Denver Mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal on Thursday announced the development of a fiscal road map that already is generating savings for the 2012 budget and is expected to close $75 million of a $100 million budget gap projected for next year.
The ideas, many of which have been adopted, will lessen the burden faced by Mayor-elect Michael Hancock, whose administration has about 60 days to submit a balanced budget to the City Council after his July 18 inauguration.
“One of my goals when I took office was to address the 2012 budget, and we have already taken significant steps toward resolving next year’s financial challenges and offering options to fully close the gap,” Vidal said in a release.
The road map is said to have achieved significant progress for next year’s budget in three ways:
• Projections for the base budget were improved by $13 million.
• Revenue projections have increased by $28 million, in part because of areas such as improved revenue from court fees in 2010.
• Savings of $34 million were identified in areas such as abolishing more than 90 city positions, canceling police-recruit classes next year and redeploying officers to patrol areas. In addition, reductions to security, janitorial and insurance costs are slated.
Vidal’s administration says none of the items in its plan has a significant service impact.
Hancock called the list “responsible” and a favor to his administration and the city as they’ve made preliminary strides.
In order to close the remaining $25 million gap, Hancock said everything has to be on the table.
“We’ll work to create a pathway that is the most responsible for the city,” he said. “From Day One, I’ll meet with my team, and from there, we will look at the next step.”
Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655 or klee@denverpost.com
