The Ironton City Council Finance Committee will meet twice this week to discuss the city’s 2012 proposed budget.

Finance committee chairman Mike Lutz said Thursday’s meeting will focus on the recreation, finance and economic development offices as well as the mayor’s office and the city health department. Lutz said the committee will be finished with its departmental meetings Thursday and he hopes the Saturday meeting will be “when we make the big decisions, go through all the information and come up with a budget.”

The city is anticipating that, if no changes at all are made to the budget, there will be a shortfall of anywhere from $175,000 to $500,000.

A new spending plan must be in place by the end of March.

The finance committee is studying recommendations that the city increase the amount of money it asks each employee to contribute toward his or her health insurance, begin asking workers to pay part of their retirement pickup (right now municipal employees pay nothing toward their retirement), hike the municipal fee from $8 to $10, cut the assistant finance director’s position and increase the service worker’s fee as well as several other ideas.

The finance committee met with other department heads earlier in the month at previous meetings.

“I feel like we’ve given this due diligence,” Lutz said.

The Thursday meeting is at 5 p.m. The Saturday meeting is at 9 a.m.