Harrisburg mayor offers $54.3M budget

(Harrisburg) -- The mayor of Pennsylvania's cash-strapped capital says her proposed $54.3 million budget for 2013 is ``bare-boned.'' 

The spending plan offered to the city council last night by Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson represents about a $2 million increase over last year.

Thompson says the bulk of the additional spending would go toward the hiring of new positions recommended in a recovery plan presented by a state-appointed financial overseer.

Harrisburg has been laboring under a massive $300 million debt tied to an incinerator renovation project that resulted in the state takeover.

Council members say they'll closely review the spending plan before a scheduled Dec. 18 budget vote.