Denver's budget will pass Monday regardless of City Council support
It has taken months to get Denver's general fund budget for 2026, and a lot of collaboration with the Mayor's Office and City Council.
These decisions were being made on the heels of city-wide layoffs and department cuts to help plug a $200 million shortfall.
"We go into this with a very serious intent to make sure we do no harm," said Councilman Darrell Watson, who represents District 9. "And so, coming from a budget where there is 0% growth projected for the city, there are already layoffs of city employees, we took this seriously."
In a letter to City Council, Mayor Mike Johnston said the budget process has been "one of the most challenging" the city has faced.
After speaking with constituents, city council provided 10 amendments to the mayor's proposed budget, all of which he approved. That's in addition to nearly all of their 29 recommendations. According to Watson, councilmembers added around $9 million in additional spending.
"These are the things that we believe in, that our communities are saying that we want," he said.
One of the biggest changes was adding nearly $3 million towards the Clerk and Recorder's Office to ensure proper election funding; something Watson believes shouldn't have fallen on their shoulders.
"It would have been my preference that the administration and the Clerk's Office- that they coordinated the budget needs of the Clerk's Office outside of city council having to debate," Watson said.
There were also many proposed amendments that the council didn't pass, such as efforts to pull funds from the Denver Police Department to build a homeless shelter.
"One of the number one asks that I'm receiving from my constituents is for more support from Denver Police," Watson said. "There are amendments- I would have reduced spending on a recruiting class, would have reduced spending on public safety, and I voted against those."
Johnston approved the amendments that reached his office, but not without some hesitation, saying in part, "I am concerned that some of the passed amendments dip further into the city's reserve and contingency funds before we even start 2026."
Johnston added that the city will have to find funding sources to sustain those amendments in 2027.
The city's budget will be up for a final vote by City Council on Monday. However, the budget will pass even if it doesn't receive majority support, as the deadline to have a budget in place is Nov. 12.
