Denver sheriff presents roughly $181 million 2026 budget, shrinks civilian ranks while pledging to maintain mental‑health coverage

Sheriff Diggins delivered the Denver Sheriff Department’s 2026 budget presentation to the Denver City Council on day two of the city’s budget‑week hearings, asking the council to approve about $181 million in total funding while eliminating a number of vacant civilian positions to meet reduction targets.

The budget, as presented, includes about $174 million from the general fund, $3.4 million from special revenue and about $3.8 million in grants for a combined total of roughly $181 million. Department leadership said most of the budget is personnel expense and that uniform staffing is held flat at 845 funded positions while professional (civilian) staffing would be budgeted at about 153.75 FTEs.

The sheriff framed the proposal as preserving core custody and public‑safety functions while shifting where some work is done. “The mission of the Denver Sheriff’s Department has not changed. It’s to provide a safe and secure environment for the people that are in our custody and to be responsive to the community that we serve,” Sheriff Diggins said.

Why it matters: Council members repeatedly pressed the department on whether cuts to civilian roles and vacancy savings would force more overtime, degrade services such as records processing and food delivery, or reduce mental‑health and reentry programming for people in custody. Department leaders said they expect to rely more on overtime and partnerships to avoid layoffs and to preserve immediate crisis coverage.

Key budget and staffing details

- Total proposed budget: about $181,000,000 (general fund $174,000,000; special revenue $3,400,000; grants $3,800,000). - Funded uniform staffing: 845 FTEs (department said uniform staffing remains at the current funded level). - Professional/civilian staff funded: ~153.75 FTEs. - Proposed reductions described in the presentation: elimination of 58 community security assistant (CSA) positions (budgeted savings $5,600,000), elimination of 3 on‑call positions ($151,000), vacancy…