New Dem of the Week: John Hickenlooper
Mayor, Denver
For many cities and states, 2003 offered unprecedented fiscal challenges -- shrinking revenues and soaring costs led to ever-tightening budgets and cuts in services. A year later, as the economy is slowly turning around, many officials are still struggling to restore confidence in local government. They continue to search for ways to better serve citizens' needs while also guarding against the possibility of future shortfalls.
Denver is a good example. In 2003, officials were forced to confront a $70 million shortfall, and deficits loomed for years to come. When the city's new mayor, John Hickenlooper, took office that summer, he was forced to ask concessions of city workers and make cuts to agencies across the board. But now a year into office, Hickenlooper has reason to be optimistic. With the announcement earlier this month of his proposed city budget for 2005, Hickenlooper has shown that even in tough times, officials can find new ways to improve government services while cutting bureaucratic waste. The budget, according to Hickenlooper, "provides a stable foundation from which we can deliver services at the level we can afford and build for the future."
Hickenlooper's first step was to establish clear and measurable goals that matched the priorities of Denver's citizens and became the foundation of his proposed budget:
- Denver city government will achieve the highest customer service rating in the country.
- Denver city government will create 25,000 net new private sector jobs.
- People will say Denver is an even better place than it was in 2003.
- People who work for Denver city government will say it is an even better place to work than it was in 2003.
- Denver city government will live within its means.
One of Hickenlooper's top priorities with this year's budget was to bolster the city's public safety. "[W]e are beginning to create a long-term solution to our safety needs as we move away from expensive and short term band aids," Hickenlooper said.
His efforts start with putting more police officers on the streets. An accelerated training program will bring in 100 new recruits, and raise the city police force to its fully authorized strength of 1405 officers. Officials will also boost investment in Denver's 9-1-1 system and improve the department's aging technological infrastructure. The fire department will also be able to purchase two new aerial ladder trucks.
These and other new initiatives have been made possible by the mayor's efforts to reduce the costs of operating government. Citywide, officials have been able to reduce telecommunications costs by $800,000 through competitive bids. Many once-disparate security needs have been consolidated under a single contract to save $350,000. And new water conservation techniques not only save $125,000, but they are also environmentally sound. Altogether city agencies have been able to cut their administrative supplies and materials budgets by $5 million. Combined with a better than projected sales tax revenue, these new administrative efficiencies have enabled Denver to make steady improvements to its own financial outlook while improving the quality of its residents' lives.