Sales-tax revenues in Denver remained sluggish in December.
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, in an e-mail sent Friday to city workers, said “core sales-tax revenue” showed an 8.4 percent decline from what was collected in December 2007.
“While it is not surprising that December’s sales-tax receipts were down, the good news is that the decline was not out of range from the projections we have shared with you over the past few months,” the mayor’s e-mail states.
He said the 2008 sales-tax receipts actually were ahead 1.4 percent from what was collected in 2007 but still off initial growth projections of 3.6 percent.
He said the most recent sales-tax data along with projections of ongoing flat revenues this year “continue to affirm the necessity of the multi-pronged savings plan we presented to you in December.”
The administration presented an overall $56 million budget-saving proposal aimed at closing a projected shortfall.
He said it will take a few weeks for city officials to finalize total revenue and spending and determine whether further adjustments are needed.
He added that his administration is still negotiating with the unions that represent police officers, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies in an attempt to get them to lower their negotiated contracts by 2 percent. He stressed, however, that those negotiations do not affect nonsafety personnel, who already are forgoing a bonus program and seeing their merit raises limited to 2.25 percent.
