Rising costs have government leaders pinching pennies - and trimming a 1.2 billion dollar budget is going to take a lot of pennies says Mayor Jackson.
JACKSON: Oh yes it does. But we spend a lot of pennies.
And those pennies add up. Revenues are down while expenditures are rising, and the mayor hopes that by making some adjustments in city spending now, he will be able to maintain a balanced budget going into the next fiscal year. It's something he says he's been doing all along.
JACKSON: You look at cities like Columbus that already has a projected 75 million dollar deficit going into '09. We're not in that position because we've been doing this since I took office in January of '06.
Still he says, the fiscal challenges that lay ahead mean further belt-tightening will be needed. City Council President Martin Sweeney says the Mayor has the right idea. Everyone needs to know what they are up against and work together to find a solution.
SWEENEY: No one can say they haven't been told now. We're one big city of Cleveland workforce and we're all public servants. We need to take care of the city of Cleveland and direct communication from the mayor to the workforce is the best way to do business.
The mayor plans to reduce costs through hiring freezes, limits on travel and overtime and reduced energy use. Gretchen Cuda, 90.3