City Council to Attempt Reopening Fire Station

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – On Monday, Atlanta City Council is expected to pass legislation aimed at reopening Fire Station Number 7 in the West End. City Councilmember Caesar Mitchell co-wrote the legislation, which would pull $1.1 million from other departments' budgets.

The Mayor says council gave her no choice but to close the station in July, because it refused to raise property taxes to fix the budget gap. Mitchell, who plans to run for mayor in 2009, thinks closing fire stations is not a solution.

But at a rally outside the station today, he admitted that he doesn't know how moving the money will affect city services:

MITCHELL: We'll be spending this weekend possibly making additional changes to the legislation , taking $50,000 from this particular account, $100,000 from this particular account, so as not to overly burden any particular department with an additional cut.

Mayor Shirley Franklin opposes Mitchell's legislation, and claims it will significantly impact services. In a letter sent to council members, Franklin says the changes will, among other things, make it tough to meet legal requirements for meals and medical services for inmates, and that pool hours will have to be shortened next summer.