METHUEN — City councilors unanimously approved the city's fiscal year 2010 budget yesterday and plan to meet again on Wednesday to vote on the School Department budget.

The city budget includes combinations of pay cuts, benefit cuts and attrition for city workers, but contains no layoffs and closed a deficit of more than $4 million. Several of the nine municipal employee unions and department heads took 10 percent pay cuts.

"Please recognize the level of sacrifice that they have taken," Councilor Kenneth Willette Jr. said of the city workers. "They have families. They have homes. They have mortgages to pay."

This has been a tumultuous budget season. Mayor William Manzi said earlier this month that he would lay off 40 to 45 workers if the unions didn't make concessions. It got to the point where 20 police officers and 15 firefighters were on the chopping block, but all that has now been averted.

Now, all eyes turn to the School Department. City Councilors voted unanimously last Tuesday to reject Superintendent Jeanne Whitten's proposed $57.6 million budget, which calls for 13 program assistants and 10 custodians to be laid off, and for 14 assistant athletic coaches to be cut.

The School Committee is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. tomorrow in City Hall to vote on Whitten's budget. Its task will be to pass something that can satisfy city councilors — the council meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall to vote again on the school budget. If the council doesn't approve the school budget, the School Department can't legally pay its bills after Tuesday, state officials have said.

Council Chairwoman Deborah Quinn said school officials need to put the program assistants back in their budget.

"They're essential," she said after yesterday's meeting.

"There's ways of reconciling that budget and saving jobs," Willette said on the council floor.

If councilors approve the school budget, Methuen's total operating budget will be $128.1 million for the fiscal year that starts Wednesday.

Whitten has attempted, so far unsuccessfully, to persuade the unions representing teachers, nurses and secretaries to give up or delay contractual raises they are slated to receive. Tomorrow, Manzi, Whitten and two School Committee members are scheduled to meet with teachers union President Donna Gogas.

If wages are frozen, Whitten has said there will be no school layoffs.

Councilor Philip Lahey Jr. looked at teachers union members sitting in the audience yesterday and stressed that the municipal workers are not just taking a pay freeze, they're taking a pay cut.

"Talk is cheap," he said. "I like the action they had on the city side."

The superintendent, who earns $157,000 annually, has said she will take a pay freeze. Willette also noted that the mayor took a 10 percent pay cut, amounting to $8,000.

"Start the process of doing concession yourself," he said, referring to Whitten.

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