SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has vetoed an ordinance that would broaden the city's recording of public meetings in City Hall, citing budget concerns.

The ordinance, introduced by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, would expand the city's current audio and video recording of meetings of the Board of Supervisors, as well as meeting of various council, commission and authority meetings, to include all noticed public meetings held in City Hall hearing and conference rooms equipped for recording.

The recordings would also be archived on the city's Web site, a practice that is already maintained for the currently recorded meetings.

"I support open government and believe this goal is laudable," Newsom said in a Friday statement announcing the veto.

"However, it is extremely difficult to justify expanding our City Watch Services at this moment when I have directed other departments to make cuts to vital services and reductions in staff," said Newsom, arguing that additional staff cuts would be required to support the new staff needed under the ordinance.

The city's budget deficit has recently been estimated at $338 million.

According to the San Francisco Department of Telecommunication and Information Services, costs for the program would total about $76,000 per year, plus about $55,000 in one-time equipment purchases.

The Board of Supervisors could overturn the veto with a two-thirds majority vote, one shy of the original vote, according to Mirkarimi's office.