Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Atlanta City Council offices present FY26 budget proposal, cite $12.3 million plan and staffing changes
Summary
City Council chief of staff Santana Kimson Wright and Municipal Clerk Corinne A. Lindo outlined the Atlanta City Council's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and office priorities, including headcount, program highlights from FY25 and an itemized office budget totaling about $12.3 million.
The Atlanta City Council on Thursday heard a presentation of the council offices' proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, with Santana Kimson Wright, city council chief of staff, outlining priorities, staffing counts and a $12,325,717 funding request.
Wright told Vice Chair Juan and council members, "I am honored to present the Atlanta City Council's fiscal year 20 26 proposed budget today," and introduced municipal clerk Corinne A. Lindo, deputy municipal clerk Evelyn Scott and other staff who helped prepare the packet.
The packet shows a headcount of 54 positions for the council offices: 16 elected officials, 26 council staff positions and 13 municipal clerk positions, with eight current vacancies (five in council staff and three in the clerk's office). Wright said three positions are proposed for abolishment in FY26, which would reduce the total headcount to 51 and lower the calculated vacancy rate from 14.81% to a projected 9.81%.
The proposed FY26 budget for the council offices totals $12,325,717. The budget breakdown listed in the presentation shows personnel and benefits of $9,556,620 (77% of the total); other costs of $1,610,080 (13%); and purchase, contracting and supplies of $1,147,442 (9%). The offices asked for $237,000 for permanent part-time salaries and $71,000 for expense accounts.
Municipal Clerk Corinne A. Lindo highlighted office operations improvements, including a reception area, a DocuSign process for contracts under $100,000, a paperless certification process and a pilot for the Boards, Authorities and Commissions (BA&C) onboarding process. Lindo said the clerk's office handled more than 700 inquiries about domestic partnership certificates and issued about 67 certificates; it also processed roughly 400 annexations and welcomed about 100 property owners into the city limits. Lindo said, "we have saved you $4,000,000 because we will not have to pay for an election this year," referring to the public service commission election.
Councilmembers pressed for clarifications on vacancies and funding. Councilmember Amos thanked Wright and Lindo for pursuing conversion of permanent part-time positions to full-time, and asked about the deputy position the clerk said remains vacant but funded in the FY26 request. Wright said the job description exists and the department was working with the Department of Human Resources and the chief operating officer for vacancy-review approval.
Vice Chair Juan and other members asked for additional detail on the funding and carry-forward process. Wright said finance plans to introduce carry-forward legislation no later than mid-September with funds appropriated by mid-October, and the offices will provide more detailed resumes of carry-forward accounts when the auditors finalize closeout.
The presentation closed with an offer to answer additional questions; Wright thanked the council for the opportunity and noted next steps as budget hearings continue.
Looking ahead, council members asked staff to provide an updated, department-level breakdown of funded and unfunded vacancies before the personnel-substitute paper scheduled for the following Wednesday so the council can review how the council offices' staffing fits into the broader citywide staffing and budget decisions.
