ATLANTA - More than 280 city of Atlanta employees, including 185 in the corrections department, will lose their jobs next month, just before Christmas, as the city tries to balance its budget. <br>
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The job cuts will take effect Dec. 23. <br>
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More layoffs are expected to be announced later this week, Sandra Walker, spokeswoman for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, said Tuesday. <br>
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City officials said the job cuts will allow the city to balance its 2003 budget without an increase in property taxes. Franklin is proposing a general fund budget for 2003 of $436.2 million, about 2 percent more than 2002. <br>
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Franklin is proposing an overhaul of Atlanta's municipal court system in which Atlanta police will take people charged with state crimes directly to the Fulton County jail, bypassing city courts and allowing the elimination of the 185 jobs in the corrections department. <br>
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Another 102 employees in other departments have been notified they will lose their jobs, including 10 in the mayor's office, Walker said.
