Author: Deborah Smith

Some hourly Denver workers can expect a pay bump beginning on Jan. 1, as the city’s local minimum wage rate will increase to $19.29 from $18.81, the city’s Department of Finance announced on Thursday. For tipped food and beverage workers, the minimum wage will jump to $16.27 per hour, up from $15.79 per hour in…

A Denver City Council committee is aiming to increase transparency when it comes to non-monetary legal settlements made by the Department of Public Safety. City officials agreed Wednesday to advance a proposed addition to the city code that would establish a formal policy for disclosing details of the city’s non-monetary settlement obligations. Non-monetary settlements refer to…

The Denver City Council repealed the city’s minimum vehicle parking requirements on Monday, opening the door for builders and developers to take on new projects without having to incorporate parking spaces during the planning stages. With the council’s 9 to 3 vote, parking requirements for all types of land use will be abolished, including projects…

Mayor Mike Johnston on Tuesday lauded the Denver City Council’s decision to approve his bond package aimed at curing some of the city’s biggest infrastructure woes, as well as improving parks, libraries and building a $20 million American Indian Cultural Embassy. “We feel incredibly lucky to be a part of this community this morning, and…

Denver voters will decide in the Nov. 4 election whether to approve Mayor Mike Johnston’s six-year, roughly $1 billion “Vibrant Denver” borrowing proposal to fund infrastructure and road improvements, libraries, parks, and recreational amenities in the city. The Denver City Council voted unanimously to refer the plan to the ballot, which will ask voters for…

It’s been just over 24 months since Denver Mayor Mike Johnston took the oath of office as the city’s 46th mayor, and, in that time, the former Harvard-educated and once rural Mississippi school teacher has delivered two State of the City addresses. His inaugural address, delivered on July 22 last year at the historic Paramount…

Mayor Mike Johnston’s Vibrant Denver general obligation bond proposal is set for its second reading and a final vote by the City Council on Monday. The six bills that comprise the $950 million debt package may still be amended on the floor, or postponed, provided City Council President Amanda Sandoval authorizes a waiver. If approved,…

The legal bill for Mayor Mike Johnston’s March 5 appearance before a Congressional hearing on “sanctuary” jurisdictions grew by $300,000 this week, according to city financial documents. That brings the total cost, so far, to $550,000. In early June, the city paid D.C.-based law firm Covington & Burling, LLP $250,000, with city officials adding at the…

As Denver continues to grapple with its $250 million budget shortfall, nervous city employees got a first look at the timeline for layoff announcements and how severance packages for those affected may look. In a Thursday email to all city employees, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said layoff notifications will be made over a one-week period,…

Denver residents weighed in on Mayor Mike Johnston’s Vibrant Bond projects on Monday during the city’s regular council meeting. More than 100 people signed up to speak during the special one-hour public comment period, sharing their thoughts on how the Johnston administration would like to spend close to $1 billion in proposed bond funding. Those…