Denver Council sends budget-process charter amendment to November voters

Denver City Council has passed an ordinance sending a proposed amendment to the Denver charter on the City and County of Denver’s budget and appropriation process to voters this November.

Ordinance 26-0864 was listed as passed in the City and County of Denver’s Mayor-Council meeting record for July 7, 2026. The measure calls for the charter question to be considered at a special municipal election conducted with the Nov. 3, 2026 general election.

The council action advances the proposal to the ballot; it does not itself change the charter. The amendment would need voter approval before it could become part of Denver’s charter.

A ballot measure, not an enacted charter change

The ordinance concerns the legal framework for Denver’s budget and appropriation process. The City and County of Denver operates under its charter, and the council’s action places a proposed change to that charter before voters rather than adopting the charter change outright through the ordinance.

That procedural distinction is central to the measure’s status. As of the July 7 meeting record, the proposal had passed as an ordinance to submit the question to voters. It had not been approved by voters and had not become a charter provision.

The available official meeting record identifies the subject of the proposed amendment as the city and county budget and appropriation process. It does not provide the full amendment text or specify the precise changes the ballot measure would make to that process.

What is known about the November vote

The proposed charter amendment is scheduled for a special municipal election held alongside the Nov. 3, 2026 general election. Denver voters will therefore be asked to decide whether the proposed amendment should be added to the charter.

The official record establishes that Ordinance 26-0864 passed, but the available information does not state whether the council’s support was unanimous or divided. It also does not provide a vote tally.

No fiscal effects, changes to specific appropriations, or consequences for future budget decisions are detailed in the available record. Those questions cannot be resolved from the meeting listing alone because the full amendment language is not included in the approved source material.

Next step

The next known step is the Nov. 3 election, when voters will consider the proposed charter amendment. Until then, the measure remains a proposal placed on the ballot by council action, rather than an operative change to Denver’s budget and appropriation rules.