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City Council Mayor Charles L. Sisk 303.665.6889 charless @louisvilleco.gov • Ward I Dave Clabots 303.673.9116 davec@louisvilleco.gov Bob Muckle 303.981.0697 bobm@louisvilleco.gov • Ward II Sheri Marsella, Mayor Pro tem 303.665.3276 sherim @louisvilleco.gov Frost Yarnell 303.673.0896 frosty @louisvilleco.gov • Ward III City f Um Louisville Hank Dalton 303.926.9930 hankd @louisvilleco.gov Ron Sackett 720.890.8970 rons@louisvilleco.gov City Manager Malcolm Fleming 303.335.4532 malcolmf@louisvilleco.gov City Council Meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 PM at City Hall, 749 Main Street. To find out in which Ward you live, please call 303.335.4536. Spring 2010 Community Update A Message from the Mayor: Conundrum W e are faced with perplexing and difficult decisions in 2010 with our economy facing global and national chal- L lenges daily. As an aficionado of history, I have read about the 1929 Depression and the length of time it took for us to recover. We don't need to read history books to discover the ramifications of that depression. We only need to consult with the many people in town that lived through those troubling years. Am I suggesting that we have experienced or are experiencing a depression? The answer is emphatically "NO," but clearly this recession has taken a toll on many of our fine citizens. Look no further than January 22, 2010, when Sam's Club closed their Louisville store. We had some 126 good folks who were in- formed twelve days previously that the jobs upon which they relied were being eliminated at this store. Was it because of their productivity? The answer of course is unequivocally "NO," but the decision was made ostensibly because the Louis- ville store, as well as nine other Sam's Club stores nationally, were not performing according to the corporate standards. I know the decision to close the Sam's Club has wide - ranging ramifications. Primarily it is on the Louisville Sam's Club employees, but it will also impact the Continued on page 2 Long Term Budget Concerns: Why Is the City Council Considering Asking for Voter Approval of a Use Tax T he City's existing revenue sources — taxes, fees and charges for services — no longer provide enough funding to support the level of service that City residents have come to expect. The current economic recession has made this trend much worse. To balance the budget in 2009/2010 the City cut staff, trimmed employee hours, and reduced employee benefits. In addition, we de- ferred some maintenance on the City's streets, scaled back or discontinued several City programs, and completely eliminated funding for the Boulder County Youth Corps program, the Shop Louisville marketing program, and grants to non -profit agencies. Because cuts alone were not enough, we also increased existing fees and imposed some new fees. For a complete list of the more than 50 separate actions we took to balance the City's 2010 budget you may visit the City's web site at www.LouisvilleCO.gov and click the link in the right hand column titled "2009- 2010 Budget Reductions and Service Cuts." Unfortunately, the closing of Sam's Club in January forces the City to make additional, even more painful, budget cuts. Items that are currently being dis- cussed as possible budget reductions include eliminating additional staffposi- tions, scaling back the days we serve lunches for seniors, reducing special transit City of Louisville - www.LouisvilleCo.gov Continued on page 2