Olympic organizers and Atlanta officials are in the process
of "fine tuning" determinations on how, and how much, the city
will be repaid for helping stage the Games, according to the
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. Lyle Harris writes that since last week,
members of the Atlanta City Council have been getting private
briefings on the final draft of the city services agreement from
Susan Pease Langford, Dir of the city's Office of Olympic
Coordination. Langford says ACOG and the city are "very close,"
and although the contract will be signed by ACOG President Billy
Payne and Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, the city council gets
first approval. The council doesn't meet again until January, at
which time a contract will likely be presented. Harris notes the
contract is worth an estimated $13.5M to the city with the
largest expense being $8M for police overtime. It is still
unclear how ACOG would make payments to the city. One plan calls
for a payment bond secured by ACOG that would serve as a
promissory note against the city's expenses, while another option
would be setting up a payment schedule to a designated city
account (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/11).
