Morale among Denver’s city employees is on the decline, with workers in the Community Planning and Development department the most disgruntled, according to a new survey by the Career Service Authority.
The 2005 Citywide Employee Attitude Survey found that 71 percent of city employees who responded agreed with the statement: “Overall, I feel positive about working for the City.”
That’s down from 74 percent in 2003 and 83 percent in 2001.
Employees in Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s office were the most satisfied, with those who responded agreeing with the statement 95 percent of the time, but at the city’s Community Planning and Development department, just 48 percent agreed.
“Our management team is very much looking forward to reviewing the results,” said Julius Zsako, a spokesman for community planning.
Zsako said he could not discuss the results in detail.
This month, the department lost some key staff members.
Dennis Swain, a manager in the planning department, is resigning to take a job helping Littleton develop a comprehensive plan. Kiersten Faulkner, a senior city planner who handled planning issues for downtown and Civic Center, is leaving to head a historic-preservation program in Hawaii.
An architect also is resigning to take a job with a private firm, and another planner is moving to Durango to be near his family.
Zsako said the resignations represent a fraction of the 206 full-time employees in the department. He also noted that those leaving were taking good jobs elsewhere.
Other departments with low morale are the safety department – which includes the police and fire departments – where 66 percent of the employees surveyed agreed with the statement; the law department, where 60 percent answered yes; and the aviation department, where 66 percent answered yes.
Despite the decline in morale, the survey indicates city employees think they are more productive than in 2003. This year, 83 percent of the employees responding to the survey said yes when asked: “Overall, I feel that I am as productive as I can be.” In 2003, 74 percent surveyed said yes.
The survey was send to 7,761 city workers in October. Of those, 2,243 responded, or 29 percent.
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-820-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
