The New Orleans City Council voted unanimously Friday to adopt the mayor's proposed 2013 city budget, which totals $491.4 million.

The council did make a few changes to the budget, including setting aside funds to pay for two police recruiting classes and spending $300,000 on pretrial monitoring devices.

The council is mandated by the city charter to have a balanced budget in place by Dec. 1.

Council President Stacy Head proposed an amendment to reduce a projected $9.3 million in new tax revenue in 2013 to $2.8 million - arguing that the city's smaller post-Katrina population shouldn't carry the same tax burden that a larger population did before the 2005 storm.

But the amendment was rejected by a 6 to 1 vote - council members saying a more than $6 million dollar cut in expected tax dollars would make it nearly impossible to balance the budget by deadline.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu applauded the council for approving a spending plan he described as "fiscally prudent" and one that protects public safety."