Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 2 p.m. (Denver time), Parr-Widener Community Room, Room 389
0:22 Presentation for day 3 of our
0:23 budget hearings. We have the
0:23 department or the department.
0:27 At the Denver Sheriff
0:28 Department Pablo zing out the
0:28 Watson, I'm honored to serve
0:31 all residents of fine district
0:32 9 on before we jump into the
0:33 presentation. When we do
0:33 introductions across two-star
0:37 to my league Arnott chief
0:39 operating resigns. Denver's
0:42 protect. And so then Gonzales
0:45 us councilmember at large?
0:47 Think it is like district. 7
0:52 flew in Southwest Timbers
0:56 District. To There's office.
0:57 Justin, 6 departments leave.
1:00 Country she coming to finance
1:01 public safety. The district
1:05 Jimmy Torres was tempered
1:06 district 3. You been replaced
1:06 in redistricting. Diana
1:07 Romero, Campbell, Southeast
1:09 Denver district 4, the call to
1:14 have chief financial officer.
1:15 I trust the still America. Do
1:19 we have counselor Cashman Yes,
1:20 we do. Good afternoon. Paul
1:23 Kashmann, South district sex.
1:24 Turn over to the sheriff's
1:25 Department for your
1:27 presentation. Thank you. We
1:28 be sharing presentation today.
1:28 have one more. We're going to
1:32 So jump to the Jameson Brown
1:36 division chief of operations.
1:38 So thank you for having us
1:39 here today to present or 2027
1:40 proposed budget. First, I'd
1:41 like to start with some
1:43 acknowledgements and thank
1:45 you. Would like to thank the
1:46 mayor and city Council for
1:47 your continued support in our
1:50 endeavors for budgeting would
1:51 like to thank you. Sheriff
1:51 City County, Denver lies
1:53 Diegans for his support and
1:57 guidance through this process.
1:57 Also would like to thank the
1:58 men and women of the Denver
1:59 Sheriff's Department, both
2:02 uniform and professional staff
2:04 for their continued support.
2:06 24 7, 365 days throughout the
2:08 year. And then lastly would
2:10 like to our community in which
2:11 we serve for their support.
2:12 And and over the years for
2:17 agency. As you can see, are
2:18 the mission of the Denver
2:19 Sheriff's Department is to
2:21 provide a safe and secure
2:24 custody for those that are
2:26 cassette placement, perform
2:27 all the duties and matter that
2:28 respond to the needs of our
2:33 agency vision mission in
2:33 diverse communities. Our
2:35 strategic plans. We have some
2:37 core functions. We provide
2:38 administration and security
2:40 for 2 jails, provide security
2:42 for our district and county
2:45 courts. Also transportation
2:46 extradition, fugitive location
2:47 and canine services and
2:49 support. We operate the
2:51 Denver, vehicle impound
2:53 facility for the city county
2:55 of Denver. We also provide
2:55 security at Denver Health
2:59 Medical Center. Our strategic
3:03 priorities for 2027 primary
3:05 mission and over the past 5
3:07 years, rebuild our workforce
3:11 post George Floyd and also the
3:14 great resignation in 2021. Are
3:17 department was at 54% staffing
3:18 throughout that time. We've
3:20 rebuilt our staffing to up to
3:23 65%. He's been all hands
3:24 approach. Partnerships between
3:28 the sheriff's department also
3:29 department of few months or
3:33 human resources. We
3:33 prioritize. Retention is one
3:35 of our biggest contributors.
3:36 Can didn't give a continued
3:37 voice, too. Not only are
3:40 employees, but our labor
3:41 unions, groups and
3:43 organizations to make the even
3:45 better place. We continue our
3:47 narcotics introduction
3:49 introduction as we have seen
3:51 throughout the U.S. And not
3:53 only here, one of the biggest
3:54 problems and today's jail
3:55 system is the introduction of
3:59 contraband. We've taken a
4:01 targeted approach through
4:02 creating a prevention
4:04 detection prosecution task
4:06 force. This is made up of many
4:07 not only city agencies, but
4:10 also fret, federal partners.
4:11 We meet quarterly and discuss
4:14 ways to stop narcotics coming
4:15 in and hopefully prosecute
4:16 those that are introducing
4:20 them into our facilities.
4:21 We've also digitize are male
4:24 installed airport. Great body
4:25 scanners deployed k 9 more
4:28 often into our facilities to
4:32 help those with searches and
4:33 then also suspect to people in
4:33 possession of any cap of
4:37 narcotics. We continue our our
4:38 map program, which is our
4:40 medicated assisted treatment
4:41 program. The map program has
4:44 become a necessary component
4:46 in our efforts to return
4:47 people to the community better
4:48 than what they have come to
4:50 us. This is a
4:52 multidisciplinary approach
4:55 through not only medical
4:57 staff, metal helper partition,
4:58 practitioners counselors and
5:01 also our deputy sheriffs. And
5:02 lastly, proactive succession
5:06 planning. As we have seen, we
5:08 have many senior-level command
5:08 members of our agency that are
5:09 eligible for retirement in the
5:12 next few years. So we made a
5:13 concentrated effort to build
5:15 up those that are in our rank
5:17 and file too soon. Those
5:23 duties for the Our budget
5:24 philosophies, prioritizing
5:26 court functions. Focus on
5:28 employee retention and
5:30 wellness and also mitigate
5:31 impacts, essential public
5:37 safety services. We have some
5:38 equity considerations that we
5:42 always take into account.
5:43 We're prioritizing maintaining
5:45 and and filling positions to
5:46 minimize disruptions to not
5:47 only city services, but ensure
5:48 safe and secure environment
5:49 for those in that are in our
5:54 custody. One of the examples
5:55 we continue to value and
5:57 advance our diversity in our
6:00 ranks as we are the most ever
6:01 sheriff's department not only
6:01 in the state of Colorado, but
6:05 the 5 surrounding states. And
6:07 as of right now, we are above
6:11 the national average of 22%.
6:12 We are at 50% as far as people
6:18 of color in our rank and file.
6:19 Here's our agency structure,
6:20 as you can see through the
6:22 mayor, executive director's
6:24 office. We have Sheriff
6:24 administration that is
6:26 sheriff's office and his
6:28 administrative staff. We have
6:29 jail operations. We have
6:31 specialized operations
6:32 analysis. We also have our
6:37 mental health programs.
6:39 Performance metrics that we
6:40 track over over time is our
6:42 average daily population. As
6:47 you can see from 2023 till now
6:47 we've shown a continued
6:48 decrease in our average daily
6:51 population. We also see yearly
6:52 trends up that decreasing and
6:54 also coming into a seasonal
6:56 shift as we all know, going
6:57 into the colder months of the
7:00 year, our population continues
7:02 to decrease. Also, which is
7:03 helped with some of
7:03 legislative and judicial
7:04 changes that have helped lower
7:11 this populations. You can see
7:14 our 2027 budgeting by funding
7:15 sources. General fund equates
7:19 to 1.7 7.9 million. Special
7:21 revenue funds. 2.8 million
7:26 grants of 832,000 totaling our
7:30 base budget of 181.6 million.
7:31 And that's for 1016 swarm
7:36 profession. And then also just
7:37 general funding by expenditure
7:39 tight. You can see we we focus
7:42 most of our expenditures into
7:43 those that are working for
7:46 certain, which is our people
7:47 129.3 million dollars and then
7:50 services and supplies total.
7:52 48.6 million with total
7:54 General fund totaling 1.7, 7
7:56 or 1, 7, 7.9 million dollars.
7:58 At this Turn it over. Just
8:04 cheaper. All right. Thank you.
8:06 So as I Chief, chief of
8:10 operations for the sheriff's
8:11 thank the sheriff for the
8:11 department, I would like to
8:14 opportunity to provide this
8:15 budget presentation. I also
8:17 get to start with the General
8:20 Fund operating budget and our
8:22 staffing. And as you can look
8:24 across this, I have the
8:27 privilege to discuss the large
8:28 increasing budget that you saw
8:36 in 2023. That is. Large part
8:37 due to the mayor's office.
8:41 Mayor Mike Johnston, the city
8:43 council for their support and
8:45 investing in our deputies and
8:49 giving us the largest
8:49 collective bargaining
8:50 agreement that we've seen in
8:52 the sheriff's department. So I
8:55 think all of you for doing
8:57 that. That goes a long way
8:59 with getting our staffing
9:01 numbers up. That helps us to
9:02 get the best folks in that we
9:08 can possibly get so. Going
9:11 down this you can see 2023
9:13 that jumped up significantly.
9:16 Our staffing has stay the same
9:17 across all the way through.
9:20 Tell 2027 the decrease that
9:22 you're seeing on the bottom in
9:26 the green line goes from 214
9:32 where we have 155. We're going
9:36 to drop down in 2026. 2027.
9:40 We're going to drop to 152.
9:41 That is a decrease in 81
9:42 positions. 61 of those
9:45 positions were holding Intel
9:50 the following year and 20
9:51 those positions for a from 26
10:00 to 27. On here addressing the
10:02 city council priorities. We
10:04 have a increase in community
10:07 safety this is large part of
10:08 our budget. This is the
10:11 downtown detention center, the
10:12 Denver County Jail, the court
10:14 services. This is where we
10:16 supply all of the services
10:18 that most of the folks in the
10:20 city and county of Denver
10:22 don't see. These are the
10:23 people that are behind the
10:23 scenes. These are deputy
10:25 sheriffs that are working
10:26 inside of all of our
10:28 facilities that are working
10:30 with the folks that are in our
10:32 custody. These are the folks
10:33 that are working in our court
10:34 houses. These are the folks
10:35 that are working in our city
10:36 council chambers that are
10:39 protecting all of us when
10:41 we're having these meetings
10:42 and providing security for all
10:48 of us next one is the increase
10:48 in community safety and
10:50 building healthy communities
10:52 as our crisis response team.
10:55 This really helps us to go in
10:56 and provide services to those
11:00 that are in our custody, too
11:03 help our deputies return doing
11:04 their normal duties and
11:06 provide those folks that are
11:08 having some mental health
11:09 crisis and provide them the
11:11 care in our custody and get
11:13 them the help that they need.
11:16 While there able to. Lau our
11:17 deputies to continue doing
11:22 there duties. The last one is
11:23 increasing community safety
11:24 and building healthy
11:25 communities. This is our
11:28 Denver health contracts. This
11:29 is arguably the most important
11:32 contract that we have the
11:35 folks that are in our custody
11:39 utilize our services and
11:40 utilize Denver health while
11:42 they in our custody as well as
11:44 outside of our custody. Most
11:46 of the folks that are in our
11:49 custody when they are outside
11:50 of our custody in the
11:52 community, they utilize Denver
11:54 health. So it's very important
11:54 for us to continue that
11:55 relationship and continue to
11:58 build on that to ensure. But
12:00 they have that continuity of
12:02 care when they get release and
12:02 they go out, they seek those
12:06 medical. Medical treatments
12:07 that they are able to go into
12:10 Denver health and that care
12:11 continues. And there's no
12:16 break in service for them.
12:17 What's staying the same versus
12:20 what's changing? What's
12:21 staying the same is preserving
12:24 Everything that we provide
12:24 the core department functions.
12:28 today stays exactly same. Like
12:30 I said before we're holding 61
12:33 vacant positions. These are
12:34 professional staff. These are
12:38 the folks that help us ensure
12:40 some of the programming for
12:40 that we're able to provide
12:42 our folks all there in our
12:43 custody. These are the folks
12:47 that we desperately need to
12:48 ensure that we're able to
12:51 continue to provide the best
12:52 service news of the folks in
12:55 the future that we really look
12:58 forward to bringing back into
12:59 our services and hiring back
13:01 as soon as we're able to, we
13:04 understand the cuts. We
13:05 understand everybody's trying
13:07 to make ends meet at this
13:08 point and were able to do this
13:10 to get us through. But they
13:13 are a crucial part of our our
13:17 services down the road.
13:18 There's no change and budgeted
13:21 fte for uniformed personnel.
13:23 And then what's changing is
13:23 adjustment of 2027 recruit
13:27 academies. We're going to run
13:29 to academy classes next year.
13:33 We always reserve right. And I
13:34 will probably have to look to
13:37 the sheriff for this one. We
13:39 are. We've done very well to
13:40 go back to the budgeting
13:43 office to discuss running any
13:44 additional classes to ensure
13:46 that we have the budget for
13:47 that. We will see what it
13:50 looks like in the future. But
13:51 right now we're budgeted for 2
13:56 academy class of the biggest
13:56 thing that that we are doing
14:01 is closing 5 ponds. Yeah. Both
14:02 facilities that's not closing
14:06 5 pods at each facility. Its
14:08 in total. So at the dc where
14:10 closing for housing units and
14:12 then at the county jail, we're
14:13 going to close housing units
14:15 out there as well. We're also
14:16 closing down to quarter
14:19 positions that equates to
14:22 about 4.8 million dollars or
14:24 4.9 million There is a food
14:27 services food, Stuart position
14:29 that was vacated. We're
14:33 eliminating that position. And
14:34 then we also had increase in
14:36 our Denver Health contract to
14:37 the tune of 4.8 million
14:46 dollars. So our core services.
14:47 We have our Denver jail
14:50 medical contract. I discussed
14:51 that before. That one
14:53 increases by 4.8 million
14:56 dollars. Again, that is just
14:57 crucial to ensure that folks
14:59 are custody, continue that
15:02 care when they get out vehicle
15:04 impound facility. The increase
15:06 is really about our merit
15:08 increases to ensure that our
15:10 our staff, there's taken care
15:13 of and with merit increase
15:15 that's coming across the city
15:20 for all city employees. The
15:21 training and recruitment that
15:23 was discussed about our
15:24 academy classes, that we're
15:25 going to have mental health
15:29 and programs division. This
15:32 one is in regards to our crt
15:34 in programs that were offering
15:36 for mental health services and
15:38 then the jail operations is
15:41 holding vacant deputies
15:43 positions. We're currently 65%
15:45 staffed, which is the highest
15:46 staffing level we've and many,
15:49 many years. So we're able to
15:50 hold those positions open for
15:58 the moments. On is the 2027
16:00 General Fund budget change.
16:03 Summary. This is where you'll
16:06 see the 4.9 million dollars of
16:08 reduction for holding those