San Jose Bracing For Another Budget Deficit In 2012

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – The San Jose City Council is already bracing for a major budget deficit for the next fiscal year, which will bring pension reform back to the forefront.

This comes after the council closed a $115 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year that started on July 1.

KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:

"We are looking to the next fiscal year starting July 1, 2012 because we're looking at another budget gap of somewhere between $80-100 million that we're going to have to close by reducing services or controlling the cost of retirement," said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. "I'm focused on trying to control those retirement costs."

Reed said that while he has tabled discussion of declaring a fiscal state of emergency until next month, that doesn't mean that an emergency doesn't exist.

"Whether or not we declare an emergency, we're in an emergency. We just laid off police officers. Last year, we laid off firefighters," Reed said. "We've closed libraries, community centers. We are in an emergency and we need to take action."

Reed said he plans to put a pension reform measure on the March ballot.

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