DENVER — Amid a $250 million budget deficit, most City and County of Denver offices, departments and agencies were closed Friday for the first of two mandated furlough days.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced the mandated furlough days during a news conference back in late May , where he also announced the city was considering layoffs to make up for the deficit.

The first furlough day was scheduled for Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, while the second is scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving, on Nov. 28, 2025.

For those like Benjamin Hastings, a Colorado Springs resident in Denver for the day, a locked door at the Denver Public Library was not what he expected.

"Well, it's closed, so I couldn't go in," Hastings said. "I was just trying to check the bus schedule to get back home. I took th

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