Los Angeles' mayoral race is heating up as the two candidates, Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel, draw closer to the May 21 finish line. Like any election, there are a host of concerns for the candidates to debate over, but it may end up being the city budget that draws the most interest come voting time.

Los Angeles' fiscal situation is a nightmare. Current Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has pointed to the fact that there could be a budget surplus of $15 million dollars by 2017-18. Regrettably for Villaraigosa, it is not 2018 just yet, and currently the city is staring down a deficit that could reach $267 million by 2014-15.

It will be one of the two candidates to be Villaraigosa's replacement that will inherit this mess. Both have made vows to fix the financial situation, addressing it as being one of the chief concerns during this election

"I have the independence to make the tough choices that we need in our next mayor," Garcetti said. "To balance the budget, to create pension reform, and to create jobs. And to solve problems to get the city back on track."

Greuel even took it a step further by offering a preliminary budget plan to show how she would attack the deficit if elected mayor. Many of her suggestions centered around the idea that funding should not be cut, but rather, more money should be collected by the government through methods other than taxation.

Among Greuel's proposed ideas included requiring city workers to spend more money on their health care benefits as well as cracking down on parking enforcement. Despite Garcetti's sharp criticism of her plans as having no basis in reality, Greuel stands by her vision of how to fix Los Angeles' financial situation.

"The ideas we discussed today are a blueprint for how we can close our budget gap so we can get back to providing the services Angelenos depend on," Greuel said.

It does not appear, however, that her blueprint for monetary success is doing enough to win Greuel the election. A poll by the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Los Angeles Times found that Garcetti was favored by 50% of likely voters to Greuel's 40%.