San Diego city staff members held the first of eight town hall meetings Oct. 18 to discuss proposed budget cuts for the 2012 fiscal year. Mayor Jerry Sanders and top officials from the fire, police, library, parks and recreation and public works departments presented their budget deficits, outlining programs and services that may be eliminated or reduced to close the budget gap estimated at $72 million. At the meeting, which took place at University City High School, Chief Operating Officer Jay Goldstone explained that the reductions would be spread unevenly to reduce further impacts on San Diego police and fire department services. “The city libraries, parks and recreation centers would receive the worst impact,” Goldstone said. “All other departments will have to take 27.3 percent reductions, but fire and police will only have 6.6 percent in proposed cuts because those departments were already cut heavily.” Proposition D has been placed on the November ballot as a proposed solution, and if passed, would allow the city to increase the sales tax by a half-cent under the condition it completes 10 financial reforms. Goldstone noted during his presentation that the passage of Prop D would possibly generate $102 million annually. Despite criticism from town hall attendees regarding the pension issues, Sanders said the city’s general fund budget was consistently being reduced due to a down economy. “We’ve made $57.3 million less this year in tourism taxes, property taxes and franchise fees,” Sanders said. The “No on D” ballot argument claims Prop D is a “blank check sales tax with no guarantees on how the money will be spent,” while “Yes on D” ballot argument claims “revenue from Proposition D will help maintain and restore essential city services such as fire, paramedic, police, library hours and pothole repair, end fire station brownouts, and help improve 911 emergency response times.” Highlights of 2012 proposed cuts Police Department: •?Close two out of 10 area stations. • Close the multi-cultural center •?Lay-off 162 sworn officers • Eliminate the Abandoned Car Abatement Unit Fire Department: • Black-outs of five additional fire engines or trucks. • Single-unit fire stations close for up to one month at a time. • One of the city’s two air rescue helicopters will be grounded. • Engine 35, serving University City, will be blacked-out and grounded. • Close the La Jolla night crew lifeguard stations. • Eliminate non-summer lifeguard services in North Pacific Beach. Park & Recreation Department: • Close city pools, including the Swanson Memorial Pool in the University City area. • Reduce ranger staff. • Eliminate after-school, teen programs. • Reduce hours of operation in all recreation centers by 50 percent. Close nine recreation centers, two visitor centers and two gyms. Library Department: •?Permanent closure of two facilities, with a possibility of this affecting University Community Library. • Rolling brown-outs at all branches, including a reduction in services, programming and books. Public Works Department: • Reduce pothole, street light and sidewalk repairs. •?Stop refuse collection for 6,500 small businesses.