COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The City of Columbus has tough decisions to make and that could include budget cuts that impact your personal safety.
All city departments are currently crunching numbers, figuring out how much money it takes to keep them up and running.
Columbus city officials said they are at fire financial straits and are asking Columbus workers to help.
On August 4, Columbus resident will vote on whether to increase the Columbus income tax from 2 percent 2.5 percent, bringing in $100 million for the city.
If it fails, the mayor said everything is on the table, including the jobs of hundreds of police and firefighters.
NBC 4 learned that there were three separate meetings this week with police and/or fire leaders.
City leaders said they outlined possibilities, and police sources said it was more of a hard number of 200 firefighters and police cuts if the income tax increase isn't approved.
City officials said there are no hard numbers now and voters might not have them by the time they vote in August.
Representatives for the city said there is no fat to be cut and after the meetings with police and fire personnel, the unions and city staff, some walked away wondering if the proposed cuts will be 400 fire and police positions.
When Mayor Michael Coleman took office in 2000, a representative said public safety was 63 percent of the budget. Over the years, civilian staff in the city cut 32 percent, meaning public safety grew in numbers. Currently, it's 73 percent of the budget.
During the meetings this week, officials said specific numbers were never presented as fact, but as putting a face with the number, as examples of how much would have to be made up with a no vote.
As the Fraternal Order of Police starts to crunch the numbers, they say they are doing their homework, looking deeper into the budget crisis before deciding if they will endorse the tax increase proposal.
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