Denver mayor warns city is ‘very close’ to a ‘breaking point’ with migrant surge
Fox News’ Lawrence Jones speaks with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on the Colorado city’s migrant crisis in a ‘Fox & Friends’ exclusive interview.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Wednesday announced that the city is scaling back migrant services and will consolidate shelters with the goal of saving the city millions of dollars.
During a press conference, Johnston said that over the next month, one shelter will close each week, with the closures expected to reduce the current budget deficit by nearly $60 million and reallocate those funds back into city services.
However, Johnston warned that the closure plan could change if the city sees massive surges of arrivals and again has to increase its shelter space and migrant services.
He added that with shelters closing, no one will be kicked out. People will simply be moved to another shelter, FOX 31 reported.
DENVER CUTTING SOME CITY EMPLOYEES’ HOURS DOWN TO ZERO IN ORDER TO SUPPORT MIGRANTS
A migrant lies on the sleeping pad at a makeshift shelter in Denver. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
"We’re putting in place now the infrastructure to be able to manage what we would need if that [another surge] happens. Our plan is to try to close the shelters and keep them closed and move away from a system that has remained largely significant numbers of open hotels for ongoing housing," Johnston said.
This latest announcement comes as Johnston has already started making budget cuts to city departments to offset the costs of migrant services. On February 9, the mayor announced reduced hours at recreation centers and rolling closures of Denver Motor Vehicle offices as part of $5 million in reductions.
"The City of Denver is trying to avoid the word ‘layoffs’ when it comes to impending budget cuts. So instead, they’re telling some hourly on-call employees they may have their hours reduced to zero," local NBC affiliate 9News reported.
The city government is looking to cut $4.3 million in funding from its Parks and Recreations department and use that money towards handling the migrant crisis that has been stressing the city's resources.
MAYORS WANT WORK PERMITS EXTENDED TO KEEP MIGRANTS EMPLOYED, RECEIVE NEW ASYLUM SEEKERS
Venezuelan migrants wait in a line to get paperwork to be admitted to shelters at a migrant processing center in Denver. (Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
"The reduction in hours of operation and programs will affect the number of hours worked by many on-call, some to the point where they may not receive any hours," he told 9News. "The final decisions on hours for any individual position have not been made yet."
According to the department, the city employees whose hours are on the chopping block are "on-call employees," who include lifeguards, coaches and front desk workers.
"The number of hours an on-call works can vary from individual to individual and by the season," the statement continued. "Some on-calls can support multiple functions, some may only teach one class all year long."
800 MIGRANT FAMILIES BEING BOOTED FROM DENVER SHELTERS AS CITY NEARS BREAKING POINT
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston recently announced major city government budget cuts so that it may better deal with its migrant crisis. (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Earlier this year, Johnston predicted that the migrant crisis would cost the city around $180 million. He previously told Fox News Digital the situation was not sustainable and called on lawmakers in Washington to find a solution together.
The city has supported 38,861 migrants from the southern border at a cost of nearly $58 million so far, Fox 31 reported.
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The city also acknowledged that funding has come from the federal and state governments, but still, that’s not enough.
Johnston's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital's Gabriel Hays and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
