Tucson city manager Mike Letcher said last week that the city must cut its fiscal 2010 budget by 15%, or about $32 million, to avoid a deficit due to lower than expected tax collections.
Letcher told the City Council that Tucson collects $1.2 billion in revenue, but $900 million is restricted to specific uses.
General fund revenue is about $420 million a year, he said, but 63% of that is allocated to the police, fire, and parks departments.
About half of the $420 million had been spent in the first six months of the fiscal year, Letcher said, providing even fewer opportunities for budget cuts.
If the budget is not reduced in fiscal 2010, he said, the shortfall in fiscal 2011 would balloon to $73 million.
Deputy city manager Richard Miranda told the council that most of the operating expenses for those three departments is personnel-related, so the only recourse for significant budget cuts is reducing the number of employees.
Fire chief Patrick Kelly said a 15% reduction in his department’s budget would require him to lay off 120 firefighters and close three fire stations.
He said 94% of the department’s operating budget is provided by general fund revenue.
