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Posted 05/01/2008
Letter from Aviation General Manager Ben DeCosta
Dear Stakeholder:
You are probably aware that the city of Atlanta's General Fund -- which is used to pay for vital services provided to city of Atlanta residents -- is expected to have a budget gap of $140 million in fiscal year 2008-2009. The projected gap will be caused primarily by a three-fold increase in pension costs that have risen in the past three years, as well as skyrocketing health care costs.
I'd like to share with you the course of action developed to close this gap. However, I also want to assure you that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is a self-sufficient Enterprise Fund operation and receives no revenues from the General Fund. The Airport is financially positioned to continue delivering the services that you as a passenger expect.
City leaders have spent the past three months developing a plan that dramatically reduces City spending while protecting important public safety gains for Atlantans. Having achieved significant cost efficiencies in this budget, one of the most notable is cutting the General Fund workforce by more than 1,000 positions. Under this budget the City's employee per capita cost is at its lowest point in decades and is now in line with cities of similar size in the United States.
However, the budget gap cannot be filled by spending cuts alone. In order to maintain an acceptable level of public safety, a narrow tax increase must be implemented. A tax increase to maintain public safety is the right decision in light of current challenges.
I encourage you to read the Mayor's attached budget letter. It will give you a better understanding of the proposed budget. As an Airport stakeholder, your taking the time to familiarize yourself with this budget is important to me.
Benjamin R. DeCosta
Aviation General Manager
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