Pay raises may be on the way for City of Tampa workers that have not seen a pay bump in five years.

A 2 percent raise for city workers is just one of several aggressive proposals in Mayor Bob Buckhorn's 2014 budget proposal.

Buckhorn proposed his $831 million budget to the city council Thursday morning.

"I recognize I will take some heat for it, but that's OK," the Mayor told council members about his proposal to increase salaries. "They have not complained, they have not slacked. They have pushed forward and they have made us proud, and they deserve an opportunity to keep ahead of this economy."

Aldofo Reyes has worked for City of Tampa Public Works for five years and to date has not received a pay raise.

Reyes said he didn't expect a raise given the economy and cutbacks. "We've been told that we wasn't going to get raise because of budget you know, but we expected in the long run something was going to happen."

Pay raises for city workers is expected to be controversial.

The Mayor's overall budget totals $831 million and runs a $19.2 million deficit. That is a 3.3 percent increase over his fiscal year 2013 budget.

The city would need to dip into its reserve fund for $7.5 million to balance the 2014 budget. It dipped into the reserve fund last year for $5.5 million to balance the budget.

The city is expecting a boost in property tax revenue to offset some of the budget deficit, thanks to an increase in home ownership. Tampa's millage rate and property taxes will not go up under the Mayor's budget proposal. 

The City of Tampa said its deficit, in part, can be blamed on lower than expected revenues from red light cameras and convention traffic.

Red light cameras generated fines totaling $2 million less than projected.

The city lost another $3.4 million after three military conventions were canceled due to federal sequestration cuts.

Mayor Buckhorn's proposed budget will not require cutbacks in staffing, although some departments will see spending cuts.

Code Enforcement will acquire two additional positions under the Mayor's budget as part of a larger-scale re-organization of the department. 

Recently Tampa Code Enforcement launched a 30 day sweep to crack down on homeowners and landlords violating code.

Tampa City Council members will begin reviewing the Mayor's 2014 budget next month.

A budget needs City Council approval and the Mayor's signature by October 1.