Atlanta can avoid laying off police officers by offering early retirement to veteran officers and eliminating some highly paid positions in the department, saving the city up to $6 million, the head of the police union said Monday.

Sgt. Scott Kreher delivered a memo with the recommendations Monday to City Council President Lisa Borders. He is seeking a meeting with Mayor Shirley Franklin's staff to discuss his suggestions.

"We feel these recommendations are the best way we can save money without affecting crime-fighting," Kreher said in an interview.

Council members voted Friday to have the mayor cut about $14.6 million from the budget for the fiscal year that starts Tuesday. They rejected Franklin's plan to raise property taxes by about $31 for the average city homeowner.

Franklin warned she may have to lay off more city workers in order to cut the budget. The mayor laid off 441 employees two months ago as part of a budget-balancing plan.

Department directors huddled Monday with their staffs to work on proposals to cut their budgets. Franklin has one week to veto portions of the council's budget changes. Officials said they had not received any veto letters as of Monday evening. The vetos would not violate the city's requirement to have a budget in place by July 1 since the City Council adopted a spending plan Friday.

Council members said Monday they are willing to work with Franklin on making the cuts. They believe the city can reduce how much it spends on consultants or by eliminating some unfilled positions. Councilman Howard Shook, chairman of the council's finance/executive committee, said there are more than 300 unfilled positions with about $13 million set aside to pay those employees.

"I think there are a lot of places to cut before you start cutting personnel," said Councilman Ceasar Mitchell.

Kreher offered his plan Monday. He said there are about 115 officers and supervisors who may accept a retirement plan, which could save the city about $2 million. Kreher suggests the department can save money by eliminating high-salaried jobs such as night watch commander and the chief of staff.

The department can also save money by scrapping its computerized report-writing software and its mounted police program, Kreher said.

Kreher said the computer software does not allow detectives to input photos or handwritten witness statements. He suggests the city contract with a college in the area on a new system. If the current software is removed, officers would have to write their reports by hand, which Kreher said some officers will not like.

Police spokeswoman Sgt. Lisa Keyes said in a statement Monday that "we are working with City Hall to determine effective and efficient ways to reduce the budget of the police department without decreasing the services we provide to the citizens of Atlanta."

The Story So Far

Previously: The Atlanta City Council voted Friday to cut nearly $14.6 million from the city budget instead of raising property taxes.

The Latest: Franklin and her staff are working on cost-cutting scenarios, which may include layoffs.

What's Next: Franklin will soon decide her plan.