Mayor Bob Duffy's proposed $477, 878, 500 budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year eliminates more than 100 city jobs and consolidates three city departments into one. It is a $6.6 million increase over the current year's budget, and closes a $24 million gap, Duffy said.

The budget, Duffy said at a press conference today at City Hall, is largely based on citizen input given in a customer satisfaction survey and a series of town-hall style meetings.

The strategy behind the proposed budget, he said, is to increase investment in priority areas, particularly those that will increase city revenue - and decrease funding for those programs citizens have indicated are a low priority. The two areas of greatest importance: safety and economic development.

Duffy said he will continue to invest in public safety by adding 100 new police recruits, increasing the number of marked patrol cars, and bringing the total number of city surveillance cameras up to 70 by the end of the year.

He said he wants to cut costs by consolidating three city departments into one. The departments of Economic Development, Community Development, and NET offices will become the Neighborhood and Business Development office. Two of the city's six NET offices will be closed, and services will be consolidated into four offices - one in each quadrant of the city.

To continue to support existing businesses and attract new ones to downtown, Duffy wants to decrease the commercial tax rate by 6.6 percent, even though commercial property values have increased by nearly 10 percent.

Closing the city's $24 million budget gap was a sobering process, Duffy said, and one that couldn't be accomplished through one-time cuts or "gimmicks."

While the city is receiving $6.6 million more in state aid, it is eliminating 100 city jobs - 70 of them held by full-time city employees.

The job cuts will save the city about $1.5 million, Duffy said. When combined with departmental efficiencies, he said, Duffy expects to save more than $7 million.

But much of the balance needed to close the deficit comes from an increase in property values. Duffy has technically kept his pledge to not raise taxes. But property values have gone up by 11 percent. Customers will see their tax rate go down, but they will pay slightly more in property taxes because of the increase in the value of city homes.