It's only been a couple weeks since Erie County Council passed a very difficult budget and the City Council members I spoke to Tuesday were very wary of what could be coming from Mayor Joe Sinnott's desk despite the Mayor touting a surplus for much of this year.

Jim Thompson seemed confident that there would not be a tax hike but noted a contractual raise in fees for certain city wages and services.

Pat Cappabianca, on the other hand, says avoiding a tax increase would be difficult but that he would not support or vote for one.

Meanwhile, Council President Joe Schember says he expects this year's budget to mirror last year's, somewhere in the neighborhood of 130 million with about a $50 million operating budget.

All three councilmen say they're hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

"The city has been balancing its budget basically by reducing expenses," says Schember. "But you can only reduce those so far."

Cappabianca added, "It's going to be very difficult for him (Mayor Sinnott) to come in with a balanced budget."