In a flagging economy, leveraging tax dollars and revenue to their maximum potential is vital, said District 8 Atlanta City Councilwoman Yolanda Adrean. “We’ve been told by economists it will take a few years to get financially stable."

A weak property tax digest due to home foreclosures, lower sales tax revenues and mounting infrastructure expenses add up to fiscal challenges for the city, she said.

No matter what the bottom line looks like, reducing crime, improving transportation and helping employees retire with secure incomes are at the top of Adrean’s to-do list for 2011.

Public safety is a major concern, said Adrean, who represents about half of Buckhead. “Crime statistics have gone down in my district, but the crimes are bolder and more violent such as home invasions and smash and grab thefts.” 

A beat redesign, based on analyzed calls for service, will add more officers per square-mile, improve response times and reduce disparities in workloads. Police Zone 2, which serves District 8 and the rest of Buckhead, is the largest in the city, covering 36 square miles.

Police Chief George Turner's plan would add 3.4 miles of the Cheshire Bridge area to the zone bringing it to 40 square miles.  Zone 2 would gain three police beats, three cars and 15 officers. But Adrean believes more officers and cars are needed to handle the added Zone 2 territory.

 “Buckhead is a daytime work center with lots of retail, office space and schools,” said Adrean. “Traffic patterns make timely emergency responses difficult. We need to have more resources devoted to the area.” 

“The employee pension obligation is a profound challenge,” said Adrean, who serves as chair of the finance committee. “It’s critical that we look at financial options to provide retirement for employees. We spend 20 percent — $1 out of every $5 of our budget on employees’ retirement.

"Since city employees stopped participating in Social Security some years ago, their futures depend on their pensions,” she said. “A combination of pension, Social Security and personal savings would be a better safeguard.” A report by a special pension tax force is expected in February.

Revenues may be down, but the need to address traffic gridlock, road repair and transportation projects continues to escalate, often hampering Atlanta’s ability to compete with other cities for commerce, Adrean said.

Special  TSPLOST legislation passed last year could help fund needed projects through a special tax that could bring billions to the state for transportation. Approved by the Legislature last year, the measure proposes allowing a penny sales tax to fund highways, bridges and other transportation modes. MARTA was excluded from receiving operations funding from the measure. 

The bill divides the state into 12 regions, including one composed of 10 metro Atlanta counties. A “roundtable” of elected officials in each region draws up a list of road, rail and bridge projects funded by the tax. Then in the 2012 primary elections, each region will vote on the tax, which would sunset in 10 years if passed.