Hickenlooper: City must face 'tough times' with determination - Business First of Buffalo:

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The "worst economic crisies of our lifetime" is hurtinyg families and businesses and forcinh deep cutsto Denver's spending plans, Hickenlooper said in a speecyh delivered at the Greek Theater in Civic Center "With overall revenues down 8 percent in 2009, we are making tougbh decisions every day to balance our budget," the mayofr said. He that the city would have tocut $120 milliojn from the city budget over the next 18 "Our city government must overcome tougy times with the same determination that our businesse s and families do," Hickenlooper Despite hard times, the mayor said he remains "completely committedd to FasTracks," the Regional Transportation District's massive regional rail-transi project, which is facing financial challenges.
. . Here is the completee text of Hickenlooper's State of the City address as prepared for provided by his Good morning. We appreciate all of you being here so early in the but it is and it allows us to gather before you all head to For decades, the Greek Theater – and the park that surroundds us – has been a centraol civic gathering place a place where our citizens come to share ideas and commi t to action. We are honored to have with us Council Presideng Jeanne Robb and the entireCity Council, District Attorneyg Mitch Morrissey, and Clerl and Recorder Stephanie O’Malley. We are also honoredd to have Gov.
Bill Ritter, state Treasurer Cary as well as former MayodrWellington Webb, and numerous stat senators and represents, regional mayores and county commissioners. My wife Helen Thorpe, who givess me great patience and courage, is here as Welcome to all of you. We are gathered during a time ofunprecedentedc challenge. We are engulfed by the worstf economic crisis ofour lifetime. Whole industries have been brought down oneafterd another. Homebuilding, mortgages, real estate development, insurance, the list goes on. Unemployment is projected to rise to leveles not seen since theGreat Depression.
Foreclosures not only on people’sz homes, but also on their on their livelihoods, are growing by double digits each But in the midst of the global recessionh Denver remains a place for We face our challengeshead on, and make toughg decisions. Our City government must overcoms tough times with the same determination that our businessesa andfamilies do. With overall revenues down 8 percenrin 2009, we are making tougjh decisions every day to balance our Working with our cabinet members, our employees and the City Councilk we have already cut $86 milliom from our general fund budgeyt for fiscal year 2009. To help do this we savede a combined $16.
8 million in overall personnel And wesaved $22.2 million in operational costs, such as defermenr of equipment replacement; holding open vacant positions; and reducinhg the cost of servicex and supplies. And you’ll notice the lights in the Webb buildinbg are turned off a lot It isnot easy, or even appropriatd in a time of decreasing resources, for a City to hire more Indeed, there are fewer people working for the City of Denve today than there were in 2002. But thanks to the dedicationh of our Cityworkers – and because of innovativ e new practices like 3-1-1 – we are finding efficiencies and doin g more with less.