Budget Problems May Tarnish Image

Walter C. Jones

June 1, 2008

W henever Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is introduced to a business audience, she tends to receive a more robust applause than other local or state politicians speaking at the same events.

At least she did before the current budget crisis.

Franklin wasn't the candidate of business when she first ran in 2001, perhaps having been too closely associated with the previous mayors for whom she had worked. Or it could have been she wasn¹t that well known. Or she could have suffered for her support of issues such as the "livable wage," in which companies seeking contracts with the city would have had to guarantee their workers earned an amount sufficient for them to support a family at a cost considerably higher than the minimum wage.

Whatever the reasons, Franklin overcame them shortly after getting elected by quickly confronting the unglamorous problems her predecessors repeatedly had swept aside. Remember her crusade against potholes and steel plates? And she still introduces herself as the Sewer Mayor, because she tackled the controversial sewage-treatment system that was triggering $20,000 in federal pollution fines every day.

Mayor Shirley Franklin

Franklin won her highest accolades by diving headlong into an $82 million budget deficit that came to light only when she took office. As a measure of her ability to charm the public, she won support for tax increases, a bond referendum and even won re-election after laying off 1,000 city employees.

It was bitter medicine that Atlanta swallowed because the straight-talking mayor said it was necessary and because people believed it was paired with reforms that would keep such mismanagement from plaguing the city again.

So, when another deficit surfaced this year in the neighborhood of $140 million requiring another tax hike and more layoffs, Franklin likely started getting less-enthusiastic receptions at similar luncheons and conferences around town.

These things were supposed to be fixed last time, one executive said. She was supposed to be different, and she¹s turning out to be as spending happy as the last batch of mayors.

Politically, Franklin's luck may have run out. She has until June 30 to convince city council members to approve the new tax boost — one she says is necessary to avoid closing six fire stations and laying off hundreds of safety personnel.

Franklin's success in her first term was due in part from the support she received from the business community, a group that readily recognized the inadequacies in the previous administration. The business community also paid a colossal share of the tax increased she proposed then and still backed her.

Today, those same business leaders considering another tax hit must be thinking about their own flat revenues as well as their expectations from her first term. They aren't likely to show the same support. Even members of the council sense the change in mood, as evidenced by the guff they gave Franklin and her staff when she initially proposed her budget May 1.

Shirley Franklin has pulled an ace out of her sleeve before or perhaps from between the petals of her ever-present corsage. She¹ll need to find another one soon.