Next week, members of the Denver City Council will meet to pore over Mayor Mike Johnston’s $1.66 billion proposed 2026 spending plan, hearing from city department heads as they present their proposals for how they plan to “do more with less.”

While significant cuts have been made across city departments, aiming to fill a $200 million gap, Johnston insists Denver residents will not see a cut in core services from the “most conservative” budget submitted in 15 years.

Officials blame the city’s budget woes on “flat revenue” resulting from federal tariffs and economic uncertainty, which has slowed consumer spending.

Focused not only on solving the city’s immediate looming budget deficit, city officials have said the goal has been to look for more long-term ways to increase the efficiency of services to residents while reducing the growth and cost of government – and to do so without raising taxes.

The Denver Gazette took a deep dive into the proposed city budget, comparing each department’s 2025 general fund allocations with what the mayor has proposed for 2026, as well as where each department has identified primary sources of cost savings.

To view the city’s 2026 proposed spending plan in full, visit denvergov.org/budget.

General Administration, $72.8 million to $53 million (decrease of 27.2%)

• Eliminating 11 positions (three filled and eight vacant), resulting in total savings of $1,986,500. Three of the positions are in the Mayor’s Office, and the remaining are in the following agencies: Denver Economic Development and Opportunity, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, Technology Services, the Office of Children’s Affairs, Human Rights and Community Partnerships, the Department of Finance, Safety Administration, and Denver Parks and Recreation
• Reduction of $52,900 in services and supplies

Community Planning and Development, $42.2 million to $36.8 million (decrease of 12.7%)

• CDP’s budget reduces staffing and resources in several areas, including the Neighborhood Planning Initiative (NPI), zoning code/regulatory changes, implementation of updated Neglected and Derelict Buildings regulations, Historic Context Studies, and legislative and communications services. These reductions are likely to cause a delay in some inspections and code enforcement functions, and in some application reviews, including commercial zoning and zone lot amendments. 
• Reduction of 59 positions, including 19 filled and 40 vacant positions
• $228,006 redcution in services and supplies and administrative costs 

Economic Development, $11.3 million to $4.9 million (decrease of 56.3%)

• Reduction of 22 positions, including 7 filled and 15 vacant positions
• Shifting five positions to grants (3.59 FTE)
• Reduction of $1.1 million in contracts and other services and supplies related to Denver Small Business Opportunity, Executive Office operations, Business Development services, and NEST grants to nonprofits, as well as a reduction of $2.9 million in General Fund transfers to DEDO’s Special Revenue Funds

Finance, $81.8 million to $65.7 (decrease of 19.6%)

• Implementing a new payment software in 2025 for credit cards that reduces the city’s processing costs by $8 million
• Reduction in insurance premiums
• Reduced printing and postage expenses by making property tax statements available online, which allows the city to change property tax mailers from a multi-page letter to a postcard
• Reduction of 54.9 positions, including 6 filled and 48.9 vacant positions

General Services, $72.9 million to $69.8 million (decrease of 4.18%)

• Reduction of 24 positions, including 4 filled and 20 vacant positions
• Reduction of $3.9 million in contracts and other services and supplies related to utilities, janitorial, and security

Public Health and Environment, $43.5 million to $37.5 million (decrease of 13.9%)

• Reduction of 28.67 positions, including 12 filled and 16.67 vacant positions in the General Fund. Additionally, 5.2 positions were eliminated from grants and Special Revenue Funds, including 3.9 filled and 1.3 vacant positions
• Reduction of 18.04 FTE to reallocate positions from the General Fund to other funding sources
• Reduction of $2.19 million in contracts and other services and supplies

Housing Stability, $71.7 million to $71.6 million (decrease of 0.13%)

• Reduction of 14 positions, including 2 filled and 12 vacant positions
• Three position shifts from the general fund to other funding sources
• Reduction of $33.5 million in contracts and other services and supplies across all funds related to shelter, temporary rental and utility assistance (TRUA), exits from shelter sites to housing, rapid rehousing, tenancy support services tied to cuts in state and federal housing vouchers, workforce programs, and outreach.
• This includes $17.6 million in General Fund reductions, including $12.4 million for shelters, largely from closing Comfort Inn and the Monroe micro-community, as well as the redevelopment of the Park Avenue Inn to permanent supportive housing; $1.5 million for Housing Central Command, which is responsible for managing exits from All in Mile High sites to permanent housing; $1.3 million for rapid rehousing; $1.1 million for tenancy support services; and $746,900 for Denver Day Works

Human Services $245 million to $209 million, (decrease of 14.6%)

• Reduction of 75 positions, including 31 currently filled and 44 vacant positions
• Reduction of $13.2 million in services and supplies across the agency, including reduced support services for the Colorado Works program, frozen CCAP enrollment, and practice changes to reduce out of home placements and shorten involvement times for Child Welfare and Adult Protection clients

Independent Agencies, $157.7 million to $153.4 million (decrease of 2.7%)
Office of the City Auditor: 

• Reduction of $817,900 across all budget account codes. A reduction of $169,400 in personnel to offset the budget impact of applying a lower vacancy savings rate in 2026

Civil Service Commission:

• Reduction of 2 positions, including 2 filled positions

Office of the District Attorney:

• Will keep 12 positions vacant 
• $1.17 million in savings requiring all DA staff to take furlough days in 2026
• Reduction of $624,000 to shift personnel expenses to other funding sources
• Reduction of $450,000 in services and supplies by reducing office supplies, contracts, travel and training costs 
• A voluntary contribution from the elected District Attorney back to the city with a value equal to 10 furlough days

Denver County Court:

• Reduction of 30 positions, including 14 filled and 16 vacant positions through a combination of reorganization initiatives, strategic hiring freezes, position abolishment, and a reduction of on-call magistrate and judge services

Clerk and Recorder: 

• Reduction in 1 vacant appointee position
• Reduction of $734,000 across all DCR divisions and account codes

Office of Human Resources:

• Reduction of 33 positions, including 20 filled and 13 vacant positions
• Reduction of $951,600 in service and supplies, primarily for contracts related to brand and employment marketing, social media and digital marketing, recruiting, wellness, and employee appreciation events

Office of Independent Monitor:

• Reduction of $150,000 in budget will predominantly be taken from the OIM’s community outreach projects
• The OIM will attempt to provide some outreach services through other funding sources 

Office of the Public Defender:

• Reduction of one position, including .33 FTE of a vacant position 
• Reduction of $190,000 related to positions that will be downgraded 
• Reduction of $200,000 in a technology capital project budgeted in a Special Revenue Fund

Parks and Rec and Cultural Facilities, $97.3 million to $85.9 million (decrease of 11.6%)

• Reduction of 60 positions, including eight filled and 52 vacant positions 
• Reduction of $2.6 million in on-call budget, shifting 17.25 FTE to other funding sources
• Reduction of $4.3 million in General Fund services and supplies, which includes temporarily shifting watering costs to the Parks Legacy Special Revenue Fund, reducing budget for the Be a Smart Ash program, and reducing cleaning contracts

Public Safety, $643.6 million to $647.6 million (increase of 0.62%)

• Reduction of 30 vacant Career Service Authority (CSA) positions
• Reduction of $223,000 in Cadet Program on-call personnel funding
• Reduction of $189,000 in contracts tied to the Cadet Program’s educational expenses

Denver Police Department

• Reduction of 10 vacant Career Service Authority positions 
• Reduction of $3.8 million from transferring 28 filled uniform positions to Denver International Airport and transferring the same number of vacant uniform positions back to the General Fund, for which the budget was then eliminated 
• An increase in $1.6 million in revenue from reassigning positions to work in the traffic division. This revenue is collected by Denver County Court.

Fire Department: 

• Reduction of 19 General Fund positions to include nine vacant uniform positions, eight vacant CSA positions, and re-allocation of two positions to Wildland Special Response Force
• Elimination of fire recruit academies

Sheriff: 

• Reduction of 58 vacant CSA positions and three on-call FTE. 
• Reduction of $1,923,824 in uniform vacancy savings. 

Technology, $108.5 million to $96.4 million (decrease of 11%)

• Reduction of 49 positions, including six filled and 43 vacant positions. 
• Reduction in transfers to capital, totaling $7,060,100. 
• Reduction of $1,759,000, in applications management contracts and professional services 

Transportation and Infrastructure, $135.4 million to $115 million (decrease of 15.1%)

• Reduction of 133.42 positions, including 31 filled and 102.42 vacant positions 
• Moving four positions to the Transportation and Mobility Special Revenue Fund 
• Moving $8,750,000 in the contract budget to the Transportation and Mobility SRF for SRF-eligible expenditures including parking enforcement, parking management, and traffic asset software

Source: City and County of Denver

Budget hearings are set for Sept. 22-26. The complete schedule with presentation slides can be found by visiting denver.legistar.com.

Budget hearings are open to the public. To watch the hearing live online, visit denvergov.org/denver8.