Mayoral Transition To Get $25K For Atlanta Inauguration

ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta will now fund a mayoral inauguration, thanks to legislation passed this week by the City Council.

That expense is part of a mayoral transition bill that will pay up to $100,000 for the next incoming mayor to ramp up her or his administration.

Council members Carla Smith, Andrea Boone and Matt Westmoreland sponsored the bill that was announced Tuesday by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom's office.

The ordinance will allow a mayor-elect up to $75,000 to pay for employees, meeting space rental, consulting services and “other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred to facilitate the transition.”

The legislation also considers the inauguration of the next mayor a city event and will allow the next incoming administration and any thereafter to spend up to $25,000 toward planning and execution. This was an expense fully incurred by the campaign dollars of mayor-elect, Bottoms’ office pointed out.

“This framework was not established when Mayor Bottoms took office in 2018,” a statement from the Mayor’s office said.

The ordinance also will provide an Atlanta Police Department security detail for a newly elected mayor once the results of all vote-counting are finalized, and up to six months of police protection for the outgoing mayor.