ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council is reviewing a proposed budget for the Atlanta Police Department for the 2025 fiscal year.
During the budget hearing with the police department Tuesday, council members talked about what's potentially on the table -- $270 million or so.
"That is about flat when you look year over year, actually, to where we see them ending up in FY-24. But we do expect increases in positions in staff," Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman said.
He said the number increases if both capital and operational investments are included.
"This year's general fund budget is $303 million. That's a record," Finance Committee Chair Howard Shook said. "Although, if you add up all the public safety agencies together, it's about 60% of the entire general fund, which is actually down a few percentage points from the norm."
11Alive asked both Shook and Shipman about the priorities for APD's proposed budget, and it looks like staffing is of importance.
"The big one is around personnel; that's the 80% of their budget. And, as you know, we're trying to build the force up to the goal of 2,000. We're at a little over 1,600 now," Shook said. "So, because of the pay enhancements and some other sweeteners, we're gaining ground. We're now recruiting and producing more than we had tried out every year. And there's the first of two years of pay raises included in this budget. And we're also looking at a pension enhancement as a separate piece of legislation. So we're all hopeful that that's going to really help us get to 2,000."
Shook added he's hoping some of the "sweeteners" will help keep Atlanta competitive when recruiting police officers.
"It is a national competition for police officers," Shook stated. "It's just dog eat dog."
Shipman echoed Shook, saying personnel is the top priority.
"Obviously trying to make sure that we're fully staffed when it comes to police officers, when it comes to non-police officers, when it comes to 911 center. There are investments in equipment like take-home cars, body cameras, other kinds of equipment that they need," Shook said. "So it's really trying to make sure that the department is staffed and has the equipment that it needs in order to operate efficiently."
The city is also looking ahead to major events scheduled, knowing that those require police staffing.
"If we're going to keep having World Cups and championship football games and do all of those things, we're going to need 2,000 police officers," said Shook.
He said some officers have been pulled to staff the site of the city's Public Safety Training Center, which is still under construction.
"There's had to be more of an expense made to make sure that that property is kept free of vandals," Shook said. "So there's a big police presence out there, unfortunately. It's kind of a drain. Those are people we'd like to see elsewhere except guarding a training center. But it's a necessity."
Shipman said APD's chief provided the council with an update on the training center during the briefing and stated a ribbon cutting is expected to happen in December.
"The chief, to one of my questions, said that it will be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2025. So there will be then more training that will be occurring. It'll be faster, actually, to get people through the academy. It will not only be used by the police department but also be used by fire and other departments," Shipman said. "And then there are actually some savings and lease payments that we'll no longer have to make for rented facilities because the training facility will be open. But most of those will not be in this budget. They'll be in the following year's budget in '26."
Shipman added there are a few other priorities, outside of staffing, in the proposed police budget.
"We talked a lot today about the difference between 911 and 311. So, we've invested in both 911 and 311," Shipman said. "So I think you're continuing to try to see investment so that the responsiveness of the department is what residents expect."
The city council is in the middle of budget briefings with each city department. The briefings will continue through the month and then council must approve a new city budget by the end of June.