DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver City Council on Monday night voted on a slew of amendments to the 2026 city budget as the deadline for approval nears.
The council at Monday’s meeting considered 26 amendments proposed by council members to Mayor Mike Johnston’s final 2026 budget proposal, after hearing from the public on what Johnston opted to fund and to not fund.
Among some of the 10 amendments passed were restoring funding to the office that runs elections in the city, a homeless work program and mental health emergency response. The council did not approve measures such as providing additional funding for bicycle lanes on Broadway or using additional police department funds to combat homelessness or for the Safe Routes to School program.
Here’s what the council added and did not add, and what’s next for Denver’s 2026 budget.
Passed: Additional funding to Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office
Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López has been vocal about Johnston’s proposed cuts to his office, which runs elections in Denver.
López has said the millions in cuts to his office would threaten to close voting locations ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which Johnston refuted even as he added $800,000 back to his proposal after the council requested he restored millions funding.
The City Council voted unanimously to add $2.7 million from the unassigned fund balance to the Election Division of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
López in a statement thanked the council for the additional funding, saying it strengthens Denver election system “at a time when the country needs it the most.”
“We’re deeply grateful to City Council for recognizing that the people’s access to the ballot box is not negotiable,” López said. “We must always seek to strengthen, not weaken the most powerful means by which we the people hold those in power accountable. Thank you to every Councilmember, organizer, public advocate, and staff member who stood up to protect independent elections in Denver.”
Here is what else the council passed on Monday:
- Transfer Contingency funds to the Auditor’s Office.
- Use Capital Improvement Program contingency to fund capital improvement for Safe Routes to School.
- Use funding from the Denver Police Department Services and Supplies to add a crisis response team at the Denver jail to help those experiencing mental or behavioral health crises.
- Reinstate funding cut from Out of School Time programming with one-time funds from the Broncos Youth Special Revenue funding.
- Transfer $80,280 from City Council personnel and services and supplies to the Support Team Assistance Response (STAR) program.
- Increase estimated expenditures from the Broncos Fund for the first year of funding for a Community-Led Grants program for child safety, to be administered by the Office of Neighborhood Safety.
- Transfer $500,000 from the Department of Safety and Police Department services and supplies budgets to the Support Team Assistance Response (STAR) program.
- Move funds from the DEDO Business Incentives Special Revenue Fund to the Employer Recruitment, Training and Retention Program.
- Move contingency funding into the HOST General Fund to fund Denver Day Works.
Failed: Using police funds for homelessness
Two amendments would have removed some funding from the Denver Police Department’s budget and added it to the Department of Housing Stability to “reduce unsheltered family homelessness” and add funding to the Safe Routes to School program, but both failed.
Here’s what else did not pass:
- Transfer four FTEs from the Street Engagement Team to the HOST Outreach Team.
- Use funding from the Denver Police Department for the Denver Sheriff Department to right size sheriff staffing relative to the staffing levels of the other Department of Safety agencies.
- Transfer $500,000 from Contingency CIP funds to the DOTI Capital Project funds for design and pre-construction of the Broadway bike lane.
- Use an equal amount of funding from all agencies’ Service and Supplies budgets to fund the Denver Table Consortium in Human Rights and Community Partnerships to set up providers to provide low-cost food to people in the inverted L neighborhoods.
- Fund a cohort of the Denver Basic Income Project using funding from the Denver Police Department recruits.
- Move funding into the Medicated Assisted Treatment in the Sheriff’s Department. This program ensures that persons in the jail are getting appropriate medical assistance, particularly for substance-related issues.
There were also eight amendments withdrawn before the council voted on them, including one that would have funded mental health 911 response with $390,000 the Police Department had budgeted for a 2026 Flock Safety contract.
Johnston last month approved a no-cost contract extension through March 2026 for the controversial license plate reader company, even though the council had been opposed to extending the company’s contract earlier this year.
What’s next for the budget proposal
Now that the council has submitted its approved amendments, Johnston will have until 12 p.m. on Friday to accept or veto them.
The council will then next week consider overrides to any vetoes from Johnston, which would take a nine-member majority, before adopting the final 2026 budget.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
