Maggie Bryan joined the Denver7 team in June 2025 as a morning reporter.
Denver City Council voted on Monday to make nearly a dozen changes to the mayor's budget as city leaders debate which programs and services should keep funding in next year's tight budget.One of the most intense votes centered on whether or not to pull $9 million from the Denver Police Department 's budget to fund a new family homeless shelter.
Council members ultimately rejected the budget change after hearing directly from DPD Chief Ron Thomas about potential impacts to department staffing.The budget amendment, introduced by Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, would have taken $4 million from the police department's services and supplies budget and $5 million from the department's police recruit funds to go to the city's Department of Housing Stability. Denver7 reported on the demands from housing advocates to open another family shelter, as nearly 250 families sit on the wait list to get into city shelters.Chief Thomas said the proposed cuts to the department's recruiting funds would mean fewer police academies and officers on the streets.'Removing any class of recruits would have a staggering impact on public safety,' Chief Thomas said. 'If we were to only have one class of, say 58 or 56 recruits in 2026, that would have the impact of an additional two minutes on response time to priority calls.'Several council members who voted in favor of funding the family shelter said the decision aligned with their values.'No child should be in those conditions. To me, this is a moral red line, and this is an amount of money that we absolutely must spend, regardless of, frankly, where it comes from,' Councilwoman Sarah Parady said.'We know that we have families who are living on the street right now and that is a public safety issue,' Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez said.During the discussion, Councilwoman Parady argued the police department has not always used all of the money from its recruit funds in recent years and questioned how taking money from the fund would impact staffing.However, other council members cited constituent concerns about police funding.'I have heard from the residents of district five, and they do not want the police department defunded,' Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer said.Despite the rejection of the family shelter funds, council members passed 10 amendments to the mayor's 2026 budget, including unanimously voting to send $2.7 million in unassigned funds to the Denver Clerk and Recorder's Office. Clerk and Recorder Paul López had previously warned funding cuts to his office could impact polling centers during next year's elections.In a statement, López said the unanimous vote to restore the office's 2026 budget is an 'emboldened testament of Denver’s commitment to independently run elections during a time when our country needs it the most.'Denver City Council members also voted to send funding to support the Support Team Assisted Response Program, Denver Day Works, capital improvements for the Safe Routes to School program, and add more crisis response team members at the Denver jail.Mayor Mike Johnston will have the power to veto any of the amendments passed by city council before the budget is finalized.
Councilwoman Sarah Parady Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez DPD Denver City Council Denver Clerk And Recorder's Office Denver Day Works Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas Denver Police Department Department Of Housing Stability
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