Buckhead Councilwoman Warns of $20M Budget Gap

Atlanta City Councilwoman Felicia Moore told a group of Buckhead business leaders that she expects a $20 million shortfall in next year's city budget, but she's staying mum on where she expects the pain.

"It's hard for me to say how that will be reconciled," Moore said Thursday morning at a breakfast meeting of the Buckhead Business Association.

Her comments came before publication of the mayor's draft budget for the year, which starts in July.

It's the mayor's job to take the lead on proposing cuts or dips into reserves via a draft budget which the council can amend and must approve. Moore expects Mayor Kasim Reed's draft budget by the end of April.

"Our budgets have decreased, we've had to do more with less," said Moore, chair of the city council's Finance Committee. 

The city's general fund budget is $551 million for the fiscal year ending in June. According to the city auditor, reserves sat at nearly $100 million at the end of the last financial year.

Moore said that home sales are starting to tick up, a sign of recovery and something that means more revenue for the city. On the other hand, she said, many of the sales are on deflated home prices.

The city gets about 25 percent of what's on every property tax bill, said Moore. The "majority of the money goes to the school board and Fulton County."

She encouraged anyone who is interested in joining the budget process to attend upcoming citizen input meetings. The next one is scheduled for May 5 at 10 a.m. at City Hall.