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MAYOR RELEASES BUDGET PROPOSAL TO MAINTAIN SERVICES AND SAVE JOBS

The Mayor's balanced budget closes a $530 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, w hile maintaining police buildup and gang reductions efforts, and preventing as many as 2,800 layoffs.

Go to WWW.KeepLAWorking.COM to explore the City's budget options.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today released his Fiscal Year 2009-10 City budget which outlines his plan to save jobs and maintain city services.

"During these extraordinary times, it is the responsibility of all City leaders to recognize that reform is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity," Mayor Villaraigosa said. "The need for shared sacrifice is not just rhetoric; it is a reality."

Rising unemployment, the housing market crash and the credit crisis have caused City revenues to decline in nearly every category. The Mayor's proposal will balance a budget which faced a $530 million deficit in the upcoming fiscal year with a combination of spending reductions, private investment and efficiencies, including some departmental consolidations.

The Mayor proposed to maintain police buildup and gang reductions efforts while preventing as many as 2,800 layoffs through shared responsibility and sacrifice by all City employees. Layoffs of this magnitude would hit nearly every City department and would result in a dramatic reduction in City services.

The Mayor proposed an extensive menu of options, to be considered by the City Council, City employees and union leadership, which would prevent the need for layoffs and maintain a high level of City services by reducing the cost of the existing City workforce by more than 10 percent. The options the Mayor presented include unpaid holidays, and reforms to mileage reimbursement, healthcare coverage and overtime.

The Mayor also unveiled a new website -- KeepLAWorking.com -- for city employees to see the menu of options available to balance the City budget

Leading by example, the Mayor announced that he would cut his own salary by 12 percent, freeze his staff's wages and reduce his office budget by 10 percent.

This week, the Mayor will begin a series of meetings throughout the City to discuss the budget and how to keep LA working. On Thursday evening, April 22, Mayor Villaraigosa will hold an open town hall meeting in the West Valley at Providence Tarzana Medical Center. On Thursday, April 28, the Mayor will hold an open town hall meeting in South LA at the Epic Center. The Mayor will also hold meetings with City employees in the coming weeks.

On April 6, the Mayor said that the City could save 580 jobs if every City employee took off one unpaid hour of work per week. The City could save nearly 700 additional jobs if each employee contributed 2 percent more to their retirement benefits. And if every employee agreed to defer scheduled pay raises, the City could save an additional 1,300 jobs and the services they deliver.

The Mayor's proposed Fiscal Year 2009-10 budget is available at mayor.lacity.org.

The City Council will begin deliberations on the Mayor's proposal in early May. The final budget must be adopted by June 12.