The Vero Beach City Council will hold a second and final public hearing on its 2013-2014 fiscal budget when it meets Sept. 17.    If the budget is adopted as currently drafted, the city will eliminate 16 positions, many of them in the Public Works Department.

With the staffing cuts to go into effect in October, the city’s General Fund employee count will be down 28 percent from five years ago.  Total spending, including Recreation but excluding debt service, will be down 15.8 percent, with a cut of $684,060 in the coming year.