Atlanta taxpayers and employees delivered the same message Tuesday evening to city leaders: do a better job budgeting.

The complaints came during two separate public hearings for residents to discuss Mayor Shirley Franklin's proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 and the city's financial problems.

The city is facing a projected $60 million budget deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30. Mayor Shirley Franklin last week proposed raising property taxes to collect $40 million as part of a plan to fill a projected $140 million budget gap for the following fiscal year.

"How well do [city leaders] sleep at night knowing their mistakes hurt city employees?," asked Atlanta Watershed Management worker Kelli Francis during a City Council budget hearing at City Hall attended by about 80 employees.

Three miles away, Atlantan Dianne Olansky raised similar concerns at a town hall meeting hosted by Councilwoman Anne Fauver, whose district includes Midtown, Virginia-Highlands and Ansley Park.

"Let's catch [the problem] before it gets out of control again," Olansky said.

Olansky urged the city to start working on the next budget as soon as possible and provide residents with updates every three months. The city is working on the council's plan to give them monthly financial updates.

"Our commitment is to get it right," Atlanta Chief Operating Officer Greg Giornelli said during Fauver's meeting.

About 50 people attended the meeting.

The mayor and her staff largely blame the budget problems on higher pension and healthcare costs, saying the city has underfunded the plan for decades. About one-quarter of Franklin's proposed $583.9 million budget is devoted to healthcare and pension costs. Others argue the city has made several bad budgeting practices in recent years that caused the problems.

Giornelli said the proposed property tax increase was the mayor's best option to fill the budget gap. He said the other option is to lay off more than 200 police officers, 90 firefighters and close six fire stations. The mayor, who laid off 441 city workers over the past week, said she couldn't support a plan that would eliminate so many public safety jobs.

Despite her criticism, Olansky said she is glad Franklin's proposed budget did not lay off any police officers or firefighters. Others, however, complained they do not want their property taxes raised.

Some City Council members say they plan to come up with a budget proposal that does not include a property tax hike.

"I think we can run this city more efficiently," Fauver said. "I think we can find the money."

The council is scheduled to vote on Franklin's proposed budget next month.