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Denver Mayor Johnston walks back raises, braces city for cuts amid $50M budget gap
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Denver Mayor Johnston walks back raises, braces city for cuts amid $50M budget gap

By Deborah Grigsby | Denver Gazette Facing a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is expected to announce significant cuts to the city's budget at a news conference this morning. The city is facing a $50 million gap in this year's budget, while the projected deficit is $200 million next year, according to sources, who shared information with The Denver Gazette. The city blames an economic downturn, flat revenues and "growing government costs" as reasons for the deficit, according to sources.  To deal with the shortfall, Johnston is proposing furloughs and a hiring freeze, in addition to limiting discretionary spending and reducing and restructuring contracts. The furloughs will save the city $10 million this year, according to city estimat...
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Denver crisis grows while solutions stall: Family homelessness up 150% since 2022
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Approved, DENVER7, Local

Denver crisis grows while solutions stall: Family homelessness up 150% since 2022

By Veronica Acosta | Denver7 DENVER — For nearly two years, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's administration has been working to find solutions to the city's homelessness crisis. According to the 2024 Point-in-Time Count, the number of families living on the street dropped last year. However, data from the Department of Housing Stability (HOST) shows the overall number of families experiencing homelessness has increased by 150% since 2022. During a presentation to the city's Safety, Housing, Education, and Homelessness Committee, Jeff Kositsky, the deputy director for HOST, said the family shelter waitlist increased 78% in the past year. He attributed the increase in families experiencing homelessness to a rise in eviction filings, a growing number of unhoused newcomers,...
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‘Congressional inquiry’ triggers $250K legal tab for Denver’s sanctuary city stance
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Approved, Denverite, Local

‘Congressional inquiry’ triggers $250K legal tab for Denver’s sanctuary city stance

By Andrew Kenney | Denverite A high-powered Washington law firm helped Mayor Mike Johnston and the city prepare for a Congressional hearing. The legal bill is coming due for Denver's response to a congressional inquiry. The city recently received an invoice for $250,000 from Covington & Burling, the high-powered Washington law firm the city hired as it faced federal scrutiny over its immigration policies. The city has been represented by Dana Remus, who previously was the White House counsel for former president Joe Biden. The contract began Feb. 1 as Mayor Mike Johnston was preparing to testify before the Republican-led U.S. House Oversight Committee. Over the next two months, the city incurred $250,000 in legal fees with the firm, according to an invoice submitted...
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Denver City Council braces for layoffs, deep cuts—but Mayor Johnston delays details
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Approved, Denverite, Local

Denver City Council braces for layoffs, deep cuts—but Mayor Johnston delays details

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...
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A tale of two cities: How two Colorado mayors stand far apart on immigration
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local, State

A tale of two cities: How two Colorado mayors stand far apart on immigration

By Deborah Grigsby | Denver Gazette Colorado's two most populous cities are separated by fewer than 60 miles, but when it comes to their approach to immigration law enforcement, the mayors of Colorado Springs and Denver stand much farther apart. To some extent, both mayors are merely articulating their respective cities' positions, though the crackdown on illegal immigration by the Trump administration has put the spotlight on their contrasting views. On the one hand, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has repeatedly defended his city's response to the illegal immigration crisis, and, at one point, suggested civil disobedience as a proper action against a federal mass deportation program.  On the other hand, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade welcomed a major ICE ...
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Denver Council Members say Johnston bond proposal is being rushed to voters
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Denver Council Members say Johnston bond proposal is being rushed to voters

By Deborah Grigsby | Denver Gazette Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s new $800 million bond package is expected to make its way to voters this fall, but some City Council members working to whittle down the wish list of projects said the process is rushed and the bond issue could wait until next year. “I am not okay with the process at all,” District 5 Councilmember Amanda Sawyer told members of the city’s Vibrant Denver Bond working group on Wednesday. “I want to apologize to the staff in Department of Finance, because you guys have been set up for failure and you have been asked for extraordinary work in a very limited amount of time…So I want to make it very clear: you are doing an amazing job.” Sawyer added: “The problems that we are talking about here are not your fault. They are ...
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DOJ sues Colorado and Denver over sanctuary policies ‘tying hands of law enforcement’
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Approved, kdvr.com, National, State, Top Stories

DOJ sues Colorado and Denver over sanctuary policies ‘tying hands of law enforcement’

By Heather Willard | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the state of Colorado and the city of Denver for laws and statutes the federal government says are “sanctuary laws.” The federal government alleges in its lawsuit, filed in Colorado District Court on Friday, that the laws are designed to “interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law.” The lawsuit specifically mentions the troubled Aurora apartment complexes that went viral after a video showing armed men in a stairwell was first reported on by FOX31’s Vicente Arenas. The men in the video were later connected to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that’s been publicized during recent immigration efforts under President Donald Trump. The laws...
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FEMA cuts $32 million from Denver’s immigrant shelter grants under Trump directive
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local, National

FEMA cuts $32 million from Denver’s immigrant shelter grants under Trump directive

The Denver Gazette The Trump administration has terminated roughly $32 million in grant funding to Denver earmarked for the city's response to the illegal immigration crisis, saying such spending no longer aligns with the federal government's enforcement priorities.  "The Department, consistent with President Trump's direction, is focused on advancing the essential mission of enforcing immigration laws and securing the border," the letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.  "Consequently, grant programs that support, or have the potential to support, illegal immigration through funding illegal activities or support for illegal aliens that is not consistent with DHS's enforcement focus do not effectuate the agency's current priorities," the agency said. "T...
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Cole: Denver’s dangerous dance with low cash bail and ICE detainer policies puts public safety at risk
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Approved, Commentary, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Cole: Denver’s dangerous dance with low cash bail and ICE detainer policies puts public safety at risk

By Shaina Cole | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Denver prides itself on progressive values and compassion for its diverse communities. But recent events have exposed a troubling reality: the city’s criminal justice policies—specifically low cash bail for serious felony offenses and short notification windows for ICE detainers—are creating a revolving door for dangerous criminals, putting our neighborhoods at risk.  The case of Bayron Turcios-Murillo, a confirmed Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang member, is a stark example of how these policies fail to protect the public while allowing violent offenders to slip through the cracks. On April 17, 2025, Bayron Turcios-Murillo was arrested in Denver for felony drug charges, allegedly possessing nearly 1,000 fentanyl pills and powde...
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