The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Police Department seeking $11.7 million hike in budget
Wish list includes raises, technology, mental health aid.
The Atlanta Police Department proposed an $11.7 million increase in next year’s budget, which would bring the city’s total investment in the agency to more than $247 million.
In recent weeks, city department heads have been filing in and out of City Hall to give budget briefings to Atlanta City Council members before they debate and adopt a Fiscal Year 2024 budget.
Atlanta Chief of Police Darin Schierbaum addressed council members Thursday morning, after the department’s original time slot was rescheduled due to the Midtown shooting earlier this month.
Schierbaum told council members the bump in funds to the agency would go toward things such as salary increases, enhanced technology and initiatives such as a co-responder program.
As of last month, the department employed 1,601 officers out of their authorized strength of 2,046 — leaving them 445 officers short. The department has struggled to hit its maximum capacity and said it is working to get fully staffed before the World Cup comes to the city in 2026.
Schierbaum said steps taken by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, including a retention bonus, a salary increase and a take-home car program, have helped
slow attrition rates. But the chief said he did not want to sacrifice the quality of candidates to fill the gap faster.
“We can never become a profession that is about quantity,” he said. “We have to remain to be a quality organization and we’re looking forward to continue to recruit there and invest in our civilian professionals.”
Another area the department is looking to bolster is enhanced technology — from expanding surveillance cameras throughout the city to implementing an electronic citation system.
Investigators have said that the city’s camera system — which includes cameras of residents and businesses who register them with the department — were crucial in the hours-long manhunt of the shooter who killed one and injured four others at the Northside Medical Midtown building.
Schierbaum said the program currently connects 31,000 cameras across the city.
“This investment in this budget allows us to continue
to invest in Connect Atlanta to be able to quickly mitigate individuals that may want to cause harm in our city,” Schierbaum said.
Last year, the Georgia General Assembly passed co-responder legislation that sets up a framework for police departments to hire mental health professionals to assist on crisis calls.
Included in the 2024 budget is money for Atlanta police to start their own co-responder pilot program that will hire six mental health professionals assigned to each zone to help police mitigate arrests.
Among concerns voiced by council members during the presentation is the large vacancy for code enforcement officers that hinders the city’s ability to address problem properties.
Councilman Antonio Lewis also noted that the department’s budget does not include funds to purchase gun lockboxes after the City Council passed a resolution to hand them out for free to residents in an effort to curb gun thefts.