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Council approves funding boosts for STAR crisis response teams amid push to expand alternatives to police
Summary
Council approved amendments that direct additional dollars to the STAR (Support Team Assisted Response) program and related community response efforts after testimony that STAR responds more cheaply than police and that demand outpaces current capacity.
Denver City Council approved amendments to add money to STAR and related community crisis-response programs after committee discussion and testimony from Department of Public Health and Environment officials and STAR contractors.
Sponsors argued STAR provides a lower-cost, specialized alternative to police responses for behavioral-health and nonviolent calls. "The STAR program costs the city roughly one-fourth of a police response on average," a sponsor said during debate, advocating for restoring previously cut funds to expand teams and add equipment.
Tristan Sanders, director of community and behavioral health at DDPHE, told the council the department is renegotiating contracts and preparing to rebid services in 2026; the program had unspent dollars in 2025 due to staffing and timing. He said roughly $500,000 will return from Denver Health underspend in 2025 and that the department can use a smaller increase to add capacity or upgrade equipment (for example, Wi-Fi in STAR vans).
Council members approved a package of smaller reallocations to STAR, aimed at increasing on-the-ground capacity and enabling technology upgrades for mobile crisis teams. Supporters said the additions would allow STAR to respond to more calls and help reduce pressure on the police and emergency services; some members pressed for a robust plan tied to a forthcoming scalability study.
Implementation will proceed via DDPHE contracting and temporary eight-month bridge contracts while a full procurement is completed in early 2026.
