The City of Bend is open to hearing wide range of ideas when it comes to balancing the budget. Recently Mayor Jeff Eager told the Bulletin that “It's going to take the cooperation of the employees,” because the lion's share of the City's budget is tied to personnel costs. There is a projected personnel increase cost from 4% to 9% over the next five years, while the projected revenue increase is only 1.3% to 3.7% percent. Mayor Eager would like to see personnel costs tied to revenues to help get those costs in line. That would mean changes to employees pay, as they would be asked to pay more of the PERs pick up, and contribute more for health benefits. Otherwise, the report states, there could be a reduction in services and personnel. City officials have spoken with the Firefighters Union and they have agreed to a higher deductible insurance. Now, they need to negotiate with the City Employees Association and Bend Police Association. Even with those adjusted costs, more work needs to be done and Eager sees some very tough decisions in the near future.