VANCOUVER - Vancouver council will be briefed Tuesday by senior staff on various strategies to close the $28.1 million budget shortfall for 2010, according to a city media statement today. Bridging the budget gap is expected to reduce the 6,700 regular city workforce by 158 full-time positions, the media release added. Mayor Gregor Robertson, in the release, said that council gave city staff the task in September of closing a $60-million shortfall while keeping next year’s tax increase low. The city’s review of how to make operations more efficient reduced the gap to $28.1 million. Spending on services by the city and its agencies is expected to rise by about $17 million in 2010.
“City staff have conducted a groundbreaking review of all city departments and spending, and they have worked very hard to achieve a balance that maintains key services while keeping tax increases at a very low level,” said Robertson. The mayor added that council will “make some very difficult decisions in the coming weeks” as it works to maintain core services and minimize the impact of cuts on staff. “However, the city is prevented by law from running a deficit, which puts us in a tough spot when it comes to the 2010 budget.”
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