Longmont to open golf courses; city hiring freeze stays
About this series: BizWest is investigating the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic stress on municipal, county and state governments, including furloughs, layoffs and budgetary deficits. Articles will be published daily on various jurisdictions.
LONGMONT — Mayor Brian Bagley pledged “total and full transparency” this week about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city of Longmont’s prospects for revenue and city services, and the news that transparency brought was less than bright.
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But at least the municipal golf courses will open today.
The city announced on Wednesday that Boulder County’s health department had given the green light to open the links provided that a strict set of rules were followed. Social distancing would have to be observed, tee times — at 15-minute intervals — would have to be set up by phone with no clubhouse walk-ins, driving ranges would remain closed, no golf carts would be rented and private carts would be prohibited as well.
Jim Golden, the city’s chief financial officer, had told Longmont officials last week that the city could take a $300,000 hit if the courses were closed for two months, but added that the balance in the municipal budget’s golf fund exceeds $1.2 million.
Much of the city remains shut down, however.
In a memo to the Longmont City Council before its meeting last week, Golden projected a $15.3 million shortfall from its $353.9 million 2020 budget.
Although Golden said no layoffs or furloughs seem necessary so far, the city has instituted a “selective hiring freeze,” said Joanne Zeas, the city’s manager of human resources. “We’re not hiring without permission of the city manager,” she said. “We are hiring temporary employees with a contingent start date. For instance, we might hire staff for a summer day camp but not bring them on board until the program starts — and we don’t yet know when that is.”
Forecasting shortfalls in city sales and use tax revenue is a moving target because when reopening can occur is still unknown, Longmont officials say. Certain line items have been identified, however.
Few city services have been curtailed or limited yet, city officials say, but one that has is street sweeping. Each cycle of sweeping typically costs around $80,000, three-fourths of which goes to private contractors.
Golden told the council that out-of-town training expenses have been cut, and city staff has been asked to identify possible budget cuts with a focus on delaying or canceling capital projects and one-time expenses. Using money left over from the 2019 budget also is an option, he said.
