Denver City Council wants big changes to the transportation department

On Friday, Denver City Council sent Mayor Mike Johnston a letter requesting changes to his proposed $1.7 billion general fund budget for 2027.

The council asked the mayor to give millions more to the city’s utility- and rental-assistance program, to train new sheriff deputies, to fund multiple staff positions across the city, and to restore grants to small businesses affected by construction.

The letter also makes four requests that have more to do with the mayor’s overall strategy in running the city than the budget itself. Those recommendations are focused on two departments: the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, or DOTI, and the Department of Public Safety.

DOTI doings

Council members used the letter to ask Johnston to do more to monitor the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and to reconsider DOTI’s structure.

The agency handles a lot. It fills potholes and maintains roads. It picks up trash, recycling and compost. It runs the city’s effort to prevent traffic deaths and installs bike lanes. It oversees the sidewalk program. And it monitors parking and manages online ticketing disputes.

“Given the vast responsibilities of DOTI, we urge the administration to assess the performance and the structure of the department,” the council wrote.

A parking ticket on a car parked uptown. Dec. 30, 2025.

The council also asked for a review of Denver’s volume-based trash program and a presentation in mid-2027.

The council asked Johnston to allocate $221,074 to pay for two positions in DOTI’s residential parking program. They would “support evaluating neighborhood requests, establishing new permit areas, and managing existing programs, with priority given to neighborhoods affected by major development and event-related parking demand.”

Safety changes

Additionally, the council asked the mayor to reconsider the city’s youth violence prevention strategy, as homicides are once again on the rise.

“We are deeply concerned with the city’s capacity to address youth violence through appropriate interventions and support systems for the community,” the council wrote. “With the decline in investment in recent years, we ask that we empower our youth and invest in their needs.”

The council also asked the mayor to improve communications between the Department of Safety, which he oversees, and the Office of the Independent Monitor, which is its own office.

“We recommend your office communicate a resolution and a path forward in the ongoing communication between the Office of the Independent Monitor and the Department of Safety,” the council wrote. “We believe that this is a necessary step to improve efficiency within city agencies and ensure not only the safety of our residents but rebuilding and maintaining our residents’ public trust.”

Denver Sheriff Department staff perform a regular wellness check on inmates in a special management unit of Denver’s downtown jail. Sept. 24, 2025.

Additionally, the council wants Johnston to fund $300,000 in case management positions in the understaffed jails and to spend $2 million more on recruiting and training new deputies.

The letter argues the mayor should spend $350,000 on four 911 call center staffers to improve response times and another $335,000 on two staff positions for the Office of the Independent Monitor.

The council also wants Johnston to spend $250,000 to restore two positions in the Office of Social Equity and Innovation that focus on violence prevention.

The above budget proposals are supported by a supermajority of council.

Other big-ticket items supported by a supermajority of council members

When a supermajority of council members support a proposal, it gives a strong signal to the mayor that he should take it seriously and that if he doesn’t the council could vote against him and force his hand.

Here’s what else they agreed on most strongly:

Arts and Venues: $100,000 for community event support and community grants.

City Council: Add a third city attorney for Denver City Council – a move that would be budget neutral.

Community Planning and Development: $180,000 to pay for a staff member for neglected and derelict buildings .

Inspectors: $945,000 on new inspectors for the Department of Public Health and Environment, DOTI, and Community Planning and Development.

Denver Economic Development and Opportunity: Restore $4 million for Business Improvement Opportunity grants that help small businesses during citywide construction; and restorespend $530,000 for Denver Day Works funding that gave job opportunities to shelter residents.

Denver Health and Hospital Authority: $35,000 for the sexual assault nurse examiners program for raises and benefit increases; another $2 million on Denver CARES and its Emergency Services Patrol that help people experiencing substance use crises.

Denver Parks and Recreation: $500,000 for park ranger staff and data collection for park ranger services.

Department of Housing Stability: $5.5 million more for Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance, eviction prevention funding.

Office of the Municipal Public Defender: $100,000 for training and filling key positions.

Technology Services: $591,895 to pay for five full-time call takers for 311.

Big-ticket items supported by a simple majority of council members

A simple majority of support shows that an issue matters to most council members but these items are easier for the mayor to ignore.

Here are the proposals that received simple majority votes:

Denver Economic Development and Opportunity: $250,000 for the Neighborhood Equity and Stabilization Program to replace some grant funding.

Sheriff Department: $90,000 to pay for three crisis response team positions that help address inmates experiencing mental health crises.

Department of Housing Stability: $300,000 to pay for housing and services for 56 teens and young adults experiencing homelessness.

DOTI: Move $8.9 million from the Transportation and Mobility Special Revenue Fund to go from parking operations to street-safety capital projects, implementing Vision Zero, safe routes to school, and pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure; and provide $400,000 in funding for safety programming through the Office of Community and Business Engagement

What’s next?

The mayor will turn in his final proposed budget on Oct. 19.

Council will hold a required public hearing on that budget on Oct. 26. You can sign up or provide written testimony between Oct. 22 at 5 p.m. and Oct. 26 at 3 p.m.

For information about participating, go here .

A snowy day over Denver’s City and County Building. March 6, 2026.

City council must vote on any formal amendments to Johnston’s final budget by the end of the Nov. 2 meeting. The mayor has until noon on Nov. 6 to decide whether to accept or veto those amendments.

And on Nov. 9, the council must decide whether to override any mayoral vetoes. That would require a supermajority of nine votes.

Nov. 9 is also the date the council must approve the budget. If it fails to do so, the proposed budget, including the mayor’s vetoes of council amendments that are not overridden by the council, becomes the official budget.