Johnston's veto deadline is noon Friday. Here's what he already said about each amendment's subject

Mayor Mike Johnston has until noon Friday, Nov. 6, to accept or veto each of the five amendments the Denver City Council made to his 2027 budget on Nov. 2, according to the Council's budget process page. As of Thursday morning, Nov. 5, no decision letter had been posted there, and the city's legislative records for the five amendments showed no action since the Nov. 2 votes. We found no news reports of a decision.

Why it matters: an amendment the mayor vetoes is dead unless nine members vote to override it at Monday's meeting, Nov. 9. If the Council doesn't pass a budget that day, the proposed budget "as amended by the council, excluding unoverridden vetoes," becomes the official budget, the Council's page says.

The five amendments, and what the mayor wrote in October

On Oct. 16, Johnston answered the Council's budget requests in a letter. It came before these amendments were written, so it is not a decision on them. But it shows where his administration stood on each subject.

Rental assistance, $1,724,038, passed 10-2 (26-1673). In October, Johnston wrote that the city would start 2027 with $4.5 million for the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program, enough for the first half of the year, and that a Harvard evaluation due in spring 2027 would guide funding for the rest of the year. The Denver Gazette reported that the amendment was part of a compromise with the administration that brings the program to about $8.5 million (Gazette).

Police watchdog analyst, $60,000, passed 11-1 (26-1662). The October letter said the revised budget would add $61,000 to the Office of the Independent Monitor to fill an outreach position. The amendment upgrades a position to an analyst and names no offsetting cut.

Public defender pay equity audit, $60,000, passed 9-3 (26-1657). The letter added $40,000 to the Office of the Municipal Public Defender for the annual state public defender conference. The amendment moves another $60,000 there from the Mayor's Office personnel budget.

Nest56 supportive services, $300,000, passed 7-5 (26-1663). The letter listed "Next 56 Apartments" under requests not funded and said the housing department would help the provider learn how to apply for upcoming funding. The amendment moves $300,000 within the Department of Housing Stability, so it doesn't change the budget's total.

Youth violence prevention data, $200,000, passed 7-5 (26-1671). The letter said the city can't prevent youth violence alone, and it pointed to three new positions in the Office of Social Equity and Innovation, two for violence intervention and one for diversion, that had been paid for by grants. The amendment adds money for data collection on youth violence prevention and names no offsetting cut.

What our records add: the override math

The roll calls are in our vote-by-vote story.

• Three have override-sized margins. Rental aid (10), the watchdog analyst (11) and the public defender audit (9) each drew at least nine votes on Monday.
• Two would need two more votes. On Nest56, the no votes were Kevin Flynn, Amanda Sandoval, Amanda Sawyer, Jamie Torres and Council President Diana Romero Campbell. On youth violence data, they were Flor Alvidrez, Flynn, Sandoval, Sawyer and Romero Campbell.
• Six members backed all five: Stacie Gilmore, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Chris Hinds, Paul Kashmann, Shontel Lewis and Darrell Watson.
• The new at-large member won't vote. Certification and the swearing-in are set for Nov. 24, after Monday's votes, according to the city's vacancy election page. Nine votes are required either way.

Last year. In a Nov. 7, 2025 letter, Johnston accepted all 10 amendments to the 2026 budget. "I am accepting all 10 budget amendments," he wrote, while warning that some of them dipped into reserves and contingency funds that couldn't pay for them beyond one year. Our earlier story has that year's votes.

We are not predicting what the mayor will do this year.

A note on dates

Earlier stories on this site described the deadline as noon Thursday, Nov. 6. Nov. 6 is a Friday. The deadline itself, noon Nov. 6, is as the Council's page states.

What's next

• By noon Friday, Nov. 6: The mayor's decisions. We'll update this story when they are posted.
• Monday, Nov. 9, 3:30 p.m.: Any override votes, then the vote to adopt the budget, 26-1547. Our Nov. 9 preview has the rest of the agenda.
• By Nov. 23: Final vote on the spending ordinance, the Long Bill, 26-1638.