The budget roller coaster at Los Angeles City Hall took another sharp turn on Tuesday, with the City Council's top policy analyst calling for the elimination of 1,000 jobs on top of the 761 targeted by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in his proposed annual budget.

Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller said the additional positions would need to disappear if the council decides that it cannot rely on parking revenue included in Villaraigosa's budget.

Public employee union leaders have been lobbying against the plan to eliminate 761 jobs, some of which could disappear through layoffs. But because of labor contracts renegotiated last year, if any member of the Coalition of L.A. City Unions is laid off, the city would need to provide $32.3 million worth of raises to its remaining members next year.

Villaraigosa's plan, which covers the fiscal year starting July 1, called for the city to lease 10 parking garages and borrow against future parking meter money. Proceeds from those initiatives would replenish the city's emergency reserve and send $53 million into the city's general fund, which pays for basic services such as parks and public safety, the plan said.

Some council members have already decided not to include the parking money because no lease agreements have yet been obtained. "My vote will be based on money we have in hand right now, not on speculative revenues that have not yet been collected," said Councilwoman Jan Perry.In his report, Miller said proceeds from the parking garages would be "substantial." The agreements are scheduled to be finalized by Dec 31. But he also warned that borrowing against parking meters is "deficit financing" -- and should only be done as a last resort.

Over the last five months, the city's elected officials and policy advisors have thrown out a widely diverging array of numbers when discussing layoffs, job cuts and transfers. In February, Villaraigosa called for up to 3,000 city employee positions to disappear, on top of those that were part of an early retirement program.

Days later, council members said they wanted 4,000 positions to be eliminated "by any means necessary, including layoffs." Then, three weeks ago, Villaraigosa proposed a much smaller number of job cuts -- 761 -- and said that some of those positions may already be vacant. Those dramatic swings led some to question the credibility of the city's leadership on budget matters.

Miller tried to counter that view, saying in his report that the job cut figure has remained "largely consistent." He also said that hiring should be halted in the Fire Department and that police officers should no longer be paid for working overtime, but receive time off instead.

The council's Budget and Finance Committee is scheduled to discuss Miller's recommendations Tuesday afternoon.