By Kyle Harris | Denverite
Here’s what Denver City Council members said at their big budget meeting.
The Denver City Council met atop Lookout Mountain at Golden’s Boettcher Mansion last week to plan for the 2026 budget. The elected leaders knew they would likely need to make cuts — but nobody knew just how bad the city’s fiscal situation might be.
“I’ve been hearing rumors of layoffs and furloughs,” Councilmember Stacie Gilmore said as the all-day meeting began on Friday.
The city’s rumor mill is spinning furiously, with some employees fearing budget cuts up to 30 percent, Gilmore said. That would be an extraordinarily high number for an overall budget cut, considering city revenues shrank by 9 percent amid the 2008 financial crisis.
Asked for more detail, Gilmore reiterated that the 30 percent figure was only a rumor. But it reflects a harsh truth: The city is expecting a very tough budget year for 2026, and the council seemed to have no specifics last week about just how bad it could be.
Mayor Mike Johnston’s office declined to comment on any specific numbers. He still has not delivered projections about how much money the city will likely have in 2026, what may need to be slashed and how deeply — leaving the council to rely on guesses and estimates, for now.
“We are continuing to refine our revenue forecasts for both 2025 and 2026 and expect to have more information to share soon,” the mayor’s spokesperson Jon Ewing said.
The mayor’s office pledged to let council members and the public know more this week. The mayor’s office plans to meet with staff this Thursday morning and with journalists on Thursday afternoon to discuss the budget situation.
Still, multiple city council members who previously served under Mayor Michael Hancock said they had never entered their full-day retreat to discuss budget priorities without concrete projections.
“We’re in different times, and it’s calling for different measures and approaches,” Ewing said on Monday.
On Friday, big questions loomed as council members hashed out their priorities.
They wondered: How many layoffs will need to happen, if any? How many programs will be cut? How much will city services suffer?
“I really feel like we are at risk today of coming up with things that will make us look bad when the mayor announces whatever he’s going to announce,” Councilmember Kevin Flynn told his colleagues at the retreat.
“I think we’re in for a wild ride in front of us,” said City Council President Amanda Sandoval.