9NEWS reporter Amanda Martin says Denver budget shortfall is larger than first projected, July 30, 2003.
The new mayor is calling the budget crisis traumatic. Next year's budget is also worse than estimated.
Hickenlooper says Denver faces a $47 million budget shortfall this year, almost a 60 percent increase from the deficit estimated by the Webb administration. Hickenlooper also says the updated numbers show that next year's gap will likely be $70 million - a 40 percent difference from Webb administration estimates.
The city's budget chief, Margaret Browne, blamed the widening gap on weak sales tax revenue, which is down 4.1 percent from last year.
Immediate cuts in city services are likely. Each city agency is being asked to submit proposals showing how it will cut 7 percent from its budget by Aug. 8. Webb also asked for the same 7 percent cuts, but Browne said some agencies turned in unacceptable cuts that included too many layoffs or severe reductions.
"It's going to be very challenging for all agencies," said Hickenlooper, mayor for only 10 days. "It's not going to be an easy six months for us."
Hickenlooper said the city's finances will mean cuts in basic services, which will bring longer waits for city permits and reduced hours at recreation centers and other facilities.
The mayor did not rule out cuts in the numbers of police and firefighters but he said residents would continue to receive free weekly trash collection.
Hickenlooper must submit a balanced budget for next year by Sept. 15.
This is the second year in a row that tax revenue has declined. In 2002, the sales tax revenue slid 3.3 percent.
Even during Denver's economic slump in the 1980s, the city never saw two consecutive years of declining sales and use tax collections.
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