Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has proposed a $1.76 billion budget for 2025, which represents a modest 0.6% increase from the previous year, marking the lowest growth rate in 14 years outside pandemic years. Budget cuts include significant reductions in spending on homelessness and immigration services, with $57.5 million allocated for homelessness (down from $141 million) and $12.5 million for immigration (down from $89.9 million). Despite these cuts, the budget prioritizes investments in affordable housing, health care, and public safety, including $60 million for affordable housing and $74 million for Denver Health. The budget aims to train new police recruits, firefighters, and deputies while avoiding layoffs by reducing full-time positions through restructuring. The city's financial challenges are partly due to a projected softening in sales tax revenue growth, which is anticipated to be just over 1%.