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Alpharetta continues stimulus debate
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City Council continued a philosophical debate May 4 over accepting federal stimulus dollars before agreeing to apply for enough money to fund hiring and equipping a crime scene technician for two years.
Grants Administrator Amanda Day brought the application for a $277,000 grant for the Public Safety Department before council, telling them no matching dollars are required if the city is awarded the cash.
While Councilmen David Belle Isle and John Monson didn't want to apply for or accept any federal stimulus dollars, their counterparts saw the money as being due Alpharetta residents, who they said pay more in taxes than they receive back from the federal government.
Unlike some grants under the federal stimulus program, there is no requirement to keep this position when the grant period ends, Day told council.
Public Safety Director Gary George told council the position is so important that his department is willing to cut a vacant, sworn officer's position out of its budget. That's because the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab is so backed up it takes months to return results, so the position is vital, said George.
George wants a non-sworn staff member in the position because he said someone who is not an officer would treat the job as a career. If a police officer is put in the position, he or she usually wants to return to other duties and is in line for promotion out of the job, said George.
Belle Isle was against the funding because it comes from the federal government printing more money. He said it is not just being taken from city residents, but also from their children to repay the debt in taxes.
"I've never known anyone to take money from their credit card and stick it in the stock market," he said.
Belle Isle said this position is important enough that City Council can find a way to put it in the budget.
Monson agreed with Belle Isle's comments. This grant will not be creating a new job, he said, as it is filling a vacant position.
"This in no way has stimulated anything if it does not create a job," Monson said.
Mayor Arthur Letchas disagreed with Belle Isle and Monson.
"Sometimes I think we get very little back from the federal government, and sometimes I think we deserve more," the mayor said.
Councilman Doug DeRito said it was important to apply for these dollars because no matter what the city does, "our children and grandchildren and us as taxpayers are going to pay this debt.
"We are going to pay this national credit card whether we like it or not," he said.
Councilman D.C. Aiken continued the debate, saying he was trying to grasp what he called fuzzy math. He said this isn't money that goes back to taxpayers if the city doesn't accept it.
"This is money that goes somewhere else if it doesn't go here," Aiken said.
For Councilman Jim Paine the bottom line is that this fills a critical need for the Department of Public Safety.
Councilwoman Cheryl Oakes closed off the discussion by saying she agreed that if it is a need, the city needs to apply for the grant. She said if the city receives the grant to fund the position for two years, she was willing to consider adding it to Alpharetta's budget.
"This is just such an emotional topic for all of us. All of us are feeling the pinch of a decision that we really didn't have much say in, it appears," Oakes said.
The council approved the grant application on a 5-2 vote, with Belle Isle and Monson opposed.
Tags: Alpharetta, Alpharetta City Council
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