February 24, 2004
Council President Cathy Woolard
Members of the Atlanta City Council
City Hall 2nd Floor Suite 2900
55 Trinity Avenue, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Dear President Woolard and Members of Council:
I hereby return with my line item veto, as provided for in Section 2-403 of the Charter of the City of Atlanta, Council Floor Amendment #6, Archibong Amendment #1, amending Ordinance #04-0-0068.
On February 16, 2004, the Atlanta City Council adopted Council Floor Amendment #6, Archibong Amendment #1, amending Ordinance #04-O-0068, which amendment purported to amend the 2004 budget by decreasing the appropriation to the Water and Sewer Fund by $23,285,843 and reserving for appropriations to the Water and Sewer Fund the amount of $23,285,843. In accordance with the provisions of Section 2-403 of the Charter, I have exercised my line item veto to strike this language from #04-O-0068.
It is the City's obligation to provide clean water. This obligation is mandated by the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, the 1998 and 1999 Consent Decrees, and the drinking water Consent Orders. In addition, our system must comply with current and future regulations and meet the demands of the Homeland Security Act.
On May 18, 1998, the Atlanta City Council adopted Ordinance # 98-O-0902 that authorized the Mayor to enter into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, the State of Georgia, and citizen plaintiffs to resolve claims relevant to the Clean Water Act and the Georgia Water Quality Control Act as raised in the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund, Inc., et al. Versus City of Atlanta, U.S. District Court Civil Action File # 1:95-CZ-2550-TWT. This Ordinance was vetoed by the Mayor on May 26, 1998 and this veto was overriden by the City Council on June 1, 1998.
Since assuming office in 2002, I have identified and instituted significant reductions in the City's expenses. These cuts (through 2004) have resulted in cumulative savings to the City of over $160,000,000.00. Additionally, I have reorganized much of City government to make our operations more efficient and cost effective. One of the changes that the City Council reviewed and adopted was a reorganization of the water and sewer functions of the City.
The Department of Watershed Management (DWM) was created to allow the City to provide improved services to our water and sewer customers. We dismantled the unacceptable relationship with United Water and returned these functions to DWM. Once again this action was reviewed, debated and ultimately adopted by the Atlanta City Council.
Additionally, within my first year (2002), I reduced the budget of the Project Management Team (PMT) by nearly $10,000,000.00 from the original amount adopted by City Council. On numerous occasions, I have sought and requested funds from the federal government, and the State of Georgia. I have visited Washington, DC to work the halls of Congress and met with federal legislators here in Atlanta. I met with numerous state legislators at the State Capital where the City of Atlanta received support during the 2003 session. Additionally, on at least three separate dates, I have spearheaded an official request for the Fulton County Commission to vote to place a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (S.P.L.O.S.T.) on the ballot to allow the voters to decide this matter. On each occasion, the Fulton County Commission rebuffed the City of Atlanta's request by voting to adverse the resolutions submitted.
In the 2004 budget preparation process and during the initial City Council consideration, I trimmed the budget for DWM by approximately $17,000,000.00 for 2004 in order to realize greater cost efficiency. On February 16, 2004, the Council adopted legislation to reduce the recommended budget for Watershed Management by $23,285,843.00 million dollars. This action, if approved, would devastate the ability of the Watershed Department to insure their ability to protect public health in the provision of water and sewer services.
The impacts of the legislation would be as follows:
1. Reduce the available operational budget in the DWM by over 17%; the recommended budget represented a full year of funding at the 2004 expense level that was previously approved by the Council in 2003.
2. Reduce the Bureau of Wastewater Treatment and Collection budget by over 26%, which would place the City in non-compliance of Court ordered functions and activities.
3. Reduce the Bureau of Engineering by over 42%, which would not provide for the proper mandated management of the Consent Decree Projects.
4. Reduce the Office of the Commissioner by over 50%, which would not provide sufficient funding for the overall management of the DWM.
As Chief Executive Officer for Atlanta, I would be irresponsible if I allowed this reduction in the budget. The downside of implementing this legislation is too steep, and we simply can not risk a substantial reduction in the delivery of services to our constituents.
While I would like to have a positive response to this proposal, the facts just do not support the theory that a reduction of maintenance and operating funds can occur without dire consequences.
Based on the rationale as outlined in this letter, I urge you to sustain my line item veto of Council Floor Amendment #6, Archibong Amendment #1, amending Ordinance #04-O-0068.
Sincerely,
Shirley Franklin
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