Denver City Council Regular Session and 2027 Budget Amendments – November 2, 2026

The Denver City Council met on Monday, November 2, 2026, for its regular session, with the primary focus on the Mayor's Proposed 2027 Budget. The council considered 16 budget amendments, approving five, rejecting seven, and withdrawing or not reaching the remaining items. It also approved minutes, adopted a block of resolutions and final-passage bills, set a public hearing for November 9, 2026, and heard council announcements. Vote totals below are the presiding officer's announced totals; a few roll call recitations in the transcript do not exactly match those totals.

Public Comments & Testimony

• The council took a half-hour general public comment recess starting at about 5:00 p.m. and reconvened around 5:30 p.m. The provided transcript does not include the content of those public comments.

Mayor's Proposed 2027 Budget Amendments

• 26-1657 – Gonzales-Gutierrez Amendment #3 (Office of Municipal Public Defender) – Passed (announced 9 ayes). Provided funds for overdue pay-equity audits and required vendor services, including immigration consultations and outside investigators, for the Office of Municipal Public Defender. Gonzales-Gutierrez said public defenders were paid less than city attorneys; Hinds thanked the office for its policy help.
• 26-1658 – Kashmann Amendment #1 (Denver Culture of Safety Education) – Failed (4-8). Would have moved $400,000 from DPD police administration services/supplies to DOTI to restore the Denver Culture of Safety Education program, which lost a CDOT grant and ended September 30, 2026. Kashmann cited 578 car seats distributed in 2025-26, over 500 events, and 30,000 community contacts; Chief Thomas said the cut could jeopardize language access and other contracts; DOTI's Nick Williams could not guarantee a one-to-one replacement. Several councilmembers said the budget was too tight.
• 26-1659 – Lewis Amendment #4 (Denver Day Works) – Failed (4-8). Would have added $530,000 to DEDO's special revenue fund to continue Denver Day Works through an RFP, paid for by cuts to graffiti/Keep Denver Beautiful, Department of Finance services/supplies, and HOST services/supplies. Supporters cited 86 people housed through All In Mile High and about 100 jobs per year; HOST's Jeff Kazitski said the program had underspent and missed placement goals; DEDO's Tony Anderson said existing programs could serve the population.
• 26-1660 – Lewis Amendment #5 – Withdrawn by the sponsor; it was a companion/alternative to the Day Works funding amendment.
• 26-1661 – Lewis Amendment #2 (STAR expansion) – Failed (4-8). Would have transferred $500,000 from the Business Incentive Fund (BIF) to add a STAR team and expand hours. Lewis said STAR costs about four times less than police response and officers still handle roughly 65% of STAR-eligible calls. DDPHE Director Karen McGowan said one-time funds could not support a permanent expansion; Councilmembers Sawyer and Sandoval said the $500,000 was already committed to the BioFund for 2027 business-support grants.
• 26-1662 – Lewis Amendment #3 (Office of the Independent Monitor) – Passed (11-1). Added $60,000 from projected fund balance for a policy analyst position in the Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM). Independent Monitor Liz Perez Castle said the position would convert an outreach position to an analyst to meet rising workload, including police/sheriff discipline analysis and automated license plate reader audit logs. Finance officials noted the drawdown from fund balance while the city rebuilds to a 15% fund balance target.
• 26-1665 – Lewis Amendment #6 (Denver Basic Income Project follow-up) – Failed (6-6). Would have provided $240,000 for a one-year follow-up study and participant stipends for the Denver Basic Income Project, with reductions to DPD and DDPHE services/supplies. Founder Mark Donovan said 146 people remain in contact, the last survey had an 83% response rate, and two-thirds report being housed. Opponents cited the impact on essential DDPHE services and questioned revisiting a program after findings they said showed no statistically significant difference.
• 26-1668 – Gonzales-Gutierrez/Lewis/Alvidrez Amendment #2 (DPD crime lab) – Failed (5-7). Would have moved $492,680 within DPD from services/supplies to personnel for crime lab/crime scene staffing. Chief Thomas said the positions were already budgeted and accreditation depends on training capacity, not raw staffing. Alvidrez expressed frustration with vacancy data; Lewis said average case turnaround rose from 16 days in 2021 to 46 days by May 2026.
• 26-1669 – Gonzales-Gutierrez/Lewis Amendment #1 (Sheriff case managers) – Failed (5-7). Would have moved $258,975 from public safety personnel to Sheriff Department jail operations to fill case manager vacancies. Department of Safety Chief of Staff Angela Casias said the cut would prevent hiring a third SET (Street Engagement Team) team and reduce capacity. Watson praised SET work in District 9.
• 26-1671 – Lewis/Torres/Gonzales-Gutierrez Amendment #1 (Youth violence prevention data) – Passed (7-5). Added $200,000 to the Office of Children's Affairs from the Broncos Fund/Youth Activities SRF to build data architecture for youth violence prevention and community safety grant tracking. Mayor's Office of Social Equity and Innovation Director Ben Sanders initially opposed, saying the office was working on internal solutions; sponsors said the funding would protect the $3 million community safety grant from being diverted to data costs.
• 26-1663 – Watson Amendment #1 (NEST 56 youth supportive housing) – Passed (7-5). Moved $300,000 from HOST performance-contract SRF to HOST general fund, intended to support NEST 56, a 56-unit permanent supportive housing program for young adults. Watson cited 69 young people housed, 696 behavioral health sessions, and a $300,000 gap due to expiring congressional funds. HOST and city attorney staff noted the funds would still have to go through procurement and could not be guaranteed to NEST 56; Cole Chandler said a permanent supportive housing procurement was already planned. Watson defended the urgency.
• 26-1664 – Watson/Alvidrez Amendment #1 (Denver Metro Fair Housing Center) – Failed (5-7). Would have transferred $100,000 from the same HOST performance-contract SRF to HOST for the Denver Metro Fair Housing Center. Watson said the center exceeded its outreach goal, serving 309 households by September 30 against a 180-household goal, and faced closure after federal and city cuts. HOST said it cut lower-performing housing counseling programs and preserved higher performers.
• 26-1673 – Gonzales-Gutierrez/Lewis/Alvidrez Amendment #3 (TRUA compromise) – Passed (10-2). Cut $1,724,038 from services/supplies across multiple agencies and transferred those funds to the Affordable Housing SRF for TRUA rental/eviction assistance. Combined with a planned $2,275,962 transfer from the 2026 general fund contingency via an upcoming ordinance, the package would provide about $4 million for TRUA in 2027. The amendment was negotiated with the mayor's office as a smaller alternative to a larger $5.5 million TRUA proposal. Supporters cited eviction filing data and the Denver Public Schools housing study; opponents said the agency cuts would harm basic city services.
• 26-1667 – Gonzales-Gutierrez/Lewis/Alvidrez Amendment #1 – Withdrawn after 26-1673 passed; it was the larger TRUA amendment.
• 26-1670 – Romero Campbell/Alvidrez/Watson Amendment #1 (DPS TRUA pilot) – Withdrawn after discussion; sponsors decided not to pursue it after HOST outlined how the larger TRUA compromise could prioritize families with children. Agenda item 26-1666 was listed but not called before amendment consideration closed.

Resolutions, Final-Passage Bills, and Consent Actions

• Minutes: Minutes of Monday, October 26, 2026, were approved without correction.
• Block vote (adopted 11-0): The council adopted resolutions and passed on final consideration the following items in a single block: homeless services amendments with Volunteers of America Colorado Branch (26-1576 adding $1,471,349 and 26-1577 adding $627,200 for rapid rehousing for families, including families fleeing domestic violence); Securitas security services contract amendment (26-1497 adding $11,000,000 through 9-30-2027); state workforce grant (26-1531, $1,323,550); workers' compensation pharmacy/medical provider agreements (26-1532 Mitchell International; 26-1533 Injury Care Associates; 26-1534 Peak Form reduced by $500,000; 26-1535 Workwell Occupational Medicine, $2,500,000); appointment of Solicia Lopez to the Citizen Oversight Board (26-1507); Metro Caring food and food-based education contract (26-1510, $747,718.98); Behavioral Health Solutions Center amendment with Mental Health Center of Denver (26-1513, adding $3,670,867 for a new total of $27,079,152); liability settlement of $65,000 to Miguel Martinez (26-1655); Denver Region Toyota Dealers sponsorship amendment (26-1480, adding $861,000); Argus Event Staffing amendment (26-1514, adding $23,000,000); Arts & Contraptions artwork commission for Theatre at Loretto Heights (26-1515, $550,000); Reynolds Construction emergency wastewater repairs (26-1509, $3,000,000); DIA technology contracts (26-1516 Dailey and Wells L3Harris master purchase order $3,000,000; 26-1517 Passur Aerospace $600,000; 26-1518 Dailey and Wells encryption purchase $6,657,920.63; 26-1519 SITA self bag drop operations and maintenance $37,911,710.75); Chato's Concrete Peoria Street Vision Zero project (26-1522, $2,099,563.50); and final-passage bill 26-1485 amending municipal code on permanent and temporary occupancy of public rights-of-way.
• Called-out items: Council Resolution 26-1337 (Alterra Mountain lease at 101 W. Colfax Avenue) was postponed by Councilmember Alvidrez for one week to November 9, 2026. Council Resolution 26-1513 was called for questions; Councilmember Torres received confirmation from DDPHE that the Sun Valley Good Neighbor Agreement would be updated and honored during the contract extension.

Bills for Introduction and Public Hearings

• Bills were ordered published on: 26-1536 (Colfax Mayfair Business Improvement District inclusion petition), 26-1334 (DDDA Development Project Funding Agreement for 101 West Colfax Avenue), 26-1512 (Denver Health and Hospital Authority Denver CARES renovation and expansion, $675,000), 26-1508 (Broadway Station easement relinquishment at 809 South Delaware Way), 26-1520 (USDA Wildlife Services wildlife hazard management at Denver International Airport, $4,158,987.75), 26-1521 (Harvard Gulch drainage and flood control improvements, adding $4,685,000), and 26-1523 through 26-1530 (2027 annual costs of various local maintenance districts).
• A required public hearing on Council Bill 26-1536 (Colfax Mayfair BID) was set for Monday, November 9, 2026. No other public hearings were held this evening.

Council Announcements

• Councilmember Alvidrez noted the passing of Dolores Huerta, reminded residents to vote, and promoted the We Don't Waste Potato Palooza and a Peña Nipa design project open house.
• Councilmember Flynn paid tribute to former Denver City Attorney Steve Kaplan, who passed away.
• Councilmember Sawyer promoted a DOTI open house at George Washington High School on November 3, 2026.
• Council President Romero Campbell promoted an HRCP American Indian Cultural Embassy listening session and announced her son's naval commission.

Key Outcomes

• Approved five budget amendments: 26-1657, 26-1662, 26-1671, 26-1663, and 26-1673.
• Rejected seven budget amendments: 26-1658, 26-1659, 26-1661, 26-1665, 26-1668, 26-1669, and 26-1664.
• Withdrawn or not reached: 26-1660, 26-1666, 26-1667, and 26-1670.
• Postponed Council Resolution 26-1337 to November 9, 2026.
• Ordered publication of introduced bills and scheduled the November 9, 2026 public hearing on Council Bill 26-1536.