Five Denver budget amendments are on the mayor's desk. Three passed with veto-proof margins

Five amendments to Denver's 2027 budget passed the City Council on Monday, Nov. 2. Mayor Mike Johnston now has until noon Thursday, Nov. 6, to accept or veto each one, and the Council can override a veto on Monday, Nov. 9, with nine votes.

Why it matters: an amendment the mayor vetoes survives only if nine members vote to override. That count doesn't shrink with the at-large seat empty, according to the City Council's budget page. The official roll calls, posted Tuesday, show three of the five cleared that bar on Monday and two did not. Our roll call story has every member's vote.

Passed with nine or more

Rental assistance, $1,724,038 (10-2). 26-1673, from Council President Pro Tem Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and members Shontel Lewis and Flor Alvidrez, raises the General Fund transfer to the Affordable Housing fund for the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program, paid for by trimming services and supplies across 11 agencies (text, roll call). The Denver Gazette reported it was part of a compromise with the Johnston administration that brings TRUA to about $8.5 million next year (Gazette). Our line-by-line story shows the cuts.

Office of the Independent Monitor, $60,000 (11-1). 26-1662, from Lewis, upgrades a position at the police watchdog to an analyst. It names no offsetting cut (text, roll call).

Public defender, $60,000 (9-3). 26-1657, from Gonzales-Gutierrez, moves money from the Mayor's Office personnel budget to the Office of the Municipal Public Defender for pay equity audits and vendor costs (text, roll call). It had exactly nine.

Passed with seven

Nest56, $300,000 (7-5). 26-1663, from Darrell Watson, moves $300,000 within the Department of Housing Stability, from its HOST performance contracts to supportive services at Nest56 (text, roll call). Nest56 is a 56-unit building at Denargo Market for young adults leaving homelessness or foster care, according to its developer. Because it shifts money inside one department, it doesn't change the budget's total. Voting yes were Alvidrez, Stacie Gilmore, Gonzales-Gutierrez, Chris Hinds, Paul Kashmann, Lewis and Watson.

Youth violence prevention data, $200,000 (7-5). 26-1671, from Lewis, Jamie Torres and Gonzales-Gutierrez, adds money to the Office of Children's Affairs so the Office of Social Equity and Innovation can build data collection for youth violence prevention. It names no offsetting cut (text, roll call). Voting yes were Gilmore, Gonzales-Gutierrez, Hinds, Kashmann, Lewis, Torres and Watson.

If either of these is vetoed, an override would need two more votes than it got Monday.

What our records add: last year's precedent

For the 2026 budget, 10 amendments passed on Nov. 3, 2025, and Johnston accepted all 10, Denverite reported. Our story on last year's votes has the roll calls. That year the Council had 13 members.

This year's five amendments add up to about $2.3 million, by our count of the amendment texts. Three of them, the rental aid, public defender and Nest56 amendments, pay for themselves by moving money from elsewhere in the budget. Two, the watchdog analyst and youth violence data, name no offsetting cut.

We are not predicting what the mayor will do. His office has not announced decisions on any of the five as of Wednesday morning.

Also moving: the Long Bill

The budget's spending law, the 2027 Annual Appropriation Ordinance or Long Bill, 26-1638, was approved by consent at the Finance and Business Committee on Election Day, Nov. 3, along with 15 companion bills that move money between funds (committee meeting). They include a $15.4 million Climate Protection Fund transfer to capital projects, 26-1639, and a new fund for state peace officer training money, 26-1650. Our earlier story explains each.

What's next

• Noon Thursday, Nov. 6: Johnston's deadline to accept or veto.
• Monday, Nov. 9: Any override votes, then the vote to adopt the budget, 26-1547. Last year's adoption vote tied 6-6 and failed, but the budget took effect anyway, as the charter requires, Colorado Politics reported.
• By Nov. 23: The Long Bill's final vote.