Mayor Mike Johnston has made it clear for weeks: For Denver to continue supporting migrants at current levels and without additional federal support in 2024, it would cost the city 10% of its annual general fund budget.
Now, behind the scenes, he’s asking agencies led by mayoral appointees to cut spending so those dollars can be reallocated to fund the city’s migrant response.
At the end of December, Johnston told Denverite that scale of cuts would be untenable, and the city would instead have to scale back its efforts to shelter and house migrants. The consequences of cutting all migrant shelter, an unlikely possibility, could leave thousands on the street.
