COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Falling sales tax revenues as shoppers buy less are affecting the city budgets that they help fund.
Cities are considering furloughs, job cuts, smaller pay raises and reduced services.
On Monday, the Colorado Springs City Council will discuss what can be cut to slash $16.8 million from the 2009 budget. In November, sales tax revenue was down 14 percent from the previous year.
The city’s 2.5 percent sales tax pays for about half the city’s $246.9 million general-fund budget.
Meanwhile Fort Collins has enacted a hiring freeze for at least the next six months to curb expenses, although City Manager Darin Atteberry acknowledged that critical jobs such as those in public safety will have to be filled. The city has about 80 open positions.
Atteberry says he is not considering layoffs.
This month Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s administration proposed $20 million in cuts in the $914 million budget as Denver struggled with an estimated $56 million budget shortfall. About $34 million in cuts were announced earlier.
Hickenlooper’s administration hopes to boost revenue by about $1.5 million, partly by doing a better job of collecting unpaid court fees.
