ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta's city council has approved a plan that's expected to boost the city's police force to 2,000 -- the largest in the city's history.

The new officers are part of a $540 million city budget approved Monday night by the city council.

CBS Atlanta reports (http://bit.ly/P8hwM4) that the police department plans to hire 41 new officers to reach the 2,000 mark.

City Council member Michael Julian Bond, who chairs the council's public safety committee, said a larger police force will mean that more officers can get out of their cars and into the communities they patrol. He said he expects that the additional officers will make Atlanta a safer city.