Council embarks on process to adopt Fiscal Year 2022 budget
It’s budget season for the Atlanta City Council. Throughout the month of May, the Council will be holding a series of briefings to learn more about each City department’s budget and the financial path forward heading into Fiscal Year 2022.
As chair of the Council’s Finance/Executive Committee, District 6 Council member Jennifer Ide will lead the process of holding the briefings as the Council reviews each aspect of the City’s budget and spending priorities.
This is Council member Ide’s second year as the committee chair, and the second time that the Council will be holding the briefings remotely because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“As we roll into the Fiscal Year 2022, we are still dealing with the pandemic and our economy is still being impacted, so there is some uncertainty there. Thankfully, we find ourselves with pretty good footing,” Ide said. “Going into this year, we have revenue concerns because of the pandemic, but we also received funding from the American Rescue Plan that can be used not only for pandemic-related expenditures, but also for revenue shortfalls caused by the pandemic.”
The City is set to receive about $178 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan, a federal relief package approved by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in March.
Like previous budget cycles, the Council is also planning to hold an interactive budget hearing, which allows the public to have a direct voice in the process. The remote public hearing will be held on Tuesday, May 18 at 6:15 p.m.
“The interactive hearing is a time for Council members, the mayor’s administration, and the finance team to hear what’s on people’s mind,” Ide said. “People have great ideas, and this is a great way for us to hear their concerns. Every year, we hear new and different things, and we hear from people across the city, so it’s really a key part of the process.”
In terms of what the Council expects to hear as the budget process unfolds, Ide said each department is anticipated to outline their progress from last year and expectations for the upcoming fiscal year.
“I want to hear what they intended to get done the year before, what they were able to get done with their budget, why they need a change in their budget, and anything new that they plan to do in the coming fiscal year,” she said.
She added that the budget process being held remotely again this year can help more people connect with the process and follow along in the deliberations.
“I think the remote process works well. In many ways, it allows for greater public participation because it’s easier to call in or listen from home rather than needing to drive or take MARTA down to City Hall and sit in the Council chambers,” ide said. “There’s more planning on the backend and our Council staff and IT staff do an amazing job making it look seamless. I hope this year will again be a meaningful and accessible experience for the public.”
Along with the impact of the pandemic, public safety is expected to be a large topic of discussion. Ide noted that public safety is a significant and important part of the budget each year.
“Over the last year, there has been a lot of good discussion, debate and consideration about public safety in Atlanta. We’ve also done a deep dive into public safety operations. We’ve talked about everything from the boots on the ground, standard operating procedures for officers to a more high-level discussion of what do we mean we say public safety in Atlanta,” she said. “It’s certainly been a difficult year, and I know that our number one priority is keeping our residents and our businesses safe, but I think we have had a good, thoughtful year of discussing what’s the best way to spend our dollars when it comes to public safety. I imagine you’ll see some public safety-related asks in this budget, and on the policy side, we’ll be doing some important work there as well.”
Following the budget hearings, the Council will be closer to adoption of the budget and consider amendments before final approval.
“Toward the end of the process, there will be small and large changes made during the next month. Typically, amendments are brought forward at the Finance/Executive Committee, and then they are made on the floor as well on budget day,” she said, noting the City’s code states that the budget must be adopted by July 1. “We’re hoping to pass it a bit earlier in the first half of June this year, but our statutory deadline is to get it done before the end of June because the new fiscal year begins July 1.”
