Denver Eliminates Jobs but Preserves Core Public Safety Services

By Deborah Grigsby and Dan Boniface | The Denver Gazette

Denver’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure lost the most employees with 31 layoffs.

The specifics of Denver’s staffing layoffs became clearer on Wednesday, when Mayor Mike Johnston revealed the positions that have been eliminated within city agencies this week.

Some agencies took a heavy hit, where the Johnston administration cut as much as a third of their budgeted workforce. The public safety agencies saw nearly 100 vacant positions eliminated, though no officer was laid off.  

The mayor sought to guarantee no impact to several services, but he hinted that the cuts will affect programs. Even his own initiative on homelessness — he had promised to end the crisis in his first term as mayor and his administration overspent to build that program’s infrastructure — will see reductions, he said. 

The city confirmed that it completed layoff notifications for 169 people, eliminated 666 unfilled positions and transferred 92 employees, as the Johnston administration works to plug a $250 million budget hole.

By eliminating the positions — the vast majority of which are vacant — the city said it will save almost $100 million or half of the projected budget deficit, while the other half will be plugged through other cost-saving measures, such as reductions in discretionary spending.

Johnston said at a staff town hall that he has directed departments to prioritize the protection of core city services, maintain top city priorities and goals, and minimize impacts to employees.

As a result, the mayor said, there will be no reductions in police service or patrols, no impact to trash pick-up service or the schedule, no changes to operating hours at parks, rec centers or libraries, and no changes to permitting times.

The mindset going forward, the mayor said, is not so much about “doing more with less, but doing less and doing it better.”

Some departments and agencies will be tightening their belts.

Denver’s Department of Children’s Affairs was among the hardest hit, losing 10 employees and two open positions, totaling more than 36% of its total budgeted workforce.

The agency dedicated to human rights and community partnerships also sustained heavy losses, with nine people laid off and eight vacancies eliminated. That meant 20% of its filled positions were let go, and 37.8% of the overall workforce was eliminated.

Denver’s Social Equity and Innovation Agency also took a hit, with 10 employees laid off and two vacant positions eliminated. That accounted for 23.1% of the agency’s budgeted workforce.

Other departments that lost the most workers to layoffs included Transportation and Infrastructure (31), Community Planning and Development (19), Human Resources (18), Public Health and Environment (16), City Attorney’s Office (11) and Children’s Affairs (10).

“What drove these numbers across departments depends on how the department’s structured,” Johnston said at the town hall. “Some departments are heavily people. They’re 80, 90, 95% people, with very few contracts, supplies and services. And those places had to absorb more personnel cuts.”

Some departments that are made up primarily of employees also had a lot of open, vacant positions, he said.

Those departments were able to avoid bigger layoffs by eliminating open positions, he said.

“If you’re heavy on people and low on vacancies, then you end up having to be higher on layoffs,” Johnston said.

Other agencies that lost a large percentage of their budgeted workforce — filled and vacant — were Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency (27.8%), Human Resources (19.6%) and Community Planning & Development (19.1%).

Although the Denver Sheriff’s Office, Denver Police Department and Denver Fire Department did not have any people laid off, 87 vacant positions were eliminated.

The Denver Sheriff’s Office lost 61 positions that were vacant, while the Denver police lost 10. Denver fire lost 16 openings.

All told, the city laid off 1.5% of its filled positions and eliminated 7.6% of its overall total budgeted workforce.

Not immune to the cuts was the Mayor’s Office, where three workers were laid off and eight vacancies were eliminated, reducing non-cabinet personnel by 24%.

READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE