Denver mayor cuts 87% of council's 2024 budget suggestions
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston wants to cut nearly all of the councilmembers' proposed additional spending to the city's 2024 budget plan.
The city council made 28 recommendations last week, totaling $81 million in proposed changes to the mayor's budget. In a letter, Johnston said the price tag for the changes is too high.
Johnston’s administration revised the council’s proposals to $10.6 million, claiming in the mayor's letter that some recommendations are already budgeted in other city departments, grants and programs.
“Your funding proposals totaled $81 million in proposed changes, that is a 450% increase in funding requests compared to the last fiscal year while the overall budget only increased 3.7%,” Johnston told the council in his letter.
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“I think it's an interesting data point,” Council President Jamie Torres told The Denver Gazette in response to Johnston's letter.
“I'm not sure that it matters as much to council members that it was more than last year.”
The mayor noted city reserve funds should not exceed a 15% threshold to “ensure Denver is prepared for whatever challenges may come in 2024.”