L.A. budget deal near

City officials are close to an agreement with city unions that would cover nearly half of the $530 million deficit that L.A. faces this year. The plan would offer incentives to workers to retire early and include back payments to cover unpaid vacation time and sick leave of up to $78 million. From the Daily News:

The labor agreement would call for workers covered by the Coalition of City Unions to forego a cost of living raise for up to two years and increase their contributions to the pension system to pay for an early retirement program. Council President Eric Garcetti said there will still be layoffs and furloughs in the future although exact numbers were not available. "There is still some number crunching that has to be done," Garcetti said. "But it is difficult to imagine a year in which we do not have layoffs and furloughs."

The proposal drew criticism from the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Here's CEO Gary Toebben:

"For taxpayers, the proposed agreement outlined earlier this week does not appear to fulfill the promise of `shared sacrifice' in a difficult economy. Instead, it appears poised to deliver the kind of short-term political gain and long-term financial pain that has contributed to California's fiscal implosion." Toebben said his concern is what the package will do to the city's pension costs, which already were expected to exceed $1 billion in two years.