DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced Friday that he will accept all amendments made by the Denver City Council to the 2026 budget.
The council members voted Monday night on 27 amendments, approving 10 of them. Among the amendments passed were those that restored funding to the city’s elections office, a homeless work program and mental health emergency response.
Johnston said Friday that he will not exercise veto authority, and so the amended budget will become the city’s official 2026 budget.
“The 2026 budget process has been one of the most challenging our city has faced,” Johnston wrote to the Denver City Council. “Our goals this year were tough, but necessary: deliver government that functions better and costs less by rightsizing our budget, modernizing and digitizing services to make them easier for customers and employees, and reducing regulatory burdens that were impeding smooth city operations.”
Earlier this year, Denver was facing an over $200 million budget gap, forcing the city to enact two city-wide furlough days and lay off 169 city workers. Johnston told city council in his letter Friday that the city budget limited layoffs to 1% of employees and did not lead to “major changes in services.”
Johnston also applauded the council’s involvement in the budget process.
“Of the 29 budget priorities that Council shared in June, 25 of them are reflected in this final document,” Johnston wrote. “11 more proposals from Council were incorporated in October and now all ten of the Council’s requested amendments that were approved are accepted. At a time when reduced tax revenues are forcing difficult choices across the city, we have crafted a budget that meets the moment and keeps Denver moving forward.”
The city is expected to see $1.66 billion in revenue in 2026, and the city’s operating budget will cost about $1.66 billion.
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