URBANA — The city council could vote on its annual budget this week, and Mayor Laurel Prussing is expected to make some last-minute changes that would allow for the hiring of two police officers.

The council is scheduled to meet on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Urbana City Building, 400 S. Vine St.

The budget, as it was presented last month, does not include many changes compared to last year: The general fund, which covers city operations and employee compensation, expands 0.5 percent to $32.6 million, mostly due to rising health care and pension costs for employees.

To be left vacant were 11 city positions, which had gone unfilled to save money during the past few years. That will change if Prussing sticks to the plan that she announced last week: She hopes to hire two police officers by cutting $71,000 in tourism promotion and raising parking rates in the city's university district by a quarter, from 75 cents to $1 per hour. The parking increase should generate bout $105,000 in new revenue, the mayor estimated.

Prussing is responding to comments from residents in southeast Urbana who say crime has been on the rise. Police have already been running special details in that area, but the residents have said they can use all the coverage the city can provide.

A majority vote of the 7-member council is required to pass the budget, which could include Prussing's plan to fill the two vacant police officer positions.