17 City Of Littleton Employees Accept Early Retirement Offer

LITTLETON, CO — Seventeen city employees have chosen to accept an early retirement offer, Littleton City Manager Mark Relph announced Tuesday. The retirements will result in an estimated annual cost savings of $825,000 beginning in 2021, the city said. The program was developed in response to the budget shortfall created by COVID-19’s impact on sales and use tax revenues.

The city has reviewed options to reduce costs and has already cut $2.1 million through the following actions:

• Freezing of seasonal and vacant positions;
• Eliminating the employee market increases and 457 contributions;
• Changing temporary staffing levels;
• Eliminating employee tuition reimbursement and reducing employee learning and education;
• Putting several professional and consulting projects on hold; and
• Reducing parts, supplies, printing, and maintenance.

The City Manager’s Office and Human Resources partnered with department directors to develop transition plans and if needed, new operation plans, as the vacancies, with rare exceptions, will not be filled for a minimum of 2-5 years, city officials said.

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While retail and general use sales tax collected in May reflects a decrease of approximately 29 percent and 24 percent respectively, the combined reduction is 29 percent or approximately $740,000 as compared to May 2019, the city said.

Around 78 percent of general fund revenues are generated from sales and use tax, which will be greatly reduced. Revenue from licenses and permits, charges for services, and fines and investment earnings, will also likely be affected. Potential general fund revenue losses in 2020 could range between 10 and 24 percent, or from $4.6-$9.6 million, officials said.