Branson city leaders got a reality check Saturday morning at a special budget meeting. The Branson city budget must be in place before October 1st, when the 2009 fiscal year begins. The city administrator told aldermen that the city will have to scale back because revenues are flat.

He says spring floods, the bad economy, and unrealistic budget expectations are just partly to blame.

"We've basically put everybody on the same sheet of music in which what issues and what challenges we are facing, and what programs that we are talking about putting into place to be able to repair,” said Dean Kruithof, Branson city administrator. “And we've had a very good response from the community. This is a very active community. It is the thing I've really enjoyed about Branson."

Sales tax revenue so far is down $ 900-thousand, and other city revenue is down about five million. But Branson leaders say the city is fundamentally strong and will be revamping the financial system with new hires like an internal auditor and a new finance director.