DENVER — Denver city leaders are considering giving significant raises — including one 44% boost — to 12 of Mayor Mike Johnston’s appointees, with the proposals clearing a City Council committee Tuesday.

The positions are executive director jobs, or the equivalents, across city departments that are set out in the city charter, and they haven’t received any type of raise in three years. Their salaries are set in city ordinance, requiring council action for changes.

Tuesday’s committee meeting on the raises came a week after the city’s Department of Finance gave a bleak projection for the city budget next year as officials begin the budget-drafting process. The 2026 budget will have to be “as flat as possible” because of stagnating revenue combined with limited dollars in the city’s reserves, according to Justin Sykes, the city’s budget director.

But city officials told council members Tuesday that it was important to review the salaries periodically.

“What this allows us to do is keep competitive as an employer for these positions, and (it) allows us to attract and retain top talent, which is critical for roles like this,” said Carla Anthony with the city’s Office of Human Resources.

The raises would go to the city attorney along with the heads of 11 other departments that deal with licensing, planning, public health, the airport, transportation, finance, buildings, human services, parks, public safety and community partnerships.

Most of the proposed raises are based on a market study completed last fall that analyzed salaries in comparable cities.

The largest adjustment would be for the city’s chief financial officer, who would receive an additional $80,796 annually, or a nearly 44% increase, for a new salary of about $266,000. The rest of the raises would range from 4% to 32% increases.

The highest-paid appointee would be the manager of the Department of Aviation — the CEO of Denver International Airport, Phil Washington. He would make $60,000 more per year — a 17% increase — or about $406,500 annually under the proposal. The city historically has calculated raises for that position using a slightly different method than for others, said the city’s compensation advisor, Blair Malloy, during the committee meeting.

The total annual cost of the raises would be about $493,000 and would mostly come from the mayor’s office budget. The DIA position’s increase would come from the city’s enterprise fund.

Given the city’s budget outlook, Councilwoman Shontel Lewis questioned during the meeting whether this was the right year for the increases.

“Is this the right time to do this? Or is there an opportunity for us to look maybe down the road when we maybe have a little more certainty in terms of our budget?” she asked.

Other council members, including Paul Kashmann, said they were also considering the timing. Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer responded to those concerns.

“There is never a good time to have this conversation,” she said. “But also, we have to pay our people fairly.”

The full council is set to consider the proposal May 19 and take a final vote June 2.

Proposed salary increases

Denver city department heads would receive varying increases in salary under a proposal advanced by a committee Tuesday:

•Phil Washington, CEO of Denver International Airport: $406,511, up 17.2%

•City attorney (occupied by Katie McLoughlin on an acting basis): $268,479, up 24.3%

•Nicole Doheny, chief financial officer: $266,162, up 43.6%

•Armando Saldate, executive director of Public Safety: $240,826, up 16.6%

•Amy Ford, executive director of Transportation and Infrastructure: $240,676, up 23.3%

•Anne-Marie Braga, executive director of Denver Human Services: $231,923, up 31.9%

•Al Gardner, executive director of General Services: $221,470, up 24.9%

•Manish Kumar, executive director of Community Planning and Development: $216,077, up 17.3%

•Karin McGowan, executive director of Public Health and Environment: $210,972, up 11.8%

•Jolon Clark, executive director of Parks and Recreation: $207,454, up 21.7%

•Molly Duplechian, executive director of Excise and Licenses: $176,800, up 14.5%

•Perla Gheiler, executive director of Human Rights and Community Partnerships: $176,800, up 4%

—Source: Denver City Council presentation.

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