The Denver City Council on Tuesday gave Mayor Mike Johnston’s proposed $1.76 billion spending plan for next year the final nod.

The council approved the budget unanimously.

The approval is more a formality, as the city’s charter says if a vote is not taken by a certain date, the budget, as amended, is approved. The 800-page  plus document did not change much despite several councilmembers’ attempts to amend it last week.

The $1.76 billion budget represents a 0.6% increase in spending over last year, with officials noting a tighter revenue scenario next year. The smaller revenue growth led a number of proposed amendments to fail, as councilmembers balked at the prospect of dipping into the city’s fund balance.

On Tuesday, Council President Pro-Tem Diana Romero Campbell highlighted what she described as Johnston’s collaborative approach in his second year as mayor.

“We continue to focus on the Denver City Council’s key priorities, addressing the diverse and evolving needs of our community,” Romero Campbell said in a news release. “From additional funding for youth programs to safe routes to school to strengthening public health inspections of residential properties, we were able to align the Council’s priorities with the needs of Denver residents to pass the 2025 budget.”

In total, the council requested roughly $29 million in additional spending for next year. Johnston approved $7.3 million of those requests, including more than $1 million to support businesses affected by construction projects. This will be critical for businesses along the Colfax Avenue corridor, as the city begins construction of the Colfax Bus Rapid Transit line.

The City Council approved the 2025 budget shortly after the failure of measure 2R, which would have raised the city’s sales tax by 0.5 points in order to pay for affordable housing citywide. Spearheaded by Johnston, the sales tax increase could have raised $100 million annually for its 40 year lifespan.

Voters narrowly defeated the measure, with 50.74% of Denver voters opposing the sales tax hike.

On Monday, Johnston conceded defeat.

“We knew this would be a difficult struggle, but thanks to their courage, 2R fell short by the narrowest of margins, and Denverites continue to speak loudly about the need to confront rising housing costs across Denver,” Johnston said Monday.

During his campaign for mayor last year, Johnston offered what he described as an ambitious plan to create more than “25,000 permanently affordable units within 8 years.” He envisioned those units going to teachers, nurses, firefighters, and police officers. At the time, Johnston said it would cost $72 million a year to construct 25,000 homes.

His funding proposal this year — which would have raised the city’s sales tax rate by 0.5 points— would have cost roughly $30 million more than his campaign pitch.

Johnston’s administration also sees affordable housing as key to curbing the city’s homelessness crisis.

The failure means the city will have to rely on existing dollars to build affordable housing units.

Councilmembers said they remain optimistic about what the city will be able to build with the existing dollars.

“We’ll continue to pursue every avenue available to bring on more and more housing and reduce costs,” Council President Amanda Sandoval said. “The good news is that we’re on the path to create 3,000 units of affordable housing this year, and will work to build upon that for the next decade to meet the 45,000 unit gap we could be facing if we do nothing.”

Sandoval was one of the proposal’s five sponsors.

Meanwhile, Councilmember Darrell Watson, chair of the city’s land use committee, said Denver does not have enough money with existing revenue streams to “bridge the gap” of some 44,000 housing units needed in the city.

“Neither the current homelessness resolution fund and/or the current affordable housing fund will provide the funding needed to meet this housing crisis,” he said. 

Watson said he will “continue to collaborate with fellow council members and the administration to identify new solutions to our housing crisis.”

The councilmember said he respects the decision of Denver voters.

“(Voters) have spoken,” he said.

Reporter Deborah Grigsby Smith contributed to this article.