The ongoing battle between Mayor Kasim Reed and public safety unions over pay has reached new heights: Atlanta's police and fire unions have erected a billboard declaring Reed "does not care about public safety."
Reed slammed the sign near Turner Field as a "stunt" and said he's considering posting his own billboards across the city in defense of his record, which includes giving raises to police officers and firefighters during his tenure, bolstering the Atlanta Police Department's rosters and upgrading the city's public safety equipment.
It's the latest salvo in a two-year conflict between Reed and sworn officers that started when the unions backed a legal challenge against the mayor's 2011 pension reform. The fight worsened in recent weeks after public safety workers were left out of 3.5 percent raises the Atlanta City Council awarded to many of the city's workers.
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