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Colorado Workers Face Strain As Polis Freezes State Hiring
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State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Colorado Workers Face Strain As Polis Freezes State Hiring

By Lucas Brady Woods | The Colorado Sun The freeze takes effect Aug. 27 and will last until the end of the year. It’s estimated to save the state as much at $7 million. State employees who say they are already overworked due to high vacancy rates are concerned they’re going to be stretched even further after Gov. Jared Polis implemented an administration-wide hiring freeze that begins at the end of this month. Polis announced the freeze at the same time he called a special session of the Colorado legislature — and for the same reason: impacts on the state budget from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the federal tax and spending measure passed by congressional Republicans earlier this summer and signed into law by President Donald Trump. “Our hope is that these proactive measures...
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Denver Eliminates Jobs but Preserves Core Public Safety Services
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

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 may...
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Denver Cuts Costs With Targeted Staff Reductions Amid Budget Crisis
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Denver Cuts Costs With Targeted Staff Reductions Amid Budget Crisis

By Parker Gordon | KDVR Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — The city and county of Denver announced it has completed layoff notifications to 169 employees “as part of a larger effort to balance the 2026 budget.” In a press release on Wednesday, the Denver mayor’s office said the 169 city employees were notified and that there will be no additional layoffs or furloughs for the agencies impacted this year. This comes after city workers waited for information on the layoffs when Denver Mayor Mike Johnston sent a letter to city and county employees in July that layoffs would begin on Monday. On Monday, the mayor’s office announced that the city would be eliminating 928 positions as a result of the $200 million budget shortfall. The layoffs were reportedly announced by the mayor’s office to ...
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Taxpayer-Funded Mountain Retreat Moves Ahead Amid Denver Layoffs
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Taxpayer-Funded Mountain Retreat Moves Ahead Amid Denver Layoffs

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado Ten of Denver's 13 city council members are planning to attend a $26,000, two night, one day retreat in Colorado's foothills next week for team building and professional development, at the same time the city is laying off workers and trying to find ways to cut costs and save money. "We signed this contract prior to knowing of any budget shortfall," said Council President Amanda Sandoval, who pushed for the trip at the Lone Rock retreat in Park County. "We signed this contract prior to knowing of any furlough days, we signed this contract prior to knowing of any layoffs," said Sandoval. She said the council retreat had been in the works since December 2024, and the contract was signed May 8. Two weeks later, Mayor Mike Johnston revealed the depths ...
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Denver Mayor Accused Of Raiding Election Funds To Fill Budget Gap
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Local, Approved, denvergazette.com

Denver Mayor Accused Of Raiding Election Funds To Fill Budget Gap

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López earlier asked the "Vibrant Denver Bond" committee for $43 million for new storage space to secure the city’s election equipment and historical documents, some dating as far back as the 1800s. What he got from Mayor Mike Johnston was an order to slash $4 million from the department's budget. During a July 28 Denver City Council meeting, District 7 Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez had sought an amendment to include the elections facility proposal in the $950 million bond package, which will go to voters this November. The amendment failed. Lòpez told The Denver Gazette that, in his 18-year career as a Denver elected official, “this is the first time, and the only time, the mayor has actually tried to raid i...
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Colorado faces $1B hole: Governor Polis calls special session called and imposes state hiring freeze
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denvergazette.com, Approved, State

Colorado faces $1B hole: Governor Polis calls special session called and imposes state hiring freeze

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis will convene the legislature on Aug. 21 to enact cuts to the state budget amid a $1 billion deficit, even as he is instituting a hiring freeze. The governor said the hiring freeze in state agencies will start on Aug. 27.   The governor confirmed that, in addition to spending reductions, the special session will deal with AI regulation. Lawmakers approved new AI regulations last year. They are expected to go into effect Feb. 1, 2026. The AI law established rules around the use of artificial intelligence, primarily in employment, health care, education, and government practices, where, backers said, the risk of bias or discrimination exists. Businesses have argued that the new law is problematic, potentially penaliz...
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Colorado lawmakers pass budget cutting roads, aid to keep health care afloat
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado lawmakers pass budget cutting roads, aid to keep health care afloat

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun Colorado lawmakers on Monday gave final approval to a $43.9 billion spending plan that cuts funding for transportation projects, local governments and dozens of social programs in order to keep up with the rising costs of health care and education. But as difficult as this year’s budget was, there was widespread acknowledgement that — one way or another — the state’s financial picture is only expected to get worse from here. “Next year is going to be very bad,” said Sen. Jeff Bridges, the Greenwood Village Democrat who chairs the Joint Budget Committee. “The cuts will be much more deep and much more painful.” The main budget bill passed the state House 43 to 21 and the Senate 24 to 11, with most Republicans opposed. From here it heads to Gov. Jared...
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House approves $44B budget, GOP spending cut efforts rejected
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

House approves $44B budget, GOP spending cut efforts rejected

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette Colorado state House legislators on Wednesday debated and advanced a $44 billion spending plan for the next fiscal year. They also approved 63 "orbital" bills designed to change state law in order to balance the state budget. As introduced, the fiscal year 2025-26 budget stands at $43.9 billion, including $17 billion in general funds and $14 billion in federal dollars. General funds are the discretionary dollars, derived from individual and corporate income taxes, as well as sales and use taxes. Cash funds make up the rest, about $12.8 billion. Lawmakers' biggest hurdle is closing a $1.2 billion general fund shortfall, driven by higher-than-expected Medicaid costs and a structural deficit. The first act of the House was to rout...
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Los Angeles fire budget cut, hundreds of hydrants stolen for scrap before fires
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Approved, National, The Daily Signal

Los Angeles fire budget cut, hundreds of hydrants stolen for scrap before fires

By Kenneth Schrupp  | The Center Sqaure via The Daily Signal Hundreds of fire hydrants were stolen from the ground for scrap metal in advance of the blazes raging across Los Angeles, highlighting the local government’s challenges in maintaining basic order and infrastructure.  “These fire hydrant thefts are yet another sign of how crime is out of control in Los Angeles County,” said Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman to The Center Square before his November election. “Thieves know they’ll face little or no consequences if they are caught, so they’re willing to risk the public’s safety for a small profit.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has been away on a taxpayer-funded trip to Africa as a member of a Biden administration delegation, rec...
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