Denver sets new minimum wage for 2025, with a 52-cent increase

Denver sets new minimum wage for 2025, with a 52-cent increase

Denver employers will have to pay their hourly workers 52 cents more next year after the city’s minimum wage rises to $18.81 per hour on Jan. 1. For tipped workers, the minimum wage will be set at $15.79 per hour if those workers make at least $3.02 in tips per hour. City officials announced the … Read more

Denver City Council delays mayor’s affordable housing sales tax

Denver City Council delays mayor’s affordable housing sales tax

Just days after Mayor Mike Johnston urged Denver voters to pass an affordable housing sales tax this November, City Council members on Wednesday questioned if the measure was ready for the ballot — and delayed its progress for at least two weeks. Members led by Councilwoman Jamie Torres cited numerous concerns during a committee hearing, … Read more

Colorado’s DNC delegates vote to endorse Kamala Harris for president

Colorado’s DNC delegates vote to endorse Kamala Harris for president

Colorado’s delegation to next month’s Democratic National Convention has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee for U.S. president, joining delegates across the country who have pledged enough support for her to secure the nomination. President Joe Biden, 81, announced Sunday that he was withdrawing from the race against Republican nominee Donald Trump … Read more

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston marks progress on homelessness, migrants

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston marks progress on homelessness, migrants

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston celebrated his administration’s progress on some of the city’s biggest challenges during his first year in office on Monday, while making a pitch for the first big initiative of his second — a sales tax increase to tackle affordable housing. The mayor delivered his State of the City address a year … Read more

Denver speeds up residential construction permit reviews by 33%

Denver speeds up residential construction permit reviews by 33%

Denver city officials this week touted progress in reducing construction permit review times, including reaching a goal on residential projects set by Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration. That success comes with some caveats, and people in the city’s Department of Community Planning and Development acknowledge plenty of room for improvement. So far this year, the planning … Read more

Most Denver voters say taxes are high in poll as city unveils increase

Denver City Council delays mayor’s affordable housing sales tax

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s popularity is holding steady after 11 months in office, according to a new poll released Wednesday, but its findings suggest a sales tax increase he’s pitching for the November ballot could face some skepticism from voters. Johnston remains confident in his tax proposal, unveiled Monday. It would generate an estimated $100 … Read more

Denver City Council amends unionization ballot measure, mayor now in support

Denver City Council amends unionization ballot measure, mayor now in support

The Denver City Council is on the verge of referring a question to the November ballot that would ask Denver voters if city workers should have the right to unionize and collectively bargain with city management. But on Monday the council focused on passing a handful of amendments to the ballot question that were designed … Read more

Denver finally puts price tag on Mayor Mike Johnston’s homelessness initiative

Denver finally puts price tag on Mayor Mike Johnston’s homelessness initiative

Denver housing officials finally have zeroed in on how much they expect Mayor Mike Johnston’s All In Mile High homelessness initiative to cost the city on an ongoing basis: $57.5 million a year. It’s taken the Johnston administration almost a year to arrive at that budget estimate — which doesn’t include one-time start-up costs — … Read more

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston sets goal of ending veteran homelessness

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston sets goal of ending veteran homelessness

Denver and federal officials say their data tracking shows that after a recent push to move people indoors, just 52 homeless veterans were still sleeping on city streets as of April. Mayor Mike Johnston and other leaders said Monday that they hoped to reduce that total to a level they termed as “functional zero” by … Read more

Denver creates office of neighborhood safety, independent from police

Denver creates office of neighborhood safety, independent from police

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston will launch a new office within city government focused on neighborhood safety — one that will be independent from the city’s police force and its safety department. The concept announced by the mayor Monday is one that minority communities and progressives long have pushed for. The Johnston administration’s plan calls for … Read more