Add a heftier police presence in neighborhoods and an overhauled planning operation, and you have Mayor Ralph Becker's spending priorities for his first year at the helm of Salt Lake City.

Yet the no-tax-increase wish list will be a squeeze as "staggering" fuel and health care costs grip Utah's capital.

Becker unveiled his 2008-09 budget Tuesday, noting the gap between spending requests from city departments and expected revenue is double the average, hitting a record $23 million because of the slowing economy. Perhaps more worrisome for residents, property taxes on homes and businesses were boosted $11 million by the Legislature this year to pay for the Jordan School District split and a Delta Air Lines tax break. That means $120 more per year on an average $200,000 home and hundreds of thousands more for a large business.

"It's a very significant hit to our taxpayers," Becker said, "and I didn't want to do anything to add to that burden."

The freshman mayor opted to streamline efficiencies with a "surgical approach" that includes a handful of layoffs, fee hikes and tapping some reserves, but not across-the-board cuts. And he predicts the economic downturn will be a "short-term phenomenon," saying the city has a "very bright future."

Among the highlights in the $779 million spending plan, Becker wants to multiply by 10 the city's financial commitment to bikeway routes and appoint a new person to oversee the program. He also set aside dollars to connect the Jordan River Parkway from 200 South to North Temple and the far north end of the path to Davis County.

Combined with an equestrian, bicycle and pedestrian trail along the Legacy Highway, Becker envisions a "fantastic" trail system from Farmington to Utah County with eventual links to City Creek and Parleys canyons.

The mayor also allocated money to speed up the timeline for a proposed Sugar House streetcar, called for the conversion of 10 vehicles to electric cars and proposed more hybrids and less idling to slim the fleet budget.

He called for steering $500,000 toward preserving a railroad storage building near the transit hub for a potential public market.

Becker wants more neighborhood training for natural disasters and plans to rally the public - and community resources - toward his next Salt Lake Solutions project: Pioneer Park.

Under the budget, all city workers will bear a portion of the city's health-care hike, though Becker is proposing an overall pay bump of $4 million.

"I did not want to balance the budget on the backs of our employees," he said.

Becker hopes to slash 28 overall positions but add 31.

Still, with 15 layoffs, the budget's cold, calculating numbers have a hot, human burn.

Take Sheila Yorkin, a 12-year city employee who managed the Gallivan Center during the 2002 Winter Games and helped craft capital policy and the city's budget. The communication manager for public services saw her job erased despite paying a premium to live in the capital, where she became passionate about her work and her city's progressive agenda.

"I'm devastated because I love the city and I love my job, and I need the insurance for my three kids," Yorkin said. "I feel betrayed."

Budget officials say the moves were not performance-related and insist they will work to place the employees in any open posts.

Part of the problem: Becker notes the city has sustained a $750,000 hit over the past two years since the downtown malls came off the sales-tax rolls to pave way for City Creek Center.

On the public-safety front, Becker is proposing five support positions to buoy two new cops in the field. He notes 16 sworn officers also are about to complete training.

"We need to make sure that they are kept out there and not drowned in paperwork," the mayor said.

Other changes include a revamped planning division, where a one-stop customer service center, two new planners and a focus on long-range planning have been implemented.

Becker also has made three trips to Washington, D.C., since his election, to lobby for city cash. He pledged to keep that up for transit and trail dollars, Homeland Security grants and perhaps money for a new police headquarters, which he expects to tackle next year.

And, after spending significant time on Capitol Hill, the former Utah House Democratic minority leader declared a "new era" with the Legislature where "hopefully [lawmakers] will recognize what a capital city is."

Council members praised the spreadsheet but cautioned money will be tight.

"He's investing in the budget what he set out to do in his campaign," Councilman Soren Simonsen said.