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Today marks the last day of work for 176 city employees who were laid off in order to help close a $160 million gap in Denver’s budget. (Read this Denver Post story by reporter Christopher Osher for more.)
Most of the layoffs — the equivalent of 108.5 positions — occurred in two city departments: the Office of Economic Development and Denver Human Services. Those departments were hit harder because more of their funding comes from federal sources, which are declining, rather than the city’s general fund, said Eric Brown, communications director for Mayor John Hickenlooper.
The rest of the layoffs were scattered among nine other city agencies.
So who, exactly, is getting laid off? A final list won’t be available for several weeks, Brown said. But he provided this breakdown of layoffs by department:
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Safety Administration: 1.5 positions Human Rights and Community Relations: 1.5 positions Mayor’s Office: 2 positions City Council Staff: 2.5 positions Career Services Authority: 5 positions Department of Finance: 8 positions General Services: 11 positions Technology Services: 14 positions Parks and Recreation: 17.5 positions Office of Economic Development: 28.5 positions Denver Human Services: 84.5 positions
Total: 176 positions
