EDITORIAL HONEYMOON IS OVER.

THE next city budget isn't due for nearly a year, but Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa can already see a political struggle ahead. That, no doubt, is why he recently pleaded with neighborhood council leaders to help him cut costs in city government. He's going to need all the help he can get.

Because unlike more recent budgets, which have been flush with cash thanks to a growing economy and an overheated real-estate market, the next one might be a lot tighter.

For starters, the city used to depend on revenues from a utility user tax tied to the federal excise tax on telephone lines. But the federal tax -- initiated in 1898 to fund the Spanish-American War -- is finally being scrapped. And with it goes the city's utility users tax, at a cost of $220 million to the L.A. budget.

Then there's $30 million in water-transfer revenue that the city used to get from the Department of Water and Power but won't get any longer, thanks to a Supreme Court decision.

And if the real-estate market continues to cool, falling property-tax revenues could further contribute to City Hall's shortfall.

All of which means Villaraigosa's mayoral honeymoon could be coming to an end. If he does the right thing and insists on balancing the city budget by slashing bloat -- and not vital public services -- he will face a bureaucratic/special-interest uprising.

The mayor can expect similar conflict if and when he succeeds in taking control over the Los Angeles Unified School District. Should Villaraigosa try to shift district funds back to the classroom, where they belong, bureaucratic resistance will be intense.

It's wise, then, that Villaraigosa would seek to shore up support among neighborhood councils for the upcoming city budget fight. The councils represent their communities and, unlike the special interests, want to see L.A. spend its money wisely. If they stand behind the mayor and rally the people in the neighborhoods, they could be a powerful ally for better government.

Likewise, Villaraigosa will need to win over parents and local schools for his other budget fight in the LAUSD. He can't bring fiscal sanity to the city or the school district on his own. The only force strong enough to overcome entrenched special interests is an engaged public.