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In a letter sent out Tuesday, the mayor’s budget director is asking all agencies to cut 2 percent from their budgets for the 2012 fiscal year and hack another 6 percent for the 2013 fiscal year, in hopes of saving $2 billion.

The hiring freeze affects all agencies, with exceptions for positions that immediately impact public health and safety.

Decisions on those jobs will be made on a case by case basis.

Deputy Mayor for Operations Cas Holloway said they are looking at extreme economic uncertainty, with the likelihood that the state and federal governments will further cut funds to the city.

Some City Council members who spoke with NY1 said Mayor Bloomberg needs to find a better solution.

"The fact of the matter is the mayor of the City of New York ran for a third term, asking people given his acknowledged business acumen that we needed him in these times. So now is the time. We need the mayor to stand up and show us some of that creativity. There's got to be a way to do this other than just cutting and burning," said City Councilman Lewis Fidler.

"The City Council is going to everything we can as we have in the past to look at alternative cuts. This time, I think the administration really needs to look at outside contracts, outside sourcing," said Manhattan Councilwoman Gail Brewer.

City agencies have until October 18 to submit their budget cut proposals.

This will be the 11th round of budget gap closing actions since early 2007. The first 10 rounds produced more than $5 billion in recurring annual savings.

Advocates for those in need worry how this will play out.

"This is really going to decimate the community network of services. Things that people rely on, child care, after-school, senior care, English classes," said Nancy Wackstein of United Neighborhood Houses of New York.

Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, questioned the mayor's priorities.

"The schools can't keep getting cut. We have over 20,000 more students and 7,000 less teachers. This is enough already," said Mulgrew.

The New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association issued a statement saying, "The last thing this city should plan to do for the future is to reduce the staffing of the NYPD, which has already been stripped to the bone in our local neighborhood precincts."

Agency directors must submit their budget cut suggestions in two weeks.

The mayor's office points out that if the economy does not improve, these cuts may have to be increased.