Updated at 6:35 p.m. on Monday, June 15, 2026.
Denver is tapping its annual contingency funds to pay for more legal settlements than the city initially predicted during budget season — many stemming from Denver police excessive force and civil rights cases from the summer of 2020.
Denver City Council approved the transfer of $3 million from Denver’s contingency funds to its legal settlement funds Monday night. The city is set to exhaust the $2 million that was originally allocated.
Law enforcement settlements come from the general fund, not the public safety budget.
“This is money we could have used for any other purpose,” Councilmember Shontel Lewis said at the meeting. “It represents a missed opportunity.”
After this transfer of funds and others, the city’s contingency will be down to $30,475,962.
The city council has already paid $1.28 million in settlements and has approved another $2.9 million payout this year.
Why tap contingency funds?
The timeline on legal cases can be unpredictable.
“The need for a supplemental this year is driven by the timing and volume of cases that were resolved during this period,” wrote City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Melissa Sisneros. “The request covers the combined cost of several cases the City settled this year. Settlement timing can be unpredictable and each case resolves on its own timeline based on scheduling, negotiations, or court decisions.”
After the city lost an appeal of a $14 million jury verdict for George Floyd protesters, the city acknowledged wrongdoing in a separate case related to those same protests, paying an additional $2.9 million in settlements.
The City Attorney’s Office is uncertain whether it will request another slice of the city’s contingency funding.
“Cases can change quickly and many parts of the process are outside the City’s control so it’s difficult to predict whether additional appropriations may be needed later in the year,” Sisneros wrote. “If the cost of settlements exceeds the available balance, City Council can vote to approve a supplemental appropriation to ensure those payments are covered.”
The mayor is currently working on his 2027 budget. Revenue is expected to remain flat, even as costs rise.
The mayor’s office predicts the 2027 budget will be tight, though the city does not currently anticipate layoffs like it saw last year, spokesperson Jon Ewing told Denverite.
Editor's note: This article was updated to correct a description of the funds used.
