Atlanta Police Officers and Fire Fighter deserve a riase (crime, hotel)

[nycborn]

While watching the news and hearing all the talk about a new stadium it dawn on me. If the city have the funds for a new stadium, why did they give the police and fire fighter a mere 1% raised? As a avid football fan, I can say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the current stadium. So why is Mr. Reed work up about this? They wanted to purchase a church for 19.5 million in order to make way for a new arena 19.5 million would mean a $6,000 raise for both police a fire. I much rather my tax money be used for that. Right now the mayor need to focus on crime and why the police department is loosing as much as they hire.

[Gulch]

The $19.5 million you citied isn't public funding, the city is acting as an intermediary between the church and the GWCCA/Falcons, funds are coming from the latter group.

[cqholt]

Yes, the deserve a raise, but you need to get your facts about where the money is coming from before you accuse the city of spending tax payer dollar on a new stadium.

[noah]

Regarding fighting crime - hasn't the mayor substantially increased the police force?

I do agree, especially if they are underpaid compared to other local departments and loosing staff because of it (I have no knowledge that this is the case)

[arjay57]

I'd much rather see the money go to police and fire than a football stadium.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I'd much rather see the money go to police and fire than a football stadium.

Unfortunately the state put a mandate that the money from the hotel tax only be used on stadium/arena upgrades.

[nycborn]

The police and fire did not get raise. They got 3.5 rise but remember they gave the city back 5 percent a year or so ago. The one percent that was giving to them this year was never seen because they're medical benefits were increased. How do I know this? A good friend is a police officer. He has told me he is taking home less now compared to when he first started working. In addition, I remember hearing 15 million of city funds would be matched by some foundation to assist with the development. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by nycborn

The police and fire did not get raise. They got 3.5 rise but remember they gave the city back 5 percent a year or so ago. The one percent that was giving to them this year was never seen because they're medical benefits were increased. How do I know this? A good friend is a police officer. He has told me he is taking home less now compared to when he first started working. In addition, I remember hearing 15 million of city funds would be matched by some foundation to assist with the development. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Invest Atlanta will issue hotel tax-backed bonds for the project. No taxpayer money, which could go towards police pay will be spent on the stadium.

[joey86]

Originally Posted by nycborn

The police and fire did not get raise. They got 3.5 rise but remember they gave the city back 5 percent a year or so ago. The one percent that was giving to them this year was never seen because they're medical benefits were increased. How do I know this? A good friend is a police officer. He has told me he is taking home less now compared to when he first started working. In addition, I remember hearing 15 million of city funds would be matched by some foundation to assist with the development. Please correct me if I am wrong.

You posted a lot of incorrect information. We are not losing cops as fast as we hire them. We have gained hundreds. The 19.5 is not Atlantas money. Atlanta doesn't "have the money for a stadium." That implies that we're paying upfront.

3.5 percent is a raise regardless of what they lost before. Times have been tough for everyone. They deserve(well, some of them do) more than they are getting but they're getting more than they were recently. That's about the best anyone in any field can expect at the moment.

[Jillgineer]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Yes, the deserve a raise, but you need to get your facts about where the money is coming from before you accuse the city of spending tax payer dollar on a new stadium.

Arthur Blank is getting approximately $940,000,000 in public money. To claim that any expense related to the stadium is coming out of his pocket rather than the public's pocket is insane. If you sneak $1000 out of my pocket and then spend $25 of it on a Falcons hat, who really paid for the hat?

I saw a link on another forum earlier today that Al Jazeera is running a story about the sweat heart deal Arthur Blank is getting with the stadium. When tv stations in the Middle East are running stories about the funding of a stadium in Atlanta, you know it's getting pretty bad. Only in amongst a small segment of the "build something, anything, build stuff, build stuff, build stuff" crowd is this considered something other than highway robbery and terribly misplaced priorities. You might not think so but apparently the press is increasingly seeing it that way. It's not a good sign that the deal is getting more and more attention instead of less. Atlanta really doesn't need it's reputation for corruption reenforced but that's what is happening.