Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 2 p.m. (Denver time), Parr-Widener Community Room, Room 389
Day 3 of the Denver City Council budget hearings featured the Denver Sheriff Department's proposed 2027 budget presentation, given by a Division Chief of Operations and the Department of Public Safety's chief financial officer. The proposed base budget totals 181.6 million dollars, with reductions from holding 61 vacant professional staff positions, closing five housing pods across the two jails, and running only two academy classes. Council members questioned the department on staffing levels (currently about 65% of operational strength), mandatory overtime, the increase in the Denver Health contract, overdose and naloxone data, discipline and promotion timelines, substance abuse services such as Roads to Recovery, and the veteran housing unit and clothing exchange programs. No vote on the budget appears in the transcript.
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