City Talks Important Issues: FREX and Layoffs

Six people have lost their jobs as a result of a consolidation effort by Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach and his team. This is the first time city officials have commented on the layoffs, which were announced Monday, saying that the loss of jobs is sad, but that the decision is part of a larger scale plan to save taxpayer money.

“You have to make tough business calls as you move forward, and you are attempting to offer the best service possible to the taxpayers,” said Laura Neumann, the Mayor’s chief of staff.

The layoffs come from the planning and traffic engineering departments. Employees working in the cut positions will continue to work until October. They are currently negotiating their packages with the City.

Neumann said that 70% of city funds go to payroll and that it was the most obvious place to look for redundancy and begin making cuts.

City officials said Colorado Springs will save some $750,000 with these layoffs, and that the money will be placed in the general fund. Despite not allocating the additional funds to a particular project, Neumann said Colorado Springs must urgently work on the storm water systems and city streets.

Also discussed was a possible extension to the FREX bus service that transports people between Colorado Springs and Denver. This after private citizens proposed a plan that would make the service a private business.

Mayor Bach will consider a 6-week extension of FREX to allow the shift from public to private to happen, but the out look is not good. Neumann said that the Mayor’s staff has already gone over the plan and that it had “no strong merit,” despite being a well meaning plan.

As of now, FREX will be discontinued by the end of August.