Rawlings-Blake Calls Emergency Meeting On Budget

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the automatic federal budget cuts that went into effect Friday.

The mayor's office announced Saturday that Rawlings-Blake will meet with her cabinet Monday morning on the budget cuts.

Baltimore was already facing a projected $750 million deficit over the next decade. A report by outside consultants concluded that major reforms are needed to prevent Baltimore from facing bankruptcy.

Rawlings-Blake has proposed a broad package of budget cuts. That includes a call to end pensions for newly hired civilian employees. Instead, new hires would be shifted to a 401(k)-style retirement plan. Rawlings-Blake also called for cutting the city workforce by at least 10 percent over eight years.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)