EL PASO, Texas -- It's the ugly part of figuring out the city of El Paso budget, what gets cut and what gets more funding. Wednesday was day one of those difficult decisions.

The biggest decision made was actual taking no action. In the fall, the El Paso Police Department is set to have an academy of 21 cadets, but it has 40 people who have applied. In order to have an academy of 40, city officials said it would cost an extra $740,000.

City Council decided to wait and see if the officers are willing to delay raises to help pay for that academy, otherwise, the city would force the Police Department to take three furlough days next year to pay for the academy. The council is expected to make that decision next week.

The Fire Department is delaying an academy for three months, saving more than $400,000.

The Parks and Recreation Maitenance Department will now be a part of the General Services Department, saving up to $250,000.

Mayor John Cook is happy with day one of the budget decisions, because city officials said the City Council saved about $3 million on Wednesday. The goal is to get to $4.5 million to not raise your taxes.

"I think it shows that the council has done their homework on the budget and asked some really good questions," Cook told KFOX.

KFOX will have a crew at City Hall on Thursday for day two of the budget wrap up.