Tempe City Manager Charlie Meyer’s proposal for balancing the city’s General Fund budget in 2010-11 and beyond is available at www.tempe.gov/budgetplan. The Tempe City Council will formally consider the plan for the first time at a Feb. 5 workshop.

Meyer’s plan is based on $30 million in reductions and revenue-generating ideas put forward by the city’s department managers in late December. Next month, Tempe employees and community members will have opportunities to learn about Meyer’s proposal and offer their feedback at a series of forums to be held around the city.

The current proposal includes a variety of cost-cutting and revenue-generating ideas for the City Council’s consideration. Among them are workforce reductions, reduced hours at city facilities, program eliminations and new fees for some services. The measures proposed in the plan address how the city could correct a $30 million deficit that, without intervention, would occur in 2010-11 and in each year for the foreseeable future.

Final Council approval of the budget will be in May. The 2010-11 fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2011.

At their Jan. 28 Issue Review Session, the City Council agreed to move forward with a May 18 General Election ballot measure asking residents if they want to approve a two-tenths of a cent sales tax increase beginning July 1. The Council directed that the ballot measure would have language stipulating that the tax would go away after four years, in order to allow time for recovery in the local economy.

Visit www.tempe.gov/budgetplan for Meyer’s full proposal, information on the February forums, a list of upcoming City Council budget discussions, a recap of the fall 2009 budget process, a feedback form, and access to the online comments submitted to date from employees and community members.