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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.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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