The Belle Fourche City Council on Tuesday cut supervisors and restructured a city department as well as changing full-time to part-time jobs before approving a roughly $9.6 million first reading of a budget ordinance.

City employees may also end up paying more of their own health insurance costs, but they are still scheduled to receive a 3 percent raise.

The budget can be amended before final approval at the next regular council meeting.

Cuts all came under the "general fund," cash that pays for general city operations including street maintenance, city offices and most of city employees' paychecks.

A 5 percent cut in general fund spending from 2008 and 2009 brings it to about $3.5 million. The rest of the budget includes landfill operations that serve much of the Northern Hills, new construction, and self-supporting city utilities.

The employee health insurance issue raised by Councilman David Pummel came in response to a 12.5 percent hike in costs. Pummel said the city pays 95 percent of individual, couple and family health insurance. That means about $10,000 more is paid to an employee with a family plan than to a single person.

Among personnel cuts: Maintenance department supervisor Dennis Hothem and his assistant Kendall Stevens; the rest of the department to come under Public Works; cutting library staff from four full time and one 19-¾ hours part time to two full time, one 35-hour part time and two 19-¾ hours part time; and the engineering secretary position from full time to 19-¾ hours.

Part-time employees do not receive the city benefit package.