Denver City Council members voted unanimously on Wednesday to advance Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston’s proposed $41 million budget cuts to fund the city’s response to its undocumented immigrant crisis.
Johnston’s plan includes cuts to multiple city departments, including police and fire, as well as his own.
The mayor’s office will be absorbing the largest percentage of the cuts — about 9.6%, which comes out to be about $164,000. But broken down into dollars and cents, it’s Denver’s police and fire departments that will be hit the hardest. The police department is expecting an $8.4 million cut, the sheriff’s office will see $3.8 million less in its budget, and the fire department is bracing for a $2.4 million cut. Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure will see 3.8% of its budget slashed.
The city said most of the impact would be focused on never-hired or hard-to-hire positions. It has also floated staggering hiring dates from the summer to the end of the year. The council presentation also showed that during the first quarter of 2024, Denver spent $25 million on migrants.
“After more than a year of facing this crisis together, Denver finally has a sustainable plan for treating our newcomers with dignity while avoiding the worst cuts to city services,” Johnston said when he first pitched the “Newcomer Operations and 2024 Budget” last week. “So many times we were told that we couldn’t be compassionate while still being fiscally responsible. Today is proof that our hardest challenges are still solvable, and that together we are the ones who will solve them.”
But by Friday, the plan had sparked outrage from GOP media outlets across the country, such as the Daily Wire and Fox News. Host Sean Hannity referred to the cuts as “liberal lunacy” and bashed the city on his program.
Denver’s policies have also created a backlash from neighboring towns and counties that have threatened legal action if Denver tries to offload migrants into their communities.
More than 40,000 illegal immigrants have made their way to Denver since December 2022, with many not only in need of shelter and food but also basic healthcare.
Denver, which had declared itself a “sanctuary city,” quickly learned the complexity of touting its lofty Democratic policies with the reality of governing. Johnston and other city officials have repeatedly warned in recent months that Denver’s resources were being stretched too thin and may buckle if more and more migrants came to the city.
Earlier this month, officials from the mayor’s office were caught on camera telling migrants at a shelter that Denver would be offering 20,000 one-way bus tickets out of town.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The mayors of other Democratic-led cities, such as New York City and Chicago, have also experienced a drain in resources and have been scrambling to find solutions.
Johnston’s proposed budget cuts will now go to the full city council for a vote on April 22. If they pass, they will go into effect on May 10.
