City of Austin outlines budget cuts

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The City of Austin released proposed cuts to the upcoming 2011-2012 budget Monday night.

The 300 page document outlines 289 proposed cuts that would save the city $34.4 million.

However Mayor Lee Leffingwell said in a written statement that the city is facing a $9.8 million budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year.

A much different story from last year when city staff had to cut $30 million from the budget.

Two priorities the Mayor outlined for the proposed budget included no cuts to emergency services and no layoffs. Both of those were achieved under this budget proposal.

However the fire department is proposing to hire only certified firefighters. Saving about a quarter of a million dollars on training. The Austin Police Department has proposed to delay the hiring of 47 officers for six months and save $1.8 million.

Another option includes closing eight neighborhood pools and eliminating 17 supervised playground programs for kids - saving the city about a half a million dollars.

Last year city officials proposed cutting library hours. That's back on the list at the Faulk Central Library as well as reducing the amount of new materials purchased to save the city about a half a million dollars.

If you get called for jury duty - the municipal court is proposing to cut the $10 a day juror pay. That could save the city about $20,000.

It also looks like the Trail of Lights won't be funded again. Instead the city plans to ask companies to privately fund the annual event.

There will be several work sessions on the budget by city council later this month and in June.

The final budget proposal will be presented to council on July 27th and approved in September.