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Mayor eases grip on budget cuts

The budget numbers in the Mayor 's May revision are closer to the spending limit. The unpaid debt less of a concern, Sanders took it upon his shoulders to save recreation centers and library hours.

Recreation centers will stay open 40 hours in a week. The hours at eight city libraries, one in each city council district, will go back up to 36 hours a week.

Higher than expected taxes and saved tax revenues came in handy. The transient occupancy tax (TOT) money hotels take in from guests and pay to the city grew during a recovery period the hospitably business is starting to thrive again and is on track to grow again next year.

Gas taxes that were in last year's budget were not needed and will be on hand for this year's spending on streets work. Proposition 42 funding that had to be spent during the last budget year was used for the streets work gas taxes typically pay for, making it possible to pay this year's streets bill with last year's gas taxes.

Additional revenue came from savings on a renogotiated contract with the San Diego Airport and part of the money brought in by the sale of the World Trade Center building. Savings from managed competition are already beginning to count in the budget balancing.

"I'm extremely pleased to see the continued improvement in the economy will mean we don't have to cut our park and libraries as deeply in order to balance the budget," Sanders said Thursday. "I'm confident that, with the reforms and reductions we've made over the past several years, we'll finally eliminate the city's structural deficit by next year."

City councilmembers who will have to approve a budget found it regrettable that the recreation and library funding were on the original cuts list. Council President Tony Young committed to saving the funds and meeting public needs in early May. He was joined by councilmembers Todd Gloria, Lorie Zapf and David Alvarez.

As the day the city council has to approve a budget approaches, the height of the deficit bar is now a little closer.

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