Athens Mayor Puts the Brakes on Bus Service

Just as she did in last year's budget, Mayor Denson proposes reducing bus service in this year's budget. Instead of stopping the buses at 10pm, Denson says 8pm should be the cutoff time, for a savings of $119,000 and the elmination of six part-time jobs.

who worked nights and who depended on public transportation to get to and from their jobs. but did change the time when buses stop running in the county, from 11pm to 10 pm.

The Mayor's budget also provides $910,000 for employee raises, their first in four years. Across Broad Street, at UGA, employees haven't had a raise in three years and won't for some time to come, given the current state budget. There's a $214,000 payment to service the debt on the Caterpillar project.

The $108million budget is online. It says that taxes will stay this same this coming year as last year for homeowners, but the cost of some services will increase.

The ACC Commission will review the document on May 7, May 10 and May 15, in the Doughterty Street building. The meetings begin at 5:30pm. There will also be a Public Hearing on the budget on May 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Commission Chambers.