the trend than others.
Posted inLatest News
$100 million state transit bond marked for Ga. 400 rapid bus works
A state that’s been reluctant to bankroll buses and the train in its biggest metro has announced a major mass transit spend by Georgia standards — $100 million. That’ll be a substantial downpayment on rapid bus service along Ga. 400.
Posted inMain Slider
Atlanta City Council approves $661 million budget
Atlanta City Council on Monday approved a $661 million budget and personnel plan for the upcoming year, but it left many on both sides of the dais unhappy with pay for public safety officers.
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Artists, organizations lobby for funding in Atlanta budget
Atlanta’s quick to name the block-busting Hollywood films and TV shows made in the city — Black Panther, The Walking Dead and so on. But local artists say a little more love for the city’s home-grown film, sculpture, dance and other arts would pay off in more ways than one.
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta plans rate hikes at Chastain Arts Center, new fee structure to rent Gallery 72
The Atlanta City Council is poised to wait until after the city election on Nov. 7 to consider rate hikes for art programs at Chastain Arts Center and Gallery and a new fee structure to rent the city’s gallery, Gallery 72. The proposals have been pending since they were introduced in April.
Posted inMain Slider
Facing federal budget cuts, Georgia alone cannot bear the brunt of environmental protection
By Guest Columnist GIL ROGERS, director of the Southern Environmental Law Center’s Georgia and Alabama offices
On July 4th, many Georgians celebrate by heading outdoors to cool off in rivers and lakes around the state, hike trails around Georgia’s state parks, and enjoy the fireworks after running Atlanta’s Peachtree Road Race, the world’s largest 10K.
Posted inColumns
Georgians, state treasury to suffer under President Trump’s budget plan
By Guest Columnist TAIFA BUTLER, executive director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute
Georgians can find a lot not to like in the federal budget President Trump is proposing. It jeopardizes the state’s financial stability. It promises to hurt the ability of millions of Georgians to meet basic living standards. Even Social Security disability benefits are slashed in the planned budget cuts.
