Ahmed Wants More Budgetary Accountability in Roswell

It may be Salma Ahmed's own experience as a local business owner that has her zeroing in on an attempt to make Roswell more business-friendly and budget conscious as she races for Roswell City Council Post 2.

"Roswell is heading for an economic crisis," she told Roswell Patch. "To head this off, we have to build strength in our business community which represents our core tax base." 

Ahmed owned and operated The Haleem Companies, a Roswell area development, construction and real estate management group for 15 years and now does consulting work investigating distressed properties. Subsequent to the experience of owning her own company, she believes the biggest issue facing the city is its ability "to maintain and grow" a core business tax base.

"Without the economic strength produced by viable businesses, the programs that make Roswell a desirable place to live [such as] its parks and green space, schools, safety, are all compromised," she said. "In the current challenging economic climate, it is imperative that Roswell keep and attract businesses, both large and small."

Her top three objectives for the city are to:

• "Create a development authority. In order to attract large companies to Roswell, I propose that Roswell establish a Development Authority that is empowered to raise funds and act independently from City Council. Roswell is an integral part of the Metro Atlanta area and has the ability to draw business both large and small along with the jobs and tax revenues they create.  This Authority needs to focus on incentives for new businesses to move to Roswell.
• Change Roswell policy. The hurdles that need to be overcome to start a small business in Roswell are still a major deterrent to business owners. I will propose and work to implement changes that must be made to Roswell’s internal policies to help new businesses open, establish, grow and thrive in Roswell.
• Accountability. While focusing on growth, I will also pay close attention to the other side of the budget coin-shrinking the city’s expenditures by creating efficiencies within the various departments in city government. Accountability from each of our departments and commissions - some of which continue to control unaudited funds - will be a requirement. Roswell’s past financial stability has allowed too many loopholes where public monies were spent in ways that were not always beneficial to the average Roswell tax payer."

Ahmed's business, the Haleem Companies targeted historic Roswell for redevelopment and beautification, leading Ahmed to become actively involved in the Historic Roswell Merchants Association as an original member. During her time with the association, she told Roswell Patch that she helped initiate the popular "Alive After 5" event on Canton Street. Ahmed has since served on the Fulton County Board of Tax Assessors for five years, where she has learned quite a bit about the inner workings of municipal government, she said.

This is Ahmed's first campaign for an elected position.

"My years of community service and diverse experiences cement the foundation from which I will diligently serve the citizens of Roswell as a member of its city council," Ahmed said.

Ahmed and her husband, Kim, have been married for 25 years. The couple has two adult children, Yousuf and Yasmeen. When time allows, Ahmed says she likes to attend Roswell recreation department art classes to work on mixed media on paper projects, side-by-side with other local artists.