The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved a $648.6 million fiscal year 2018 budget during a special called meeting on June 21. The budget includes salary increases for firefighters and raises the city’s minimum wage to $13 per hour beginning July 1. The general fund is part of the city’s $2 billion operating budget for FY18.

The $13 per hour wage increase will impact 360 city employees. The current city minimum wage is $10.10 per hour. Georgia’s minimum wage is $5.15. The federal minimum wage is $7.25.

The council also approved a policy statement committing itself to increasing the city’s minimum wage to $14 per hour starting July 1, 2018 and $15 per hour starting July 1, 2019.

Pay increases for firefighters have been set up on a three-tier system based on years of service. The base salaries for firefighters are as follows starting July 1:

Tier I: $40,000 for 0 to 10 years of service
Tier II: $43,428 for 11 to 15 years of service
Tier III: $46,856 for 15-plus years of service

The base salaries for firefighters do not include additional compensation when education and other credentials earned are considered.

City employee pay grades 19 and above will receive a 3-percent salary adjustment. That increase excludes salaries of $150,000 and above. The minimum salary for a grade 19 position is $41,000 per year, although education and skill requirements are factors.

Collin Kelley

Collin Kelley has been the editor of Atlanta Intown for two decades and has been a journalist and freelance writer for 35 years. He’s also an award-winning poet and novelist.