ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta announced on Wednesday its proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 is $2.75 billion, calling it 'historic' in a press release.
The release said the budget 'allocates $853.8 million for the General Fund, $1.5 billion for Enterprise Funds and $352.5 million for Other Funds'.
The City also highlighted the proposed $17 million to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
"It supports programs like eviction defense, protecting renters who have challenges with their landlords who might be living in unsafe conditions and working to make sure that those renters have the representation that they deserve," said Atlanta City Councilmember Jason Dozier. "Working to build new affordable housing and work with some of our partners who are trying to build housing for populations like folks with Aids and HIV or folks who might be recently unsheltered and needing a housing opportunity so that they can get on their feet and find that house and find that apartment that they can be proud of."
Dozier said this is the first time the City is fully funding the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
"But it's only one part of a larger puzzle to make sure that all Atlantans have an opportunity to live affordably in the city," said Dozier.
Dozier said the council knows living in Atlanta comes at a cost that seems to keep getting higher.
"The cost of purchasing a new home has gotten exorbitantly high. Rents have gotten exorbitantly high. There's a strong demand for housing, particularly in cities like Atlanta. And we have the Beltline. We have a lot of history and the legacy of the civil rights, and people want to be in Atlanta," said Dozier.
He added people are "competing for a very limited amount of housing stock" which also drives up prices.
"And then the folks that who made Atlanta what it is, people who were born and raised here, who have lived here for generations, their cost of living goes up, as well. So we lose a big part of our identity in our culture, of our communities, and of our city. So we want to preserve that," said Dozier. "We want to protect those residents that make Atlanta what it is while also welcoming new residents. And so we have to build more housing and build more housing more quickly so that we can accommodate all those needs."
Atlanta's City Council is holding hearings through early June to review the proposed budget before voting on a final budget.