Atlanta financial woes dominate mayoral debate - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

badillodacyroic1505.blogspot.com
Two members of the city a state senator and two politicao newcomers all vying tosucceed term-limited Mayof Shirley Franklin ­ agreed that the city must find a way to end furlougha for police officers and firefighterd while fixing financial problems that have sent Atlanta'sz bond ratings to near-junk status. The key to overcominh chronic budget deficits is an overhauk ofthe city's financial managementf system, said Glenn Thomas, one of the newcomers, although a formerd city employee. Only by gaining control of its he said, can Atlanta's economic developmen efforts succeed. "The way you rebuild the economy is manage what you have he said.
"That in itself will encourage businesses to come to But City Council President Lisa Bordersxsaid Atlanta's finances can't recoverr without an injection of additional revenuew sources beyond the "two-legged stool" of property taxes and salesw taxes. If elected mayor, she said she woulr promote using Atlanta's landfills as a sources of methane gas that could be sold asalternativee fuel. She said another potential new revenuew source would be training other police and fire personnel at the citytraininvg center. "The other parts of the regio steal our police officers and firefightersonce they're trained," Bordersw said. "We must be dointg it best.
" Each candidate in turn toutee his or her experiencse as particularly suited for the job of Georgia Sen. Kasim Reed, D-Atlanta, said the 11 year he has spent building relationships in the Generall Assembly would make him an effectivd advocate for Atlanta under theGold Dome. As an example, he cited his work in convincing majority Republicansw to allow Atlanta to usethe state'xs credit rating to obtain $500 million in low-interest loans for the city's sewer system overhaul. "Ig matters that you know who thoseindividualas are," he said.
Councilwoman Mary Norwood, the only whit e candidate amongthe five, said her two victories in citywids races for one of the council's at-large seats showed she appealz to a racially and politically diverse electorate. "kI live in a red neighborhood in a blue city in a red stat in ablue country," said the Buckheasd resident, referring to the now-widely accepted characterizatiob of Republican territory as and Democratic turf as "blue." Four of the five candidates said gettinh the city back on its feet financially wouldf be their top prioritt as mayor.
Norwood said she woulr focus first on public All five candidates supported fundingfor Atlanta's arts and subject to the availability of moneg in a tight But they were cool toward plans to revitalize Undergroundc Atlanta with a casino. Jesse Spikes, a partner with the law firm , said legalized gamblinbg wouldn't be a good fit for the area. "Georgi a State has invested a lot of moneuy indowntown Atlanta," he said. "We need to make sure what we invesyt in is consistentwith what's already there." About 250 people turneed out for the debate at the Georgia-Pacific auditorium, sponsored by , , (NYSE: AGL) and Atlanta Businessd Chronicle.