DENVER — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston unveiled his proposed 2026 budget on Monday.
Denver7 has closely tracked efforts to fix a $200 million budget shortfall. The city laid off 169 city workers, eliminated more than 600 open positions, and started requiring furlough days to help balance the budget.
On Monday, Johnston explained that his office was able to close that gap by creating $118 million in personnel savings, $77 million in savings from services, supplies, and internal transfers, and adding $5.7 million in new revenue.
The new revenue concepts include renting out space in city greenhouses to residents, introducing fire inspection services, and increasing photo radar enforcement on the roads through the police department.
"People ask, 'Is the budget crisis in part a function of increased spending on migrants and homelessness? Here is the one data point you need to answer that question," Johnston said, referencing the below graph:
"We will, next year, in this budget, spend $8 million less on migrants and homelessness combined than we spent the year before I became mayor in 2023," said Johnston.
Part of that reduction comes from cuts the Denver Department of Housing Stability has had to make, including closing hotels that have been operated as city shelters.
- Denver7's Danielle Kreutter attended the press conference on Monday and asked Mayor Johnston about closing hotel shelters to help balance the budget. Hear the mayor's full response in the video below.
"Our plan is to transition all those folks out of those shelters into permanent housing. None of those folks will return to the street. They'll all go into permanent housing. We did that this year when we closed the Radisson, and we successfully transitioned all those folks into permanent housing. So our focus will be to help them exit in the first quarter of 2026," said Johnston.
Services that will not face any additional cuts in 2026 include:
- Parks and Recreation
- Public faces services like permitting and licensing counters
- Trash, recycling and composting
- Uniformed Police Officers
- Cold weather shelters
- City employee health and retirement benefits
The mayor explained that the proposed budget plans for exactly 0% growth for next year, so no additional layoffs or furloughs would be necessary, except in cases where specific departments that have already been trimmed are asked to cut even further.
City council will have to approve the final budget. Their budget hearings are scheduled to begin on September 22.
The Clerk and Recorder's Office has publicly criticized the mayor's plan, which would impose cuts on the department during an election year.
Clerk Paul López released a statement shortly after the Mayor's presentation, saying, "This proposal will decimate election operations in Denver by forcing the closure of polling centers and ballot drop boxes in every part of the city, jeopardizing voter turnout in what is expected to be a high-profile midterm election cycle."
The mayor was also asked about those specific cuts.
"Other departments, independents, and electeds worked collaboratively with us to try to reach a solution. [The Clerk and Recorders Office] did not and insisted on demanding increases, which we couldn't meet in this budget. And so in this budget, you'll see a 5% reduction across the board so that they can determine how they want to absorb it," said Johnston.
López is holding a news conference on Tuesday to explain his concerns about the proposed cuts. Denver7 will be there and will report any updates.
The mayor also addressed the recent raises offered to Denver Police officers, which came amid layoffs for other city staff.
"The places where we had collective bargaining contracts for safety, each of those safety agencies absorbs those increases within their budget. There are no other city agencies bearing the costs of those decisions," said Johnston.
You can explore the full 651-page proposed budget here or below.
