Denver’s mayor and the City Council are at odds again.

This time, the friction is over the city’s 2027 budget and how much to fund the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance Program, or TRUA.

Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration proposed in its draft budget that the city should set aside $4.5 million for TRUA, which gives one-time financial aid to low-income families and individuals facing eviction.

But a council supermajority thinks that number should be more than twice as high.

The mayor’s proposal would be a significant drop from the $15 million that the city plans to spend on the program this year, but that’s partly because 2027 will be the first year since the pandemic that the city won’t have any federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to help pay for the program, said Laura Swartz, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Finance.

Council members included their request for more investment in TRUA in a letter they sent to the mayor this month.

“There are multiple ways to address the issue that people are facing with affordability and with access to stable housing. This is just one of those tools. So we have to make sure it’s well-funded,” Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez said.

But the mayor’s office rebuffed that ask, saying the city is working with Harvard University to study the program, and once that analysis concludes, their team may ask for more funding. Officials said the budgeted amount will pay for TRUA’s needs through the first half of next year.

In 2025, the city served 1,600 households through the program, which has existed since 2017. This year, the city plans to provide help to about 1,400 people.

A spokesman for the mayor’s office said Johnston also values the program but that it doesn’t solve the root of the problem for people facing eviction.

“We can’t just look at TRUA as the only way to prevent eviction; it’s an emergency assistance program,” spokesman Jon Ewing said. “We’re looking for the dollars for it without also hurting other city priorities.”

He added that Denver will have to get more strategic about how to spend those dollars in the city’s tight budget environment.

In their meeting Monday, at least three council members are set to propose an amendment to the budget that would allocate an additional $5.5 million to the program.

“It’s evident that the need is there,” said Gonzales-Gutierrez, who plans to bring the amendment. “It’s wild to me that we’re like, ‘Let’s wait for this Ivy League institution to tell us that we need to help people with rental assistance.’”

The People Lab, which is under Harvard’s graduate public policy school, has been studying and testing the effectiveness of Denver’s program since January 2025. The researchers expect to have early results by next spring.

The goal of the study is to “evaluate the impact of Denver County’s rental assistance program, which is highly oversubscribed,” according to a Harvard webpage dedicated to the study.

Each month, the researchers use a lottery system to randomly decide which applicants will receive aid and which won’t. Then they collect surveys and data to see the impact of the financial aid on households’ likelihood of eviction, use of homelessness services and socioeconomic outcomes.

To be eligible for the program, applicants must show proof that they are actively facing an eviction case and don’t have other options for a place to stay.

Recipients can receive help for rent back pay, the current month’s rent or up to one month of future rent. If they’re receiving rental help, households also can get help for utility payments, including water, gas and electric costs. When eviction is inevitable, the program can help with relocation costs like a security deposit, first month’s rent, application fees and other eligible move-in costs.

So far this year, nearly 11,700 eviction cases have been filed in Denver County Court, according to a dashboard from the Colorado Judicial Branch. Last year, about 14,500 cases were filed. The city expects evictions to be about the same amount in 2027. Those figures don’t include people who self-evict.

Gonzales-Gutierrez, who is working with Councilwomen Flor Alvidrez and Shontel Lewis on the amendments, said this week that the group is still discussing where they will get the extra dollars, but it’s likely to be small amounts from other large city agencies.

If the amendment passes, the mayor’s office will then decide by Friday whether to accept or veto it. Then, on Nov. 9, the council will have a chance to override Johnston’s veto before the budget must be finalized.

Denver’s proposed 2027 budget includes $1.68 billion in spending.

In their letter to the mayor, the council also asked for Johnston to consider an analysis of Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, or DOTI, including its structure. Several members expressed concerns over how that agency functions.

“The restructuring during the layoffs last year led to a situation where there is a very well-paid… management team in DOTI and no implementers,” Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer said. “That’s why the work is not getting done.”

The mayor’s office responded to that request by saying it is “deeply committed” to making sure DOTI is well-positioned to carry out its duties.

“To the extent restructuring is required, we invite City Council to partner with the administration in collaboration to ensure any changes are for the long-term interests of the city and its constituents,” Johnston’s letter said.

Johnston accepted several council requests, including ones to increase the city’s contribution to Denver Health by $2 million, increase a business grant program by $2 million, hire 10 more 911 operators and three new call-takers for 311, and hire two new park rangers.