ATLANTA-- June 24, 2012

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said is hoping to find a way to give the city's 7,500 employees a raise.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Reed told workers during an event Friday at City Hall that he's "pretty good at finding money." The city's $542 million budget for next year -- approved last week by the city council -- includes on layoffs or furlough days.

The budget includes increases for about one-fifth of the city's workforce in an effort to increase their pay to at least 80 percent of what municipal employees make in other cities.

The first-term mayor addressed hundreds of employees that they "carry the city."

Reed's spokeswoman, Sonji Jacobs, told the newspaper that the raise is a "goal for the future when the city can afford it."