The Denver City Council votes Monday on a $1.3 billion budget for next year that cuts spending by $190 million through furloughs and cuts in police, fire and economic development.
Here’s a handy graphic from Denverite illustrating the city’s priorities during the ongoing pandemic and economic downturn, and following a summer of riots calling for police defunding:
The middle class will struggle to keep their heads above water while shelling out a third of their income on taxes to pay a $7.9 million increase for the city’s retirement program plus millions in additional funding for the homeless.
City council successfully pushed the mayor to fund Denver’s STAR program, an alternative to the gun-and-badge approach to policing, at a higher level than he originally intended. The acclaimed program will get almost $3 million instead of the original $1 million.
Not surprising, Democrat Socialist Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca opposes the budget. The entire council voted down all five of her proposals to cut tens of millions from police, create a trash service for the homeless, and to make sure the marijuana industry is racially diversified.
City council doesn’t seem too concerned COVID will have a lasting impact on the economy. Here’s the city’s projections for incoming revenue during the first year of the Biden administration 2021.
