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Decemb er 18, 1969 Mr. Sam Mass e ll Mayor - Elec t Allan- Grayson Realty Company AO Pryor Street , S. W. Atlanta , Georgia 30 3 03 Dear Mr . Mass el l: At t he request .of Mrs. Day , I am pr e s enting our prob l em to you i n this letter rathe r than wai ting the several we eks until you will be avail ab le to discuss it in person . As you know, t he Atl anta Urban Corps i s a student pro gr am now ope r at ing t hrough the Mayo r's offi c e . The program is de signed to offer s t udents an avenue f or constructive community s ervice whil e expand i ng the re l ev anc e of t he i r coll ege education . The progr am has operated s ucc essfully since June, but i s now facing a very unc ertai n f uture . The Atlanta Urban Corps is being caught in the squeeze of the change of City Administrations. For six and one-half months, ( s i nce June 16 , 1 969 ) , the City of Atlanta allocat ed $76,000 f or the operation of the Ur ban Corps . This money helped pay t he compens a t ion of City interns plus admini s t ration cos t s . In to tal, the program invo l ved 300 students in 1969. We were asked to plan and document an expanded and improved program for fiscal year 1970. Of a total bud et of $650,000, the City was asked to allocate $139,000 for administration and City interns . The total program was designed to include 660 students, of which 220 will work for City departments. Mr. Milton Farris has decided to allocate $40,000 to pay both matching costs and administration . The matching costs alone will amount to some $38,000, &four plans develop as they should. Obviously, this will leave little to operate an effective program. Unfortunat ly~ Mr. Farris is viewing the program only in dollar terms. I feel he has overlooked some important consider· ations concerning the Urban Corps. He has failed to grasp the importance of a meaningful relationship between the needs of th City and the potentials of the student community. It is wasteful to di regard the motivations, energie and abilities of the rea students. W have pl ns and procedur s to produce �Mr. Sam Massell December 18, 1969 Page 2 an effective 1970 program to build upon the documented success of our 1969 efforts. However, this serious budget cut, which represents only 28.5% of our original request and merely 6% of the total program cost, threatens to destroy the possibilities of the Urban Corps. In real terms, the Urban Corps needs at least $50,000 for program administration. I am asking for your personal intervention before the budget is passed to correct this situationL Mr. Dan Sweat will be glad to discuss the program with you, and is able to illustrate the benefits of the Atlanta Urban Corps. Of course, I am available and welcome the opportunity to discuss the matter with you at any time. Sincerely , Ken Millwood Director i)W :sz �