The reason for this posting is to let you know that the mayor recently vetoed a 3.5% raise for Atlanta firefighters. This same raise was approved for Atlanta Police as part of an effort to keep police officers from leaving the department. We don?’t believe its fair to value one set of public safety officers over another and feel that the Atlanta Firefighters are being penalized for their dedication and commitment to the city. Additionally, Atlanta Firefighters are currently paid 20% less than firefighters in the surrounding metro area. This is unacceptable. The mayor has stated that the money for the firefighter?’s pay raise does not exist, but that simply isn?’t true. There was a 16 million dollar surplus this year and the city council has already adjusted the budget to accommodate the raise. The firefighters are ready every day to assist members of the Atlanta community in their time of need. And we believe their loyalty should be rewarded, not punished. This veto can be overturned if 10 city council members vote to do so. We need your support to make this happen.

You can show your support for Atlanta?’s firefighters by doing any or all of the following:

Please visit www.atlantafirefighters.org and sign the online petition.

Send a letter to the editor at the AJC. You can do this easily by clicking on the link below. http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/letters/sendletter.html

Please Contact City Council Members. Below are e-mail links and phone numbers to Atlanta City Council members and how they voted on the firefighter's pay raise. A Yes supports fairness for firefighters. Please contact them and ask them to vote to override the Mayor's veto.

YES
District 3 - Ivory Lee Young - (404) 330-6046
District 5 - Natalyn Archibont - ((404) 330-6048
District 8 - Clair Muller - 404-330-6051
District 9 - Felicia Moore - (404) 330-6044
District 10 - C.T. Martin - 404-330-6055
District 11 - Jim Maddox - 404-330-6054
District 12 - Joyce Sheperd - (404) 330-6053
Post 2 at Large - Mary Norwood - 404-330-6302
Post 3 at Large - Lamar Willis - (404) 330-6041

NO
District 1 - Carla Smith - 404-330-6039- csmith@atlantaga.gov
District 2 - Kwanza Hall - (404) 330-6038 khall@atlantaga.gov
District 4 - Cleta Winslow - (404) 330-6047 cwinslow@atlantaga.gov
District 6 - Ann Fauver - (404) 330-6049 afauver@atlantaga.gov
District 7 - Howard Shook - 404-330-6050 hshook@atlantaga.gov
Post 1 at Large - Ceaser Mitchell - 404 330-6052 cmitchell@atlantaga.gov

For more information about Atlanta's City Council, please click on the following link. http://apps.atlantaga.gov/citycoul/COUNCIL.HTM

Atlanta's Firefighters thank you for your support!