DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Monday submitted his final proposed 2026 budget to the city council after addressing a number of recommendations from the council on changes to the budget, including to the office that handles elections.
Johnston in September announced the $1.66 billion initial plan for 2026 amid a year of rising costs, less revenue and national economic worries that included millions of cuts to city departments and programs. The Denver city Council on Oct. 10 sent Johnston a list of 16 recommendations to adjust the budget, ranging from funding the city’s homeless workforce program to filling vacant positions in Denver’s public safety department.
Also among the recommendations was to provide additional funding to the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office, Clerk and Recorder Paul Lopez had said was underfunded by millions and the shortage risked closing some polling locations ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Johnston in a letter sent to the city council on Monday noted that while “little evidence has been presented” to support the argument the cost of elections had risen by the $4.5 million Lopez suggested, he did allocate nearly $1 million more to the office in the revised budget.
“The safety and security of our elections is a top priority, which is why the city has invested millions of dollars over the last several years in facility improvements and why the 2026 proposed budget allocates more funding than the last midterm election in 2022. Respectfully, while the clerk has suggested polling sites and ballot boxes would need to be reduced under this current proposal, little evidence has been presented that supports the argument that the cost of running an election has risen by more than $4 million over the last four years, or that services will need to be meaningfully reduced under the proposed budget.”
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston
According to Johnston’s letter, an additional $800,000 will go to the clerk and recorder’s office “for the anticipated increase in postage rate, paper and printing costs.” The city council had asked for $2.5 million to additionally fund the office’s budget.
Among other changes Johnston made based on the city council’s recommendations were:
- $125,000 to the Immigrant Legal Services Fund: The city council had said there were more than 100,000 pending immigration cases in Colorado and the additional “support is essential to maintaining legal infrastructure and access to representation.”
- Increase Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance funding: Johnston added $2.9 million to the 2026 budget for the program.
- Parking appeal program: The parking magistrates program was cut for the 2026 budget, and the city council had asked to restore funding for the program, which the independent County Court had operated. Johnston in the letter said the city’s transportation department would launch an administrative parking ticket appeal program without going to court.
There were also some recommendations Johnston said could not be addressed “without additional cuts to existing services or personnel,” which included:
- Restoring the Denver Day Works Program’s funding.
- Restoring Right of Way Enforcement funding.
- Restoring Crisis Response Team positions.
- Restoring STAR Program funding.
- Continuing WorkReady Program funding.
According to Johnston’s letter, his office addressed 11 of the city council’s 16 proposed additions, which totaled $11.3 million of $18.7 million requested funds.
The city hill now hold a public hearing on the final budget, which is set for Monday, Oct. 27. The full proposed budget, including the city council’s proposed additions and Johnston’s response and changes, can be viewed on the city’s website.
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.
