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Mayor’s $3.6 Billion Plan Pledges Fiscal Stability for Denver
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Mayor’s $3.6 Billion Plan Pledges Fiscal Stability for Denver

By Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is releasing his 2026 budget proposal. The mayor said the $1.66 billion plan should get the city back on good financial footing. The mayor said the way he has the numbers mapped out should mean no more cuts to personnel. He did have to make some cuts to programs and technology used by city workers. “Remember, we announced first the personnel savings. Today, we will announce $77 million in savings and services, supplies, contracts. I’ll walk you through and a couple of million dollars in revenue additions,” Johnston said during his press conference unveiling the plan Monday. Johnston said the 2026 budget proposal is the biggest economic adjustment in the city since 2011, outside of the COVID era when ...
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Denver’s flavored tobacco ban raises questions of freedom vs control
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Westword, Approved, Commentary, Local

Denver’s flavored tobacco ban raises questions of freedom vs control

By Westword Readers | Commentary, Westword Reader: Banning Flavored Tobacco Won't Make It Disappear Late last year, Denver City Council voted to ban flavored tobacco products. Now voters will get the chance to overturn that. Late last year, Denver became the latest Colorado city to pass a ban on flavored tobacco products; it's slated to take effect on January 1, 2026. But before then, the electorate will get its say on this issue. Even before Mayor Mike Johnston signed the Denver City Council-approved proposal, a coalition of smoke and vape shop owners was putting together a campaign to overturn the ban, gathering more than 17,000 signatures to successfully put a repeal in front of voters this November. Will it pass? Readers aren't blowing smoke in their comme...
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Arvada rolls $8M affordable housing bond into 2026 after developers show no interest
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Arvada rolls $8M affordable housing bond into 2026 after developers show no interest

By Sage Kelley | Colorado Politics The Arvada City Council voted to roll the city’s nearly $8 million bond into 2026 to potentially help create large-scale affordable housing amidst shortages throughout the region. The council met with the city’s Housing Manager Carrie Espinosa on Tuesday to discuss how the city should move forward with the 2025 Private Activity Bond, ultimately voting 4-1 to combine it with next year’s funds. Arvada received $7.9 million of private activity bonds from the State of Colorado Department of Local Affairs for 2025, with the intention to use the bonds to support private or public developers in making an affordable housing project. According to the request for proposal, affordable was defined as housing costs that are less than 30% of gross income fo...
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Police could see pay hikes as Denver cuts other city jobs
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Fox31, Approved, Local

Police could see pay hikes as Denver cuts other city jobs

By Jared Dean | Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — About $200 million: That is how much money the city of Denver needed to make up for in the 2026 budget before widespread layoffs last month. “It already feels like the stuff that’s important isn’t getting funded. So, that makes me wonder, yeah, what stuff is getting shafted,” Denver resident Christian Greene said. An announcement last month came down from the mayor’s office that 928 would be eliminated. Of those, 171 came from layoffs, and the others were vacant positions. The city made about $100 million in cuts to its budget for next year. But a tentative deal between the city and leaders and the Denver Police Protective Association to increase police pay for the next three years is one step closer to being finalized. The cit...
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Denver City Council Pushes Back On Xcel Energy Franchise Extension
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Denverite, Approved, Local

Denver City Council Pushes Back On Xcel Energy Franchise Extension

By Denverite Staff | The Denverite The Denver City Council threw a curveball for Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration and the state’s most powerful utility on Monday night. Xcel Energy is seeking an extension of the franchise agreement that allows it to operate in Denver. The agreement, up for renewal after 20 years, requires the approval of Denver voters. But on Monday, the city council voted against placing the measure on the November election ballot. Council members raised a variety of concerns about Xcel’s service in the city, and said they wanted to take more time to talk with community members and negotiate the agreement. The city council may still have time to place a modified measure on this November's ballot, or it could wait for an election next year, but city leaders...
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Denver City Council Rejects Ranked Choice Voting in Narrow Vote
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Local, Approved, Axios Denver

Denver City Council Rejects Ranked Choice Voting in Narrow Vote

By Esteban L. Hernandez | Axios Denver The way Denver elects its mayors, city council members and other local officials is staying put for now. The latest: The Denver City Council voted 7-6 Monday night to reject putting a measure on the November ballot that would changed the city's municipal elections to a ranked choice voting method. The system lets voters rank multiple candidates in order of preference. Why it matters: The move could have reshaped how candidates campaign — and how voters choose — for Denver's top offices. State of play: Supporters said the new system would have increased voter turnout, save money and boost candidate engagement. The other side: Councilmember Kevin Flynn led opposition on the voting method. Flynn pointe...
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As businesses flee downtown Denver, Johnston points to falling homicide rate
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Local, Top Stories

As businesses flee downtown Denver, Johnston points to falling homicide rate

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Mayor Mike Johnston has been pointing to a 44% drop in homicides in the first half of 2025, calling it proof his crime plan is making a difference. The figure is a sharp improvement from last year, but it’s recent and doesn’t show where things stood before the pandemic. In the city’s core, the gains are harder to find. A report from the Common Sense Institute shows murders in District 6, the downtown police district, have risen 133% since 2020. Aggravated assaults, drug crimes, public disorder, and larceny are also up. While some neighborhoods have seen improvement, downtown has not kept up the same pace. Citywide Gains, Downtown Losses Data from DenverCrimes.com shows citywide violent crime down more than 30% from last...
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Grand Junction says no to climate strings: City declines Urban Trails grant
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The Business Times, Approved, Local

Grand Junction says no to climate strings: City declines Urban Trails grant

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times Despite support from the Urban Trails Committee, the City of Grand Junction confirmed it is not pursuing a state-run climate grant that could have required new local policies, including a potential “vehicle climate fee.” At its July 9 meeting, the Urban Trails Committee, chaired by City of Grand Junction Mobility Coordinator Henry Brown, listed “support for Local IMPACT Accelerators grant” as its No. 1 action item. The grant is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program and administered by the Colorado Energy Office. The grant encourages local governments to adopt “transformative” policies that go beyond current state standards in areas such as transportation, building codes, l...
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Denver City Council Eyes Risky Shift to Ranked-Choice Voting for Local Elections
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Local, Approved, Axios Denver

Denver City Council Eyes Risky Shift to Ranked-Choice Voting for Local Elections

By Esteban L. Hernandez | Axios Denver If Denver's current municipal election system isn't broken, why fix it? The big picture: It's a refrain from Denver City Council members opposing a bill that would change city elections to ranked choice voting. Yes, but: Despite reservations, they advanced the bill Tuesday to the full council. Why it matters: Voters may decide this fall whether to fundamentally change how local elections work. The other side: Council members who back the bill, including Sarah Parady and Darrell Watson, say it will boost turnout, increase candidate engagement with voters and save money. How it works: Ranked choice voting allows people to rank candidates in order of preference when multiple contestants are available (...
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Citizen sues Colorado Springs for ‘end run’ around TABOR in $40 million bond ordinance
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Fox21, Approved, Local

Citizen sues Colorado Springs for ‘end run’ around TABOR in $40 million bond ordinance

By Norishka Pachot | Fox21 (COLORADO SPRINGS) — A lawsuit has been filed in El Paso County District Court against the City of Colorado Springs and Mayor Yemi Mobolade over alleged TABOR and constitutional violations. The lawsuit by Preserve Pine Creek Village, LLC, alleges that the City violated multiple provisions of the Colorado Constitution, including the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), which requires voter approval before creating multi-year government debt. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of a $40 million Private Activity Bond (PAB) issuance approved by the City Council on May 27. Tim Lewan, who lives in the Pine Creek Village area, says he donated to the legal fund because he’s been against the development of these apartments from the start. “We have been try...
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