Unless the unlikely happens at the the Legislature, Hutchinson City Council members and directors will face the task of trimming about $640,000 from their proposed 2009 budget.

On Tuesday, May 13, they reviewed possible ways to achieve that reduction during a workshop led by City Administrator Gary Plotz. A majority of the cuts would be in personnel, including not filling open positions.

When work began on the 2009 budget, the council directed staff to work from several parameters. The lead assumption was that money from the state, known as Local Government Aid, or LGA, would likely decline by 7 percent, or $170,000.

With the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty still at odds over the state’s budget, the likelihood of the city actually losing at least that much LGA is growing.

Other parameters the council gave staff included capping any increase in city taxes at 5 percent, increasing transfers from such agencies as the Liquor Hutch and Hutchinson Utilities by 5 percent, and increasing charges for services by 3 percent.

Read more about the budget workshop in the May 15 Leader.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)