With a slowing economy and building halted around the county, some believe Mapleton City may be hurting a little more than others.

Unlike other cities in the county, Mapleton has little revenue from retail outlets. Bradshaw said this causes the city to rely more on building fees and property tax for the 30 to 40 units built each year, so any slowdown in building greatly impacts the city.

"There's a significant deficit to adjust to in order to keep the budget in balance," he said.

Bradshaw said several measures have been taken to make up for budget deficits, including layoffs and halting overtime. Projects that are not under contract have been postponed, as has the hiring of seasonal workers. Departments within the city were also told to trim their budgets for next year by 10 percent.

"We've trimmed that right down to the bone," he said.

The city may also need to increase property taxes in the future, which hasn't been done in more than a decade. Although the city is seeing hard economic times, Bradshaw said the strain will not change the city's ability to do necessary work. Instead, the cuts are meant to help the city remain conservative and pay for necessary services.

"You might notice that the grass is growing a little longer in the parks, and the streets aren't being swept quite as frequently," he said.

Bradshaw said being conservative is nothing new for the city, where all the office staff fill several roles. The city always tries to save taxpayer money, and it is only trimming a bit more now.

The downturn is stressful for the city, but Bradshaw said he is confident the city will move forward with significant projects, such as a pressurized irrigation system and a new public safety building.

"There's no desperate urgency," he said. "The city is not in a state of shock."

Leland Gamette, economic development director for Provo City, said the economic troubles are hurting every city right now. Revenues are flattened in most cities around the country due to the housing crisis, but some cities fare better than others.

Provo does have an economic base from retail stores, although Gamette said having retail does not solve the problems of the economy.

Every city has its own mix of revenue sources, and Gamette said retail sources can help to broaden that base. When multiple income sources are available, cities can often get revenue from one rising source while another is slumping.

Mapleton Mayor Laurel Brady said the city's problems are no different from any other, even with its dependence on construction. The city is cutting all it can, she said, in order to improve the bottom line.

"We've got the same situation that every city in the county has," she said. "Building has come to a screeching halt."

In order to save costs, Brady said the city and its garbage collectors have come up with a plan that could make a big difference. The city was faced with the possibility of raising garbage rates, and rising fuel costs for the collector may lead to a surcharge. The city and garbage collector instead decided to try an experiment with one of the three city routes to try and save gas.

Half of the residents in the selected route will be asked to push their garbage cans to the other side of the road this summer, which will mean garbage trucks will need to take only one pass on the street. No one is sure how the plan will work yet, but the garbage service has agreed to pass savings on to the city.

Brady said she hopes the system will end up saving the city some money, but for now the city has had to make some hard decisions. Even so, she said she believes the trouble will pass.

"It's a strain, but economic cycles come and go, and you deal with them," she said.