obtained that spells out the problem. mike? reporter: denise, that memo says the city spends $3.7 million a day from its general fund. and under baltimore s charter, the city must have a balanced budget. so when the state starts cutting, it trickles down right here to city hall. reporter: this memo, obtained by wjz, went out to all city agency heads and spells out the dire problems with the budget. the state is short hundreds of millions of dollars, and that means the city will feel the pain, too. the department of finance has asked all departments to cut 5%. the fire department. police. trash collection. libraries. the bright spot is that baltimore city is not going bankrupt. it s a position that i don t think anyone in government wants to be in. reporter: the mayor tells wjz, the city s hiring freeze will stay in place. she wants to minimize the impact on public safety. we have to come prepared in making sure that we look at those services that we have to do ver