How Denver is run
Who runs Denver, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Denver's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Denver
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Denver city staff
13,924 full-time-equivalent positions, including Uniformed police, fire and sheriff (all funds) 3,603, Denver International Airport (permanent) 1,481. 2026 budget. Sum of the two 2026 FTE columns in the all-funds total. City and County of Denver · Nov 24, 2025
Appointed charter officers' and elected officials' salaries are set by ordinance. We found no city-published list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Denver in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The mayor's proposed 2027 budget projects general fund revenue of $1.684 billion, up 1.1% from 2026, and holds spending to $1.680 billion to match it. It plans to raise reserves from 11.4% at the end of 2025 to 12% in 2027, after deeper spending cuts in 2025. City and County of Denver · Sep 10, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $113M (2025-12-31). City and County of Denver · Jun 26, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for 2026.
Comes from
- Sales and use taxes$928M · 56%
- Property taxes$195M · 12%
- Fees (incl. Xcel franchise fee, court and recording fees)$75.1M · 5%
- Licenses and permits$59.7M · 4%
- Occupational privilege (head) tax$57.1M · 3%
- Transfer from excise tax revenues$50.8M · 3%
- Fines and forfeits$47.2M · 3%
- Other (lodgers tax, charges, interest, state shares, motor vehicle tax, other)$251M · 15%
Goes to (2026)
- Public safety (police, fire, sheriff, 911)$646M · 39%
- Independent agencies (clerk, auditor, district attorney, courts, council)$156M · 9%
- Parks, recreation and cultural venues$138M · 8%
- Transportation and infrastructure$114M · 7%
- Finance$105M · 6%
- Technology services$96M · 6%
- Transfers to other funds$73.6M · 4%
- Other (health, general services, housing, administration, planning, economic development, contingency, less expected unspent)$333M · 20%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Denver is both a city and a county, so the city's levy also covers county services. Of each property-tax dollar, about 33 cents goes to the city and county and about 66 cents to Denver Public Schools. Most of the city's general fund comes from sales tax, not property tax.
33¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Denver
- Denver Public Schools (School District No. 1)General fund 38.935, bonds 9.339, special 4.00052.274 · 66%
- City and County of DenverIncludes bond principal (4.768) and bond interest (1.732), plus social services, police and fire pension, library and affordable housing levies26.328 · 33%
- Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (Mile High Flood District)1 · 1%
- Total (mills)79.602
2025 mill levies for a home in the City and County of Denver. City and County of Denver · Jun 18, 2026
See what a Denver house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Denver is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityDenver Police DepartmentCity and County of Denver · Jun 26, 2026
- FireThe cityDenver Fire DepartmentCity and County of Denver · Jun 26, 2026
- Sewer and storm drainageThe cityCity Wastewater Management (Department of Transportation and Infrastructure)City and County of Denver · Nov 24, 2025
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity Solid Waste Management (Department of Transportation and Infrastructure)City and County of Denver · Nov 24, 2025
- ParksThe cityDenver Parks and RecreationCity and County of Denver · Nov 24, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity and County of DenverCity and County of Denver · Jun 26, 2026
- Public hospitalAnother agencyDenver Health and Hospital AuthorityCity and County of Denver · Jun 26, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | ParkerCO | Castle RockCO | BoulderCO | DenverCO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 65,985 | 83,815 | 105,689 | 740,613 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $358,426 | Not current (2022) |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not current (2023) |
| General fund per resident | $1,257 | $1,219 | $1,840 | $2,263 |
| Debt per resident | $486 | $2,063 | $2,987 | $11,533 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $0 | $5 | $834 | $2,190 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 8.0 | 14.6 | 18.8 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What Denver publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's vote, e.g. the 10-0 vote on the 2026 appropriation ordinance on Nov. 24, 2025 (three absent). City and County of Denver · Nov 24, 2025
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance CB23-0199 states the mayor's, council president's and council members' salaries for the 2023-2027 term. City and County of Denver
- Partly: Employee pay published City and County of Denver
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $113.1 million at the end of 2025. How far is that from the city's own reserve target, and when will it be met?
- The general fund balance fell $60.0 million in 2025. The 2026 budget forecasts $1.664 billion of revenue against a $1.676 billion appropriation. What keeps 2026 from drawing reserves down again?
- The employees' retirement plan was 59.97% funded, with a $1.62 billion city share of the shortfall. What is the plan to raise funding?
- The finance chief's salary of $185,366 was set in 2022, and a 2025 bill to raise charter officer pay has not been adopted. Will the council act on it?
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Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
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