Members of City Council received City Manager Eric Anderson’s budget recommendations for the 2011-2012 Biennial Budget during study session Tuesday afternoon. The proposed budget does not include layoffs, but there are 79 currently vacant positions that will be eliminated. None of these vacancies are police officers or firefighters. The elimination of 79 positions will reduce the number of all employees in the General Fund by 10.2 percent. The proposal does not include any new taxes, and the Business and Occupation tax could be reduced by $2.9 million, exempting 4,900 small businesses in Tacoma from paying the local portion of the tax. It was also proposed that net property taxes be reduced by $300,000. No reserve funds were used to balance this proposed budget and, if approved, City Council will begin the biennium with $2.65 million in their emergency contingency fund and a 2011-2012 budget that is $40 million smaller than the previous biennial budget. This budget proposal will be considered by City Council during several budget workshops. The first budget workshop is scheduled for Tues., Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. in the Council Chambers located on the first floor of the Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market St. All workshops will be broadcast live by TV Tacoma, with replays posted on http://www.tvtacoma.com . For more information about the City’s 2011-2012 Biennial Budget, visit http://www.cityoftacoma.org/news .