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As they entered their 10th straight year of budget deficits, San José leaders were faced with very painful choices for closing the city's $115 million gap in the FY 2011-2012 budget.
In an effort to rein in the skyrocketing retirement costs driving the city’s structural deficit, Mayor Reed’s March Budget Message  outlined 15 Fiscal Reform Guiding Principles (unanimously approved by the Council) designed to halt cuts in future years, restore core services to January 2011 levels, and open the City’s vacant libraries, community centers, fire stations and police substation before the end of his term in office. Mayor Reed and the City Council also continued seeking - and ultimately achieved - a 10% reduction in total compensation for all city employees, which saved $39 million in core services and hundreds of jobs.
However, even with the employee concessions, some one-time revenues and new service delivery models, the magnitude of the budget gap made it impossible to avoid significant service cuts in FY 2011-2012 (including a reduction in public safety positions). The City Council was able to save some key services when it approved Mayor Reed's June Budget Message recommendations to:
- Restore 49 firefighter positions via a federal grant;
- Rehire police officers from any increase in sales tax receipts;
- Keep all branch libraries open 4 days per week;
- Preserve funding for the Safe Schools Campus Initiative; and
- Restore some funding for park rangers, crossing guards, code enforcement officers and senior wellness programs.
Learn more by reading the FY 2011-2012 Adopted Operating Budget 
The June Budget Message also outlined a number of specific strategies for avoiding even deeper cuts to core city services in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
Mayor Reed's FY 2011-2012 Budget Documents
Related Documents from the City Manager's Office
Other relevant budget documents can be found on the City Manager's Budget Office website.
Note: Final adopted budget documents are published by the City Manager's Office in the fall.
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