City Council To Vote On 600 Job Cuts In $7B Budget
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A proposed $7 billion budget plan is expected to be approved on Wednesday in a vote that aims at avoiding layoffs.
KNX 1070's Claudia Peschiutta reports the plan would eliminate an additional 600 city positions to close the city's $336 million budget deficit.
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"This budget charts a course. It gives us a path to stabilize our city's revenues and expenditures in the midst of this financial crisis," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said after releasing his budget proposal in mid-April.
Villaraigosa said the city already has eliminated 4,200 jobs and cut more than $1 billion over the last two years.
The budget closes much of the city's $336 million deficit by reducing police overtime, redeploying firefighters and lowering the city's share of retiree health care costs. It also includes a one-time transfer of $18 million from a parking revenue fund to the city's general fund.
Despite projected revenue increases from business, property and hotel taxes, city officials expect the budget will leave a $280 million hole in the 2012-13 fiscal year, largely from increasing pension costs.
The budget requires a simple majority of the 15-member council for approval.
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