The Atlanta City Council approved legislation Monday to authorize COVID-19 pandemic “premium pay” for City of Atlanta frontline and essential workers through June 30, 2022.
The additional payment amounts to approximately $500 per month applied to an eligible worker’s regular wage rate for the hours worked during the qualifying timeframe.
The extra pay comes from funds allocated to the city by the federal American Rescue Plan. Those eligible for the pay include police, firefighters, sanitation workers, and the city’s parks and recreation staff.
Other items adopted during Monday’s meeting include:
• A resolution to establish the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee for community engagement and input in the development of the controversial facility to be built on the old Atlanta Prison Farm property on Key Road. The council also passed a resolution to appoint members to the serve on the committee.
• An ordinance establishing Atlanta’s first Mayor’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The office will handle youth and community engagement, LGBTQ+ affairs, public health, sustainability and resilience, and immigrant affairs.
• An ordinance to establish the Mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction. The office would develop plans to decrease violence in the city, manage related grants, and coordinate strategic plans and programs with impacted communities and organizations.
• A resolution authorizing $122,400 be spent on automating the Atlanta Police Department’s hiring process with Guardian Alliance Technologies Inc.
• A resolution authorizing JOC Construction to begin work on the Atlanta Children’s Eternal Flame Project at city hall at a cost of $293,572
• A resolution authorizing the establishment of the Atlanta Commission on Fatherhood, Men, and Boys to provide an organized and collaborative structure for the discussion and development of policy recommendations.