Atlanta layoffs: Debi Starnes won’t stop homeless work
July 24, 2008 at 2:23 pm by Scott Henry in NewsFormer Atlanta Councilwoman Debi Starnes, who has served for the past year or so as Mayor Shirley Franklin’s homeless czar (czarina?), found herself dropped from the city payroll last week.
But, unlike other city employees who fell victim to the latest round of layoffs, Starnes is planning to keep her job. The deal she worked out with Franklin, a personal friend, is that she can stay on as the mayor’s policy adviser on homeless issues as long as she finds private funds to pay her way.
“I have to raise the money to cover my salary,” which totals $96,000, Starnes explains. “It’s the right thing to do. When the city is so broke it’s laying off firemen, it doesn’t make sense to keep funding my position.”
Although Starnes hasn’t started looking for donations yet, she says she intends to find new sources so she won’t cannibalize money that already flows to the Regional Commission on Homelessness, the local umbrella program administered by the United Way. Starnes, a longtime homeless advocate with a doctorate in community psychology, represents Atlanta on the Commission, along with Franklin.
The city’s current budget crunch won’t affect the operations of such city homeless initiatives as the Gateway Center, Starnes says, because it’s funded and staffed by the Commission, which has collected $50 million from public and private sources.
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July 25th, 2008 at 9:49 am
This idea is weird and worrisome. Homeless issues are important and need attention. But if this is done with Ms. Starnes, is it OK for other private groups to pay to staff City positions? Can a big developer pay the salary of the head of the Bureau of Planning? Can a big engineering firm pay the salary for the head of public works or watershed management? What about a law firm paying the salary of the City Attorney? Even if some money might be saved, where would the allegiances of the people lie and how objective would they be? I hope the City says thank you for the offer but no thank you.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Is it right that the position’s salary was nearly six figures?