State money for police training is on its way to Denver under Prop 130. First, the Council has to set up a fund for it

Colorado voters approved Proposition 130 in November 2024, requiring the state to provide $350 million over 10 years to local law enforcement agencies for recruiting, training and keeping officers. The money is now close to reaching cities. To get its share, Denver first has to pass an ordinance.

That ordinance is Council Bill 26-1650, which would create the "Denver Peace Officer Training and Support Fund." It is on the consent list for the Council's Finance and Business Committee on Tuesday, Nov. 3, which means it moves forward without discussion unless a member pulls it.

Why it matters: the bill sets the rules for new public safety money as the Council finishes a budget in which several proposed amendments would move money out of the Police Department. The state money cannot be used to backfill cuts.

What the bill does

According to the city's bill request from the Department of Finance and the Department of Safety:

• A new fund in the city's public safety fund series to receive payments from the state's Peace Officer Training and Support Fund. The executive director of the Department of Safety would control spending. Money would not lapse at year's end.
• Where the state money comes from. Senate Bill 25-310 created the state fund and set a formula for the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice to hand out $35 million a year, $350 million over 10 years.
• Allowed uses: recruiting officers, hiring officers for specific areas or types of crime, initial and continuing training, and officer pay.
• "Supplement" rule. The request says the money "must supplement law enforcement budgets." It says Denver must pass the ordinance before it can apply for its 2027 allocation.

The request does not estimate how much Denver will receive.

The state timeline

The Colorado Municipal League posted the state's timeline in August: agencies' certifications, including their number of budgeted officers, are due Nov. 30; the state tells agencies their amounts by Dec. 15; and money is expected to go out by Dec. 31. CML warned that local governments that don't follow the supplement rule could put their access to the money at risk. Colorado Politics covered how lawmakers decided to pay for the measure.

What our records add: police money in this year's budget

The fund arrives as the Council debates where police dollars go in 2027. Among the 10 amendments filed for Monday's budget vote, according to the amendment documents:

• Paul Kashmann's 26-1658 would move $400,000 from police administration's services and supplies to street safety programs.
• Shontel Lewis's 26-1665 and 26-1666 would pay for a study of the Denver Basic Income Project partly with police services and supplies money: $120,000 in the one-year version and $600,000 in the three-year version.

Last year, a larger version failed. Lewis's 25-1778 would have moved $2 million from police recruit money to the basic income project. It failed 5-8 on Nov. 3, 2025 (roll call). Our preview of Monday's amendments lists every vote.

Because Prop 130 money has to add to police budgets, under the state rules described by CML, it could not be used to replace money the Council moves elsewhere.

What's next

• Nov. 2, 3:30 p.m.: Budget amendments at the City Council.
• Nov. 3, 10:30 a.m.: 26-1650 at Finance and Business. It would then need two readings by the full Council.
• Nov. 30 and Dec. 31: State certification deadline and expected first payments, per CML.