Members of the Denver City Council Governance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee delayed a vote that would advance a proposed ballot measure allowing the city to adopt an optional biennial budget cycle because three of the seven voting members were out of town.

Committee members will now vote on the matter on June 30.

The “Budget Together Denver” initiative would allow Denver to use either a one- or two-year budget cycle, depending on the economic outlook and the city’s needs.

It would also require a public process to garner resident feedback.

In short, the shift would provide earlier and expanded opportunities for residents to directly influence how the city spends money.

Experts say a biennial budget allows for more long-range planning for capital and multi-year projects.

City budgets would still require annual approval per the Colorado State Constitution.

The second-year budget would be proposed in the first year as a draft and not finalized until the second year. 

Annual audits of the city’s financials would remain unchanged.

If the proposed charter amendment is approved by the full City Council, it would go to voters in a special municipal election held in conjunction with the Nov. 3 general election.

The measure would also eliminate the required July 1 preliminary budget estimate, which officials note is not representative of the final budget and creates confusion and misinformation in the community. 

The Sept. 15 deadline for the Denver mayor to submit a budget proposal to the City Council would move to the first Friday of September. The final budget would be sent to the council on the second Friday in October, with a public hearing set for the fourth Monday in October.

Sponsors of the legislation argue that the changes will not only free up financial staff but also give council members more time to analyze the budget before hearings and proposing amendments. 

Additionally, the proposed change better defines what happens when revenue does not meet projected levels.

If city finance experts determine that Denver is likely to spend at least 2% more than budgeted or collect at least 2% less in revenue than expected, the mayor would be required to alert the City Council and propose spending cuts.  

Should the gap grow to 5% or more, the mayor and City Council would be required to formally reduce authorized spending through an ordinance to keep the budget balanced.

Denver finance officials have already warned that they expect little to no revenue growth through 2027, and “flat” growth is a “best-case scenario, ” anticipating next year’s revenue to remain around $1.66 billion.

But not all committee members are sold on the idea of a two-year budget cycle.

Councilmember Kevin Flynn has been a long-time skeptic of the concept, citing that “more jurisdictions have moved away from biennial (budgeting) than toward it.”

Specifically, Flynn points to concerns around forecasting accuracy.

“We would have to be projecting revenues and expenditures up to 32 months out, and no offense to Justin or the good people from the Department of Finance, but we don’t even get an annual budget right,” he said, adding that as budgets grow larger, accurately projecting them is difficult.

Denver would not be the first Colorado municipality to adopt a biennial budget process. Fort Collins, Centennial, Brighton, and Louisville operate under two-year budget cycles.