Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said today he hopes to add child abuse caseworkers and avoid cuts in childcare programs for working parents by tapping the city’s contingency reserves and capturing federal funds.
“At what point are you cutting into muscle that will never come back and affecting the resiliency of the community?” the mayor asked.
The mayor made his comments during his weekly meeting with the City Council. Hickenlooper said he and Councilwoman Carol Boigon are finalizing the details.
Boigon pushed the mayor to use city reserves to shore up childcare programs for the working poor. The mayor countered during the negotiations that he wanted money to hire caseworkers who protect children from abuse.
Last week, Denver’s Department of Human services revealed that budget concerns forced it to renege on a pledge it made last year to hire about 40 extra protection from abuse caseworkers.
Boigon on Friday found a federal program to take care of the child abuse issue.
Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz expressed concern about using city reserves when other agencies are cutting services.
Council President Jeanne Robb added that she also was worried about inflating the DHS budget in later years by adding workers now.
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting err, it incorrectly stated that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper planned to help ease a budget shortfall at the Denver Department of Human Services by dipping into the city’s emergency reserves. The city plans to use its contingency reserves – a different fund.
