CINCINNATI — Faced with an unexpected $6.1 million deficit this year due to flat income tax collections, Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken announced a series of immediate budget cuts and a hiring freeze at City Hall, according to the Cincinnati Post newspaper on August 19. The emergency measures include stopping all travel by city workers, delaying a police recruit class and offering a one-time tax amnesty period to get people who owe back taxes to pay up. The city's income tax revenue provides about 60 percent of Cincinnati's $340 million general fund, the budget that pays for most basic services like police and fire protection, street repair, snow removal, and trash hauling. Luken blamed the shortfall on the sluggish national economic recovery from a recession, and said many cities are facing similar dilemmas. State law requires Ohio cities to balance their budgets annually.