Sweetened pensions beset Atlanta's budget crisis

By CAMERON McWHIRTER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution As Atlanta politicians address one of the biggest budget deficits in recent history, they frequently say high city employee pension costs are a major part of an economic storm buffeting the city. But unlike the struggling economy or spiking health care costs, those pension increases weren't caused by forces beyond the city's control. The Atlanta City Council, with tacit approval from Mayor Shirley Franklin's administration, made key decisions to sweeten pensions for city workers that have put Atlanta in a budgetary bind that will take years to escape. The City Council is just beginning to tackle a problem — more than $1 billion in uncovered future debts to the pension system — that it helped create. "The council dropped the ball on its oversight," Councilwoman Felicia... [read full story]