After months of negotiation and more than twenty budget hearings, the Phoenix City Council is poised to vote on the budget on Tuesday.
The council was faced with a $38 million deficit and the potential closing of senior centers, city pools and other community services.
Mario Paniagua the City Budget and Research Director says they heard from more than 1,700 Phoenix residents who had strong opinions on that plan.
“When we presented that trial budget with service reductions as the way to balance the budget we heard from the community very clearly that said do not cut our services," Paniagua said.
In order to present a balanced budget, every city employee will need to take a 1.6 percent cut in compensation.
“As staff we make a recommendation and this recommendation was based on the concessions we were able to get from the employee units,” Paniagua said.
Additionally the city adds revenue through some tax increases.
“There are other efficiency actions and some other deferrals that are part of the solutions to balance the budget. All of that totals the $38 million and we are able to present a balanced budget, without needing to cut any services to the community,” Paniagua said.
Paniagua expects a lot of discussion at Tuesday's city council meeting and says there could be further changes to the budget.
