PITTSBURGH -- Mayor Tom Murphy sat down with WTAE's Bob Mayo on Monday for an exclusive Action News interview about the state of the city.

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Murphy has come under fire for the city's $60 million budget deficit and the hundreds of layoffs he recently approved.

In the Mayo interview, Murphy defended the actions that he has taken and said there are no short-term fixes for the city's financial mess. The mayor said he continues to lobby the state Legislature for broader taxing powers, but he said if new taxes are not approved, he will have to make "further painful decisions" when preparing next year's budget.

Murphy said the time has come to confront the city's financial problems head-on, no matter how unpopular his moves may be with the public. He said the city has been simply getting by for years instead of making real change.

Click the links in the video box at left to watch excerpts from Mayo's interview with Murphy.

Click here to share your thoughts on the city's money crunch.