Header image from Wikimedia Commons.
Even as Washington grinds to a halt, cities like ours still have to press forward. The federal government shutdown may look like a distant partisan standoff, but it’s already touching every corner of Denver. Flights are delayed, workers furloughed, food benefits uncertain, and infrastructure projects stalled. While Congress argues, Denver families, workers, and local programs are left to absorb the consequences.
At the Denver Airport, the air traffic control system is straining under shortages made worse by the shutdown. Thousands of controllers nationwide are already working overtime to keep folks safe and now are doing it without being paid. In Denver, air traffic controllers and security officers continue showing up for work while passenger frustration rises. A prolonged shutdown could leave travelers paying the price in missed connections, overtime costs, and safety risks.
The impact of the shutdown is personal for Denver’s federal workers and contractors. Many of these public servants live paycheck to paycheck. Hundreds of Coloradans employed by the federal government are being furloughed or working without pay. They’re forced to cut their personal spending on the essentials, like groceries and healthcare.
If the shutdown continues, the Department of Agriculture has warned that states will be unable to issue November food assistance. About 600,000 Coloradans depend on federal food assistance and many of them live in Denver. If this happens, families will be forced to look to food banks and shelters that are already strained. Nonprofits that depend on federal reimbursements could be forced to frontload costs that they can’t afford.
Infrastructure and construction projects are also being delayed. Federal agencies have frozen or delayed billions of dollars in grants and contracts. Colorado has hundreds of millions in clean-energy and infrastructure grants that have been paused or rescinded. For Denver that means uncertainty for major projects that depend on federal matching dollars, including airport upgrades, transportation expansions, and public works improvements. Even short delays drive up contract costs and erode public confidence that the city can deliver projects on time and within budget.
These concerns underscore a simple truth: the federal government shutdown has a direct impact on our city and our everyday lives. This is a crisis. The City of Denver can’t control the actions of Congress or the White House, but it can manage continuity, communication, and accountability at home.
The city should immediately create a public continuity dashboard that has simple, color-coded trackers showing which programs remain funded, which are delayed, and which are at risk. Residents should be able to rely on transparency about what is happening to essential services. For critical providers, such as shelters, food pantries, and housing nonprofits, the city should identify short-term bridge funding so that operations don’t collapse while waiting on federal reimbursement. We must also leverage our partners, like community foundations and nonprofits, to coordinate messaging through 211 to steer residents toward available help.
At the airport, officials can mitigate disruptions by cross-training staff, communicating real-time wait times through digital channels, and monitoring absenteeism patterns. We shouldn’t expect perfect airport continuity of operations during a government shutdown, but we should expect risk mitigation and proactive planning.
Federal shutdowns are a test of leadership for our public officials, especially in the midst of budget constraints. Denver’s response should be focused on keeping the lights on, keeping things moving, and showing taxpayers what leadership looks like. When this is over, the opportunity to plan for the next federal shutdown should start with targeted performance auditing and the creation of thoughtful contingency plans. When Washington fails to lead, our community leaders must.
Erik Clarke is a financial and audit executive who oversees finance, accounting, audit, legal, and technology functions in the private sector. He has a background in public sector auditing covering construction, cybersecurity, performance, and financial audit management across over a dozen public organizations.
