Mary Norwood: Atlanta has enough money

Mayor candidate and Councilwoman Mary Norwood has responded to Kasim Reed’s call for a 1-mill tax increase to end police furloughs — as well as criticism directed at her for not suggesting an alternative funding source.

Here’s her statement:

I issued a 12-point public safety platform early in March in which I made my position very clear: end the furloughs now and pay for the public safety personnel our citizens need and deserve from existing revenues. That will mean that the Administration will have to prioritize its use of money, but that’s what we expect our city to do: prioritize resources in the public’s interest.

In her 12-point plan, Norwood also calls for the city to:

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• Expand the police force by at least an additional 10 percent over the 2,000 officers that Mayor Franklin has said are necessary. The city now has about 1,700 cops.

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• Raise police and firefighter salaries and benefits to be more competitive with other cities.

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• Boost annual raises to induce police officers to stay with the department.

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• Help public safety personnel buy homes inside the city limits.

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• Put more police on the beat.

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• Keep repeat offenders in jail until bond is set.

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• Upgrade the city’s communication technology.

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• Invest additional resources in city code enforcement.

Now, I’m no budget expert, but my guess is that each and every one of the those items would cost money — and all together, they’d add up to a medium-sized fortune.