Richmond City Hall is "top heavy" and creating a burden for taxpayers, a city councillor has charged.

"I want to get back to basics and look at the way we're doing business," said Coun. Bill McNulty. "I think we have to look at our management. I think we're too top heavy."

City council defeated the proposed 2010 operating budget Monday in a 4-4 vote, sending it back to staff for further review.

McNulty wants further analysis of city spending to reduce the tax burden on residents. He suggested the city "could do more with less" and challenged staff to find further "efficiencies."

"Staff will come back immediately with unionized jobs, which I will not touch. I'm looking at management jobs. Growth is down half, but we still have the same complement of managers that we've had before when we were in good times," he said.

Last year, city council agreed to trim 14.3 full-time positions from its payroll. Another four unionized workers were laid off in the summer due to a slowdown in development.

It's not clear whether McNulty will find support on council to slash management jobs. Monday's vote was considered only a formality given council's previous endorsement of the budget in a 7-2 vote.

But councillors Evelina Halsey-Brandt and Greg Halsey-Brandt changed their minds, and Coun. Linda Barnes, who previously voted in favour of the budget, was absent.

Coun. Ken Johnston also voted against the budget, while Mayor Malcolm Brodie and councillors Derek Dang, Harold Steves and Sue Halsey-Brandt voted in favour.

The budget would have hiked property taxes by 3.45 per cent, amounting to an average increase of $39 in residential tax bills—not including an already-approved utility fee increase of $48 to $69. No job cuts were included in the proposal.