“I think we are in the position where we have no choice,” said East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton. “We have to implement these and other difficult choices. This is only 40 percent of where we need to be. Everybody is prepared for even deeper and more significant reductions.”

Staton said it is “very highly likely” the city will resort to laying off employees during the 2010-11 fiscal year.

Various factors forced the proposed budget alterations, as declining property values hit tax collection hard, the state cut revenue sharing to cities by 11 percent — which resulted in a reduction of $855,000 for the city — and a more than 20 percent rise in defined benefit pension contributions for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

Residents might not see the immediate effects of most measures undertaken by the city, but delaying capital and infrastructure maintenance likely will cost the city more money in the future, council members said.

The potential suspension of the city’s hazardous sidewalk repair program will save $116,000 up front and reductions to the Major Street Fund will total nearly $87,000, although the Local Street Fund budget would increase by almost $1.7 million after the city sold more than $1.5 million of Michigan Transportation Bonds.

The city also will remove money allocated for City Center II from the Downtown Development Authority, Capital Improvement and Automobile Parking funds because the project has not started. Those changes will reduce those authorities’ budgets by a combined $30.8 million.

General operating costs for the library, seniors program and parks and recreation funds would decline by $113,000 — $39,255 and $44,560, respectively — through voluntary furloughs, and computer replacement deferrals.

Councilmember Roger Peters warned that many of the cost-saving initiatives probably will not carry into the 2010-11 fiscal year because the city will not be able to put off maintenance for two consecutive years. With fewer options to relieve financial stress and an even larger projected shortfall in 2011, the city might need to take more drastic action when it sets the next fiscal year’s budget.

“I think a lot of the things that we do with our budget have kind of long-term consequences,” he said. “If you put (repairs) off one year or two years, you’re only pushing the problem off into the future.”

Councilmember Kevin Beard said residents soon will see the effects of budget reductions in terms of service quality.

“Most of the budget cutting we’ve done over the last eight years … have pretty much been invisible to people who live here” he said.

“Well that’s not going to be the case anymore. You can look to this weekend as an example, my street didn’t get plowed until this afternoon.”