After a fiery Monday night debate, Denver City Council approved raises for police officers over the next three years.
The raises were granted even as Mayor Mike Johnston tries to fill a $250 million budget shortfall.
When the city cut hundreds of positions, including laying off around 170 workers, the police and fire departments were largely untouched.
And while most city workers have been facing furloughs, that has not been the case for police officers and other uniformed public safety staff.
The contract passed on a 9-4 vote. It was opposed by councilmembers Sarah Parady, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Shontel Lewis and Stacie Gilmore.
'No' votes over budget and police concerns
Lewis raised the concern that the city has paid more than $5 million in settlements with law enforcement this year alone — money that came from the depleted general fund.
“I can't in good conscience vote to raise the salaries of those employees in this current budget environment, which will reduce the amount of general funds for the rest of the city, while also approving settlement after settlement, that further reduces the general fund,” Lewis said.
Gilmore argued the Johnston administration slashed city staffers who offer core services designed to prevent crime and police encounters. She said the police do not have the support of Black, Latino and Indigenous leaders in her community.
Parady said she was not comfortable voting in favor of raises for one group of employees when other city workers won’t have the right to collective bargaining until next year and may not get raises at all. The mayor will present his 2026 city budget to the council next week.
Councilmembers in support of the raises said constituents want more police
Several supporters of the raises said city council had vetted and negotiated the police union contract in executive session. They were troubled that members were objecting to it at the eleventh hour. The process, they argued, went as planned.
“Every police officer in Denver, I want to say thank you,” Councilmember Amanda Sawyer said. “Thank you for getting up every morning and putting on a uniform and going out onto our streets and risking your life for us.”
She and other council members argued constituents wanted them to support police.
“I am constantly asked for more police presence,” Council President Amanda Sandoval said. “I don't think I've ever gotten one email since being elected in 2019 that says we do not need more police officers. Not once.”
In 2020, council voted against the contract with the union, frustrated by how Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration failed to include members at the table. While the council didn’t approve that contract, it was ultimately passed through arbitration.
Johnston, on the other hand, included council members in the process, Sandoval said.
The mayor, meanwhile, has doubled down on his support for law enforcement.
“Every neighborhood I go to, no matter how progressive or conservative they are, they'll say, ‘Why don't we have more officers on the street? Why don't I see them?’” Johnston told Denverite.
“So that's a very clear request from our residents that we're going to deliver,” he continued. “But we think that a core part of the city's success is going to be public safety, so we're not stepping back from that.”
Officers will receive:
- A 5 percent increase spread across 2026
- A 6 percent increase spread across 2027
- A 4 percent increase in 2028.
Council and the Mayor’s Office are currently involved in negotiating a new contract for sheriff deputies. Firefighters won their contract earlier this year.
