IGNACIO, Colo.—The western Colorado town of Ignacio is losing a police officer for the new year. Libraries are going dark in the Denver suburb of Aurora. Fewer buses are running in Colorado Springs.
Across the state, municipal governments are ringing in a skimpy New Year as budget cuts force deep cuts. City officials blame declining tax revenue.
Some towns have furloughed or laid off employees. Others have cut back on city services. Workers are forgoing raises.
Many of the cuts take effect Friday. Here are some examples:
— The La Plata County town of Ignacio has cut a police officer after it lost a state grant worth about $138,000 when a gaming-impact program was cut.
Ignacio had been receiving the grant since 1991. The town also saw smaller sales tax receipts.
“It’s not something we set out to do just to be mean-spirited or something,” town manager Balty Quintana told the Durago Herald. “The funds just weren’t there.”
— Four of seven libraries have closed in Aurora, a city of 310,000 people. The closures came after Aurora voters rejected a property-tax hike last fall.
The libraries sold off many books at bargain prices on New Year’s Eve. Patrons were glum.
“To me, a library is not just having books. It’s like an old friend,” library patron Katie Douglas told The Denver Post.
Yvonne Vigil added, “It’s extremely sad it’s come to this.”
— Colorado Springs cut bus service in half starting Friday. The reductions came after the city slashed its 2010 funding of Mountain Metropolitan Transit from $8.7 million to $2.6 million and laid off 73 transit workers.
Some residents of Colorado towns are also facing higher fees.
In Larimer County, landfill fees increased Friday—the first hike in the rates since 2003.
“Were still the most reasonable landfill around,” Larimer solid waste director Stephen Gillette told the (Loveland) Reporter-Herald.
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Information from: Durango Herald,
