Lansing Mayor David Hollister announced Thursday that $1.5 million will be cut from this year’s budget.

The budget cuts were largely a result of a decrease in state revenue sharing payments and also due to losses of current-year city revenue, Hollister said.

The cut includes a hiring freeze on filling vacant city positions, deferments on vehicle purchases, a reduction in general administration expenditures and a reduction in supply and expense accounts by 10 percent, Hollister said.

The deferments on vehicle purchases will mean 16 police cars are purchased instead of the intended 24 and the elimination of one fire truck purchase, said Robert Swanson, city finance director.

Hollister also said the cut includes a recapture of city grant match funds for a major police department grant worth $125,000.

No actual programs were cut and the only administrative actions made were ones to lower the total city budget, Swanson said.

The 2001-02 budget ends June 30, and the new policy will take effect July 1.

“It’s basically a straight-line budget,” Councilmember Sandy Allen said. “We instituted these policies to get us through the year and to counteract the money that we’ve lost.

“Citizens won’t feel the impact of the budget.”

Lansing is not alone in its financial losses. The current recession continues to take its toll both nationally and statewide.

Major state budget cuts have been instituted and the Michigan budget could face a deficit of as much as $1.4 billion for fiscal year 2003, officials said.

And despite enjoying a lower unemployment rate than the national and state average rate of 6 percent, Lansing still claimed 3.2 percent total unemployment in November, further lowering citizens’ confidence in the economy.

“The economy’s problems have eroded people’s confidence in the government and the market,” Allen said. “It’s hard to gain that back, and until we do, it’s going to be difficult.”