This week, Atlanta City Councilman Michael Bond introduced an ordinance that would shave dollars from other divisions to get the paychecks of first responders up to par.

Bond knows some may balk at the idea. “That is a drastic move, and that would cause service reductions in other areas of the city,” Bond says, adding, “But I’m very serious about public safety as you know, and we’ve got a budget of almost $700 million.

“We have to find a way to pay these people who risk their lives every day.”

This summer, the Atlanta City Council approved a $661.4 million Fiscal Year 2019 budget for the City, the first to be proposed by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

The budget includes a 3.1% pay increase, plus a one-time $500 bonus for the Atlanta Police Department and the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department.

“If we’re not going to increase taxes – and by the way, I’ve never voted for a tax increase – we have to find a way within our flat budget to make this happen,” Bond says.

In a study cited by The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Mercer – a global consulting firm that specializes in compensation review – compared the Atlanta Police Department to 10 departments nationwide.

The list of department includes Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Boston and Phoenix, and four local and state agencies: Brookhaven, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs and the Georgia State Patrol.

The study found that APD’s pay for recruits falls 20 percent below the market ranges. That disparity holds true through the rank of lieutenant:

“In each case, APD’s upper-tier pay for a given rank is near or below the low end of the market for the same position.”

APD recruits are paid a flat $34,726, about $8,000 less than Sandy Springs. Nationally, Nashville recruits average about $6,000 more and in Seattle, the median recruit pay is $58,902.

Bond says they have introduced this legislation to promote a healthy debate over how to better pay the city’s public safety officials. He adds, “I can tell you as a person who’s needed to call 911 for myself, I don’t want anybody having a debate as to whether or not the police or the fire department’s gonna show up.”