Denver.

It's time for the weekly general session of your Denver City Council.

Tonight's coverage of Denver City Council starts now.

We need to fix that, Tim.

Okay, thank you.

Alright, good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you for taking the time to join us for Denver City's Council meeting.

Today is Monday, October 27th, 2025.

Tonight's meeting is being interpreted into Spanish.

Sam, Jasmine, or Ruby, would you please introduce yourself and let our viewers know how to enable translation on their devices?

Yes, of course.

Thank you for having us.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Sam Guzmán with the COLC.

Joining you virtually.

And along with my colleagues Jasmine and Ruby, who will be interpreting today's meeting into Spanish.

Please allow me a quick minute while I give instructions in Spanish on how to access interpretation.

Thank you very much.

Muchas gracias.

Thank you very much, Sam.

Welcome to the Denver City Council meeting of Monday, October 27, 2025.

Please join Council Member Torres in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Council members, please join Council Member Torres as they lead us in the Denver City Council land acknowledgement.

Thank you, Madam President.

The Denver City Council honors and acknowledges that the land on which we reside is the traditional territory of the Ute Cheyenne and Arapaho peoples.

We also recognize the 48 contemporary tribal nations that are historically tied to the lands that make up the state of Colorado.

We honor elders, past, present, and future, and those who have stewarded this land throughout generations.

We also recognize that government academic and cultural institutions were founded upon and continue to enact exclusions and erasures of indigenous people.

May this acknowledgment demonstrate a commitment to working to dismantle ongoing legacies of oppression and inequities and recognize the current and future contributions of indigenous communities in Denver.

Albidres here.

As the deadline of October 9th, 2025 for the following local maintenance districts, and therefore council will not sit as the Board of Equalization on Monday, which is today, October 27, 2025.

For 15th Street Pedestrian Mall, 32nd and Low Pedestrian Mall, Del Geney Street, East 13th Avenue Pedestrian Mall, Golden Triangle Pedestrian Mall, Phase 2 West 38th Avenue, Pedestrian Mall, Skyline Park, Tennyson Street 2, Pedestrian Mall, Tenant Tennyson Streetscape, Points of 38th Avenue to 44th Avenue, West 38th Avenue, Phase 1 Pedestrian Mall, West 44th Avenue and Elliott Pedestrian Mall.

All right.

Are there any announcements from members of council?

Councilmember Alvidaros, why don't you start us out?

Thank you, Council President.

I wanted to wish everyone a happy Halloween.

I'm still reeling from an amazing Halloween parade that we had this weekend.

We shout out to Compost Foundation for being a fiscal sponsor for the next few years of the Broadway Halloween parade and all the other Halloween events that we had.

So with that, I just wanted to say happy Halloween and meow.

Thanks, Council President.

Thank you.

Councilman Gonzalez Cutieris.

Uh thank you, Madam President.

I just wanted to let folks know that we are having our kind of last push on the uh neighborhood engagement workshops that we've been hosting.

Myself and Councilman Catherine have been hosting these across the city.

And perfectly enough, it is about our registered neighborhood organizations.

We've been inviting the community at large to uh participate in these engagement sessions.

Our staff have been to numerous events across the city where we have been um asking for people's feedback via survey, and we've had well over eleven hundred responses to our survey, uh, really asking folks if they even know what a registered neighborhood organization is, and if they are part of one, uh what are their concerns?

Is there feedback?

How can we um as a city do a better job here?

So we are in the still very beginning stages of this entire process where we are continuing to gather information, and that's what these neighborhood uh engagement workshops are all about is gathering information from community members, both who know what ROs are and those who do not know what they are, or maybe you've been a part of one before and something has dissuaded you from returning, right?

We want to know everything possible so that we can then continue to work with the community as we move forward with any potential policy.

With that said, um, we're coming to an end of our kind of citywide tour, and this will be a virtual event on October 29th on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m.

If you go to the Denvergov.org website and go to the your city or voice empowering Denver, um, you do can just search that in the search bar.

And there is an RSVP link.

I think we have right now over 50 plus people that are signed up.

So we welcome more and we look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you.

Councilmember Parody.

Um I just wanted to take a moment of personal privilege and wish my husband Chris a happy 13th wedding anniversary.

I don't remember if that's lucky or unlucky, but when you have small children, it kind of all feels the same.

Um and I I just I want to say, I want to prelude the next thing that I want to say by recognizing that one thing about this council that I love and that I is not apparent by looking at us, um, is that um in addition to all the other ways that we sort of collectively um embody a lot of different life experiences.

Um you have people up here who have been single parents, both men and women.

You have people up here who um co-parent who are divorced, who um have not had kids, who you know uh basically everything under the gamut who have blended families.

Um, and I really love that about us, honestly.

Um, so having said that prelude, um, not everyone here has a council spouse, but speaking to my council spouse, being married to a council member is not easy.

Um I don't see my kids from Sunday when they go to bed until sometimes I get home on Tuesdays before they go to bed, sometimes it's not till Monday morning, and so for that whole time um my husband's holding down the fort with um currently a three-year-old and a seven-year-old, but when I started this, a one-year-old and a five-year-old.

So I just wanted to thank him and tell them that I love him.

Thank you all for that moment.

Oh, that's nice.

Thank you.

Um, Councilman Gilmar.

Thank you, Council President Sandoval.

Uh, I um wanted to share a uh statement from Sherilyn Grattan Camus.

Uh she uh is sending over an email to Mayor Johnston, but there have been a lot of uh questions raised by the mayor's recent nine news interview about frock um about flock surveillance, and um this is um the mother of Jack Scratton, who um was tragically found um along Colfax after being missing for um a little bit over two months uh in uh our greater um regional city, not only in uh the city and county of Denver.

And so this is um from Jax's mom.

Mayor Johnston.

Last week you uh described flock surveillance as solving a kidnapping and murder of a trans woman who was picked up in Denver and killed in Lakewood.

The video was posted to Facebook.

When I watched it, my heart stopped.

I am the mother mother of Jack Scratton, a transgender woman who disappeared from her Denver home and was found dead two months later.

Mayor Johnston, were you talking about my daughter?

My daughter's case has not been solved.

It has been clouded with misinformation, secrecy, and anti-transgender bias.

Flock surveillance had nothing to do with Jack's being found.

She was found half dressed, broken, and hidden by coincidence.

Losing my daughter has been the most traumatic and difficult experience of my life.

I truly hope that you would not use her death, especially not inaccurately, to garner political support for your political agenda.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you.

Councilman Torres.

Thank you so much, Madam President.

Um, two quick things and then um a comment um and call to action.

Uh just want to say happy birthday to my team.

Uh, both uh Daisy and Ian on my team are celebrating birthdays.

Um, so happy birthday to them.

Uh, we are uh gonna be holding in district three a trunk retreat on October 30th from 5 p.m.

to 9 p.m.

on the Mile High Stadium uh parking lots.

Um I want to give a big shout out.

There are so many sponsors of this, including myself and uh my at-large uh colleague, Councilwoman Guzalas Gutierrez.

You didn't know.

Um but um really organized by the Far East Center.

Uh Mimi, if if you know, you know, she is a powerhouse, uh, but also the Denver Police, Sun Valley Kitchen, Southwest Denver Coalition, um, and many many others contribute to this really amazing event.

Uh, kids are welcome.

There'll be tons of candy being distributed and uh costume competition.

So I'm looking forward to that.

Um, I do want to do um just a quick uh notice.

I'm sure we're we're all paying attention to um what's happening federally.

Um a lot of our families, millions of our families are not gonna be receiving their SNAP benefits in five days.

Um, nationally, that's uh 42 million people uh will not receive those benefits.

And um what's needed um is about nine billion dollars just to cover one month of what goes out to families, and a lot of these are working families who just don't make enough and yet still qualify for federal benefits.

Um, states will also not be reimbursed if they come in to uh cover the gap.

Um, but somehow we're giving we've given Argentina 20 billion dollars and we're paying 300 million for a new ballroom.

Um, snap benefits don't just keep families fed, they keep community economies moving.

Those dollars go directly into markets, into grocery stores, into concerillas, into small grocery stores.

Um this is not just uh going to affect low-income and medium income families, it's gonna affect our entire city for however long it ends up lasting.

Um so I urge you all to find your food pantry in your neighborhood, your food distribution location in your neighborhood, especially if you don't use it yourself and give to them.

Um they may need your volunteer time.

Uh, they may need your dollars to help make up the gap in food for the exponential number of visits they're gonna be paid um over the next several weeks.

Thank you, madam chair, madam president.

Thank you, Councilwoman.

Councilmember Watson.

Thank you.

Uh Council President.

I think you have to turn your mic on.

I was just checking that.

Thank you, uh Council President, and thank you, Councilmember Torres, for elevating that issue.

I wanted to speak on that as well tonight, but I wanted to first start um to highlight uh the recent hate motivated vandalism that has targeted um LGBTQIA plus spaces in Denver.

Um in the past week, several LGBTQIA plus spaces in Denver have been attacked.

Uh, the center on Colfax had its windows smashed.

Um, the above-ground salon on Colfax was vandalized for displaying a pride flag.

Um, these are not random acts.

These are hate motivated crimes.

Um they target my community, our community, um, folks that I represent.

We need to be clear as a city, as a community, as an elected officials that hate has no place here in Denver.

Um, as a queer man, I take this personally.

Um I know what it means to be targeted simply for being who you are.

Uh, these attacks are not just about property damage.

They're meant to divide us as a community, one against the other.

We cannot and will not allow that to happen.

These attacks hurt our neighbors and violate the values that makes our city strong.

Respect, inclusion, and celebration of the things that makes us different, which are the things that make us as a community uh stronger.

LGBTQIA plus residents, youth and families are watching how we respond.

Our message must be clear.

You are seen, you're valued, and you will be protected.

Uh Denver police are investigating these crimes.

If anyone has information, please call Denver Police.

Tip line at 720 913 7867.

Um every lead matters, every voice helps, and when we stand together, hate loses power.

Uh the hate of a few will not define this city, but by the courage and compassion of many coming together, we need to make sure that this hate does not stand.

And then I want to add very quickly on the um coming hunger crisis.

Um, it is important that we know approximately 60,000 of Denver residents.

Uh, families rely on SNAP.

Uh supplemental nutrition assistance program, uh, benefits to put food on the table.

Um, if the government does not reopen by November 1st, those benefits will not be issued.

Um, if those benefits are delayed or disrupted, the impact will be immediate.

Families will start going hungry, most likely starting the 3rd of November is when most SNAP benefits are provided.

Um, I grew up um on food stamps.

I understood um how my family and my mother relied on those um that supplement to make sure we can eat, we can go to school and be able to participate and focus on what's before us.

This is important and essential work.

Um the governor has stated that 10 million dollars in emergency emergency funds are gonna be provided.

That sounds like a lot of money, but it is 8.3% of the 120 million that Colorado spends on SNAP.

So that is not sufficient to sustain, as council member Torres said is an opportunity for us to participate and give, donate, volunteer to our local pantries, and it's also an opportunity for Denver to lead.

Um, our Department of Public Health and Environment, along with Denver Human Services, is collaborating with nonprofits across the city.

Um action is needed, and action is needed now.

And so I thank all of the folks who are coming together for solutions and making sure that um this problem doesn't persist.

Um if folks are feeling hungry or have questions, please reach out to 211.

We're documenting those calls.

We're identifying where folks need need, and we're providing a distribution networks to ensure that food gets to the folks who need it the most.

Um these are the times when we as a community have always come together on uh the issues of hate and trying to um move communities against each other and the issues of of hunger and our food and fee and making sure that our communities come together in this time of greatest need.

If our federal government can't act, we should.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Councilmember Watson.

Councilwoman Lewis.

Thank you.

I have a few announcements, but I do want to thank Councilwoman Torres um for raising the issue around food stamps.

As a as someone who was a young mom, I had my kiddo when I was 16, and so it was really dependent on a lot of um services like um food stamps in particular.

And I remember as a mother that this is actually around the time when um you become food insecure, that it wasn't that you were getting your benefits on the first of the month and that you still had a full fridge or full um pantries, and so families are already feeling the loss of that because month to month, it just often isn't enough, and so I really appreciate you raising that, Councilwoman Torres.

Um with that, I wanted to make an announcement that the District 18 will have our joint registered neighborhood association town hall on September, excuse me, uh November uh 15th, Saturday, November 15th.

And this is a time for all of the uh registered neighborhood associations to come together for a joint town hall.

They did it for the first time last year, and it was pretty impressive, and so I'm looking forward to that.

Um, I also wanted to make a quick announcement because I see um councilwoman Sawyer is in here, um, that the budget charter change discussion um is happening on November 5th, and this will happen online in conjunction with Councilwoman Sawyer and Councilwoman Gilmore, and so wanted to make that quick announcement.

Um then I also wanted to make folks aware that the there is a date change for the Hiawatha Davis Senior Luncheon.

Um unfortunately, the venue which we booked last year, a year ago, uh, had double booked, and so we have to push our luncheon to Saturday, December 13th.

And so if you all could get the word out um as well to let folks know that there is a date change um for Saturday, December 13th.

And we're always accepting volunteers and sponsors.

So if you want to be any of those or both, um, please let me know.

Um, and then finally, go vote, drop off your ballots.

That's all.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Hines.

Thank you, Madam President.

Uh first I want to uh mention that Clifford Still, uh the Clifford Still Museum, which is in uh Golden Triangle and in Denver's Perfect 10.

I also happen to be on the board.

Um it's honoring its uh leadership on Tuesday, and uh I just want to call out that honor and uh leadership and also if you haven't been by uh please consider visiting the still.

Uh there is an exhibition right now called Tell Clifford I said hi.

Um also uh Capitol Hill United Neighbors, a registered neighborhood organization in uh in District 10, uh primarily is holding their bi-monthly planning meeting um tomorrow.

So if you are uh part of Chun or want to uh you live in uh effectively uh district 10 um uh other than the two downtown neighborhoods, um please consider learning more about Capitol United Neighbors and uh also consider uh um participating.

Laramore Place is having an RNO meeting on Wednesday, and I look forward to joining that conversation too.

Uh, if you are a registered neighborhood organization in district 10, um, hopefully we've contacted each of you and have offered to join that meeting.

Um we uh definitely have every interest to uh in attending all of our neighborhood organizations uh that are in District 10.

Um finally uh want to mention that um uh the Denver Health Foundation is having a fundraiser on Saturday night.

As we are hearing from other announcements, uh there are continued challenges and pains uh from the uh from whatever you want to call what is going on at the federal level.

Um in addition to losing uh food and uh and supplemental assistance, uh health care costs might skyrocket well likely skyrocket uh without active intervention by the federal government, and that intervention doesn't look likely.

So um please do consider uh our health care system.

It is already um barely operating as it is, and without federal government intervention, um we will need every dollar we can get for our level one safety net hospital, uh Denver Health.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Flynn.

Uh thank you madam president and thank you, Councilmember Torres, for highlighting the SNAP uh food assistance issue.

Um having been uh reached out to by some folks in Harvey Park, my office put together a food drive, and it's been pretty uh well promoted through Harvey Park and Council District 2.

But as long as I have this microphone here, if anyone else is so motivated, it is uh this Wednesday from 10 a.m.

to 7 p.m.

So even after work, feel free to come down to my office, which is in the Bear Valley shopping center.

The address is 3100 South Sheridan, but it's kind of hard to find from there as JJ would know.

It's actually at Dartmouth and Yates.

So you'd have to go east on Dartmouth at the far east end of the shopping center, turn in by the car wash and look for the little sign hidden behind everything else, and that's where we've been for the last 10 years.

And uh bring uh for bring non-perishable items canned fruit, canned vegetables, pasta and rice, dry and canned beans, cornmeal, flour and sugar, peanut butter, and of course, jelly.

Uh, because what's peanut butter without jelly?

Uh canned meats, tuna or chicken, for example.

These will be given then to the local Southwest Denver Food Bank, uh community ministry, which has been around for almost 60 years serving the people of Southwest Denver.

Um, we also encourage you if you don't want to come down and maybe you can't find Southwest Denver.

I know a lot of people have problems finding you know getting it west of the river to get lost.

Uh so uh you know that, right?

So uh community ministry, which is at in the 1700 block of South Zunai in uh councilwoman Alvidra's district.

Uh they say that they can feed a family of five for five days with five dollars.

Now I don't know how they do that.

I remember the par the uh loaves and fishes from a Bible.

I don't know if they get some assistance there.

But oh my lord.

So they're also asking if you don't want to donate or can't donate uh perishable foods.

You're welcome to go online to the community community ministry website and donate whatever you can.

Their website is comm Ministry.org.

C-O-M ministry hyphen Denver.org.

They do great work in our community.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you.

Um, and thank you all for making those really important announcements.

Um, the one announcement I have this afternoon is this Saturday is the de los muertos, and in Northwest Denver, we have one of the longest Dia de los Muertos celebrations.

It usually happens at La Raza Park, but this year La Rasa Park is closed because it has bond dollars going towards it, and so it's getting um revamped, let's say it's getting a little facelift.

And so join us this Saturday at Chaffee Park, which is on 44th and 10 Tihon from 5 to 8 p.m.

It's family friendly, it's full of traditions, and um just hope to all see you there.

So this Sunday this Saturday from 5 to 8 on 44th in Tihon at um Chaffee Park.

And just to end on what's happening, I woke up this morning and was reading the newspaper and just am immensely disappointed that Trump is not funding SNAP.

I know several families that rely on SNAP benefits in Northwest Denver.

We have Bienvenidos Food Bank, it's only open one day a week, it's open on Thursdays.

So it makes it really hard to be only be able to go get food once a week in Northwest Denver.

So I'm just making a plea, a call for help.

If anyone has extra dollars, please donate to Bienvenidos Food Bank.

Please donate to any of these um food sources.

And I just am I can't even put to words how disappointed I am with this administration, with this presidential administration.

Who does not feed your residents of the United States?

It's beyond disgusting.

So just want to say thank you all to my colleagues and my council offices putting together some resources on social media that I can share out so that people know where to go coming this weekend if they need assistance.

All right, there are no presentations, there are no communications.

There are two proclamations being read this afternoon.

Councilmember Flynn, Alvidres Lewis Hein, Watson Gilmore, and Pro Tem Romero Campbell, will you please join me in reading proclamation 1621?

Thank you, Council President.

Whereas on November 1st, 1955, a Colorado man placed 25 sticks of dynamite in his mother's suitcase, which was later loaded into United Airlines flight 629's cargo hold, departing Denver, Stapleton Field en route to Portland, Oregon, and whereas the aircraft, a Douglas DC-6 exploded eight miles east of Longmont, killing 39 passengers and five crew, and whereas this despicable act of murder was an attempt by a victim's son to collect insurance benefits upon his mother's death.

Whereas the bombing of United Airlines Flight 629 stands among the deadliest acts of mass murder in the United States during the 20th century, and whereas this tragedy inflicted immense trauma on victims' families and first responders and left an indelible mark of sadness on the history of our state and whereas surprisingly there was no federal law at the time that prohibited the bombing of a civilian aircraft since such an act of treachery had never before occurred, resulting in the Denver District Attorney's Office adjudicating the case locally and allowing cameras in the courtroom for first time in American history and leading to significant security changes in the manner in which Americans travel and whereas November 1st, 2025 marks the seven 70th anniversary of this horrific act of murder, and the Denver Police Museum has partnered with History Colorado Wings Over the Rocky, the Sal University of Denver Adult Enrichment Program, Flight Co.

Tower, and the Weld County Flight 629 Memorial Committee to unveil at the old Stapleton Airport Tower a permanent memorial to the victims and the first responders this tragedy tragedy and whereas from the Denver Police Museum have spent countless excuse me whereas volunteers from the Denver Police Museum have spent countless hours researching the victims' family trees, resulting in many families traveling to our city and attending the special activities to honor their loved ones.

Whereas today we honor the victims and acknowledge the tremendous pain that each family suffered as at this act of cruelty, as we individually say each victim's name.

If I pronounce your name wrong.

Everyone's got one hand too.

All right, um, are we on to reading the names?

Yes.

Okay.

Very good.

Starting with F.E., Jack Ambrose, Samuel Arthur, Borer, and Irene Beckstrom, John Bombolin, Frank Brennan, Lewis Bunch, Brad and Carol Bynum, Thomas Crouch, Barbara Cruz, Carl Deist, John Jardin, James and Sarah Dory, Gurney and Elizabeth Edwards, Helen Fitzpatrick, and son James, Lee Hall, Virgil and Goldie Herman, Elton Hickouk, Jaclyn Hines, Marion Hobgood, and John Jungles.

Daisy King, Gerald and Patricia Lipke, Leela McLean, Stewart and Susan Morgan, Peggy Peticord, James Purvis, Herbert Robertson, Harold Sandstead, Sally Schofield, Jesse Sizemore, James Stroud, Clarence Todd, Ralph and Minnie Van Valen, Donald White, and Alma Windsor.

Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by Denver City Council that November 1st, 2025 is recognized as United Airlines Flight 629 Victims Memorial Day in the city and county of Denver.

Section one, the Denver City Council on a Denver City and County Building shall be lit blue to honor the victims, their families, and the first responders on the evenings of October 31st and November 1st, 2025.

Section 2.

The clerk and recorder shall affix the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation and transmit copies to the victims' families.

The Denver Police Museum, History Colorado, wings over to Rockies, the cell, University of Denver Adult Enrichment Program, Flight Code Tower, and the Well County United 629 Memorial Committee.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded.

Comments from members of councils.

Any of the speaker, any of the sponsors would like to make comments.

Councilmember Flynn, I'll start with you.

Thank you, Madam President.

For anyone who's interested in following up and getting more information about this over the weekend, a uh former colleague of mine from the Rocky Mountain News, Joe Rasenfoss, did an excellent, very lengthy piece on the case, delving into almost every aspect of it, and most fascinating uh the uh, well, a man who's 88 years old now, but was 18 at the time.

Uh, a big portion of the plane came down on his family farm, and he was the first person on the scene.

He's now 88 years old, and he said he's never really, never really dealt with what he saw that night.

But he and his brother were the first ones on the scene, and he was interviewed in this piece, so you can go to uh uh Coloradoson.com online to read that story.

I also had the the uh privilege of working at the Rocky Mountain News with uh one of our most renowned police reporters who covered this case in 1955.

He was still working at the newspaper when I joined there in 1981, Al Nakula, and uh spoke with him many times about covering this case.

So this is something that I've been hearing about for the entire time I've been in Colorado, and and it's good to see that we're bringing it to the attention and memorializing it for others who may not know this history.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Council Pro Temer Mirror Campbell.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um, I just wanted to um also acknowledge, I think that the proclamation really does encompass um the what of what happened, but also acknowledge that we have families of those who were also um uh family members of those who passed away from the flight 629 um who are here in the chamber with us today, and I'm sure um that tremendous loss um is with you and um just know that we are all um also with you and in that in that loss because it's not just um your loss, I think it's Colorado's loss um as well.

And so I just wanted to acknowledge those who are in chambers today, and later, I believe uh Michael, when you do um have the acknowledgement of the proclamation, you'll probably speak more to it.

But just wanted to um once again acknowledge those who are in chambers and also those who are watching online.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Councilman Perity.

Yeah, I just wanted to say again to um family members that are here or watching.

Um, this is reminding me of being in New York City after after the tragedies of September 11th, um, and seeing all through the city posters that family members had made looking for their loved ones, and just having this feeling that um every one of those people was such a huge individual loss, and they sort of got swept up in this um in this um forever being associated with a really horrible act, I guess, um, and with a large group of other people that um you know that sort of coincidentally um ended up linked in that way forever.

So I'm glad that we read individual names out tonight, um, and just wanted you all to know that um I think it's quite beautiful that we're honoring your family members on this day, um, and that we really do intend that individually and specifically for every one of them, and would love to hear your memories of them.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um just to reiterate what my colleagues have said, what a tragedy, and just wanting to say those names.

Um I say it my thought process is no one's gone into you quit saying their name.

So let's just remember their name all the time.

Madam Secretary, roll call.

Council members, Alpha.

Aye.

Flynn.

Aye.

Gilmore, Gonzalez Cutieres.

Heinz.

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

Parity.

Aye.

Romero Campbell, aye.

Sawyer.

Torres, aye.

Watson.

Aye.

Madam President Sandoval.

Aye.

11 ayes.

11 ayes, proclamation 1621 has been adopted.

We now have five minutes for the proclamation accepted acceptance, and who will we be inviting up?

Um, I'd like to invite Michael Hess and Sue Smith.

And you guys can introduce yourselves when you come up.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam President.

Uh, my name is uh Michael Hess.

I'm the president of the Denver Police Museum, and I have with me Sue Smith, who's the executive director of the Christian and Juse Foundation.

Um, the theme that we've uh placed uh as the families visit us this month uh at the end of this week, actually, is uh remembering the victims and honoring the families.

And I want to thank all of you as members of council because you helped us achieve that by the passage of your proclamation.

I want to also thank uh councilwoman Merrill Campbell and Macy for putting this together.

As you could tell just from reading the names, is quite an organizational effort.

As it was mentioned earlier, a number of family members are on uh Denver Channel 8 um watching this, and many will be traveling to Denver uh throughout this week, and uh Friday and Saturday we have a series of memorial events.

As it was mentioned in the proclamation, this tragedy is actually the second largest mass murder in the history of our state.

And people ask me, how is it that I didn't know about this or has this been forgotten?

And I basically think there's two reasons for that.

One is when it occurred, 1955.

Our country had come through World War II, the Korean War.

I think there was kind of an attitude that we needed to keep a stiff upper lip, and that was better not to dwell on things like this.

Uh the other uh point I make is that um it reminds me of the Barbara Streisand song, where she says uh so many memories are so hard for us to remember that we choose to forget.

And this definitely is a memory that's hard to remember.

We um I uh we are uh going to place a memorial at the Stapleton Tower, the last remaining portion of the uh old airport.

Um, and I there's been several people that have helped us get through this process, and I want they couldn't be here today, but I wanted to acknowledge them.

Jeffrey Burke, who's an ancestry guru extraordinaire, he has been working on this for three years, going through and uh uh piece by piece, finding 44, building 44 family trees, uh helping us find each of these victims.

And again, we have a over a hundred people coming at the end of the week, family members uh to acknowledge this.

So I want to thank him for his hard work, Linda Ramley and Diane Dagenhart, both key volunteers who've put organizations together, Sue Smith, uh the Pedar family.

They actually own the Stapleton Tower and have graciously allowed us to place a permanent memorial there.

FLICO and then our partners.

Uh, my final uh point that I want to make, and I I think it came out with some of the council members, is when I started on this project, you know, there was a life magazine with a bunch of pictures and names.

Um but as we've begun to go through this process, and you've met their families and you've heard their stories, they've become uh living, breathing human beings.

And the point that I hope that we'll make at the end of this, everybody seems to know that's familiar with this, the name of the perpetrator, but they don't know the name of the victims.

And as I thought back on this, you know, you think about whether it was the national airline or the national airport crash where the helicopter hit the plane, and of course that was an accident.

This was a direct act of murder, but we're all upset about it.

But then we move on.

But these families were not able to move on for the rest of their lives.

You know, at every birthday, at every wedding, at every anniversary, there was an empty chair.

And my goal with this memorial is to make sure that these victims are remembered for more than just being on an aircraft at the wrong time.

And you all have played a huge role in helping us achieve that goal, and I want to thank you.

Thank you.

Um council members, will you please join me in reading proclamation 1622?

Yes, Council President.

Proclamation 251622 recognizing the service of registered neighborhood organizations and the Denver Interneighborhood cooper cooperation to the city of Denver, whereas neighborhood civic leaders included Michael Henry, Bernie Jones, Kathy Cheever, and Tom Mars came together to found the Denver Interneighborhood Cooperate cooperation in 1975 to unite neighborhoods and create a citywide platform for sharing information, raising concerns, and informing public policy, and whereas what began as a grassroots effort has grown into inclusive network of registered neighborhood organizations across all corners of Denver, committed to representing their communities, strengthening civic participation, and shaping the city's future and whereas in 1975, INC along with neighborhood leaders from across the city successfully advocated for the neighborhood registration and notification ordinance, ensuring that city government informs and listens to neighborhoods on issues affecting their quality of life, a principle that continues to guide ROs citywide.

And whereas INC and RNOs have played influential roles in shaping city policy on land use, zoning, housing, public safety, and environmental sustainability, while hosting forums and civic education initiatives that empower residents to engage in local governance, and whereas neighborhood collaboration through INC helped launch programs like Denver Diggs Trees, growing from Gertie's Grants grassroots efforts into a citywide program that is added up to more than 65,000 trees to Denver Urban's Canopy.

And whereas INC and neighborhood leaders have long supported youth from Steve Nesson, leading distribution of dictionaries to every third grader in Denver Public Schools for more than 25 years to Jane Potts' efforts to support team-led community civic projects through the INC Youth Awards and whereas through long-standing partnerships such as Denver Desides with the League of Women Voters and Denver ATV, INC has promoted fair, informed, and accessible elections for all residents for over 25 years, and whereas INC's committees have developed long-term policy platforms that have guided key city decisions, including safe sidewalks, park designations, and neighborhood planning initiatives across Denver, and whereas today INC represents neighborhoods encompassing over 40% of Denver households and continues to work alongside a diverse spectrum of over 60 RNOs citywide to strengthen communities, elevate resident voices, and build more connected, a more connected Denver.

Now therefore, be proclaimed by the Denver City Council, Section One, that the Denver City Council honors the 50th anniversary of the Denver Interneighborhood Cooperation, and section two, that the clerk and recorder of the city and county of Denver shall affix the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation, and that a copy be transmitted to Lamone Knowles and Keith Meyer of the Denver Interneighborhood Cooperation.

Councilmember Watson, your motion to adopt.

I move that we adopt proclamation number 251622.

It has been moved and seconded.

Comments by members of council.

I'll start with Councilmember Watson.

Thank you so much, Council President.

As a um former former um restaurant neighborhood organization president, uh two times I was um uh delighted enough from my neighbors um uh elected me to to lead a weedier neighborhood association from 1997 to 2001, and once again um 2015, I think to 2019 uh delighted or maybe crazy uh that I went back twice.

Um one of the greatest experiences that I had as a registered neighborhood organization is meeting with the neighbors, coordinating community action, then coordinating with the INC, identifying the power of community voice, the power to actually lead on issues that have great impact to individual families, something as simple as tree planting in uh communities where the heat index is twice what it is um in other parts of the city.

Those are the things I learned as the uh president of my registered neighborhood organization, and those are the ways I coordinate it um with neighbors throughout the city from our collaborative process with the INC.

The work that you do and the many of you sitting over there, um, helps lead this city in ways that are very unique and touches families in a way that sometimes government cannot.

So thank you all.

All the recovering and current Armoil presidents seated over there.

Um it has been the joy of my life um leading the Wheatier community in collaboration with neighbors, um, and I appreciate each and every one of you for the good work that you do in a way that I and C leads in a collaborative fashion.

Thank you, madam president.

Thank you, Councilmember Alvidres.

Thank you, Council President.

Um, and thank you, Councilman Watson Watson, for bringing this forward.

Uh, this is really meaningful to me.

It's been so hard to activate uh my district and these tough conversations, and I'm really grateful for INC recently hosting um a forum about the soccer stadium, because this is something that will affect our entire city, and there are things that happen in one district or in one neighborhood that will affect a district or the whole city, and so that was very meaningful interaction, and it was such a positive interaction where everyone was able to come with differing opinions, and I think that's exactly what our society needs right now, is people to come together.

And I also want to shout out all the district seven residents who I see uh in the crowd who have been so meaningful, especially I see Gertie back there with the trees and Jane Potts and Mark with uh Baker.

So I am so grateful that you all go above and beyond and and volunteer at the city level as well as in your local neighborhood.

So thank you all so much for all the work that you do.

Thank you, Councilman Watson or Council President.

Thank you.

Councilmember Cashman.

Yeah, thank you, Madam President.

Um, sorry I can't be there in person tonight.

So many good friends in the audience.

Um, you know, uh when the uh registered neighborhood organization ordinance was created in 1979, I was in my first year of what turned out to be about a 36-year career as a community journalist, and I had the opportunity to watch uh neighborhood groups citywide uh evolve and uh do their best work to represent their community, and while I believe the discussion as it's evolved today about community engagement recognizes that uh as a uh community, a broader community, we have a lot of work to do to more completely represent all of those residing in our neighborhoods.

That shed uh just some of the names that Councilwoman Alvidras just mentioned are among hundreds and hundreds of residents throughout the city who have uh worked uh compassionately and as inclusively as they could to do good work and uh build build community and solve community problems.

Um I'd be remiss if I didn't take a moment to add uh my condolences at the recent loss of our good friend Mike Henry, and I don't know that there's a uh a name more directly connected to the RNO community than Mike's.

Um and I spoke with him uh a couple three years ago when we were uh in the early stages of looking at what we might do to strengthen the RNO structure, and Mike said to me that we understand we need to be more inclusive that there are people in our neighborhoods that we're not reaching.

We don't know how to get that done.

Please help us.

That's what we've been asking our city to do, and that's what the development that's underway of our new office of community empowerment, our new division of community empowerment will be charged to do to help our neighborhoods do their very best job at representing the entirety of their community.

My thanks to all the RNOs and the good work they've done, and I look forward to partnering with them and all of you, my colleagues, to make things better in the future.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you.

Madam Secretary, roll call, council members Cashman.

Aye, Albidres.

Aye, Flynn, aye.

Gilmore.

Aye, Heinz.

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

Parity?

Aye.

Romero Campbell, aye.

Torres, aye.

Watson.

Aye.

Madam President Sandoval.

Aye.

Madam Secretary, close the voting and announce the results.

Twelve ayes.

Twelve eyes.

Proclamation 622 has been adopted.

We now have time for their proclamation acceptance.

Councilmember Watson, who will you be inviting to accept their proclamation?

Um, Keith Meyer and I believe Lamone.

Is Lamone here?

Lamone Knowles.

So why don't you come on up to the mic, introduce yourselves, and if there are other folks that you would like to have say a few words, um, please bring them forward.

But thank you so much.

Good afternoon, and thank you, Council, for adopting the proclamation.

I've been a member of the Denver INC going on three maybe four years.

Um I am also a board member of the Northeast Park Care Coalition.

So when I got involved with the INC, I really didn't know what they did.

I just thought it was another RNO.

But from being on the board and observing what they do and then listening to the history as uh we were planning for this award ceremony next month, I said this organization deserved a proclamation for the historical uh significance of the Denver INC.

So thank you.

And I want to introduce to you Keith Meyer, he is our president.

Thanks, Lomon.

You're willing.

And thanks, Lamon, for uh spearheading this.

Uh we really appreciate it.

Uh thank you, council members.

Uh, on behalf of INC and our over 60 registered neighborhood organization members, I'd like to thank Councilman Watson and his staff for helping to spearhead this proclamation effort and all of the co-sponsors of this proclamation for recognizing the value of Denver's diverse neighborhood organization network.

My name is Keith Meyer, and I have the honor of serving as the current president of Denver Interneighborhood Cooperation.

I often say, though, that I'm not really the president so much as the caretaker of a 50-year-old institution that has been stewarded by generations of neighborhood leaders before me, including INC past presidents who are here, if you don't mind standing, George Mail, JJ Neiman, and Steve Nissan.

Steve along with an incredible host of people that have worked for this organization relentlessly as volunteers in different capacities for generations.

So thank you all.

Receiving this proclamation today is bittersweet.

Only a few weeks ago, we lost one of Denver's most impactful civic leaders, Michael Henry.

Besides his 19 years as the head of Denver's ethics board, he's one of the founding forces behind both INC and Denver's neighborhood notification ordinance.

All year we've been celebrating Inc.'s 50th anniversary and preparing for this and other celebrations this fall.

And we had planned to honor Michael at each of these.

His sudden loss leaves a profound hollowness in a tremendous void.

We accept this today with him very much in our hearts.

Fifty years is an extraordinarily long time for an all-volunteer civic organization to survive.

The reason Inc.

is here, still here is simple.

Decade after decade, people in this city have understood that neighborhood connections matter, and that when we organize, learn together, and show up together, we can help shape the future of our city.

If connection is what sustained us for half a century, it is also what must anchor how we build the city we want from here.

In today's increasingly fractured landscape, our civic infrastructure is every bit as important as our physical one.

We spend billions on roads, rails, arenas, pipes, and buildings.

Just imagine if we invested even a fraction of that into strengthening the social capital that lives between neighbors, between organizations, and between residents and their government.

Civic connection is not a sentimental idea.

It's a form of infrastructure that stabilizes communities, creates economic opportunities, and holds people and institutions accountable.

Social capital is a real thing, and it deserves real investment.

That is why, even as we honor our past, Inc.

and Denver neighborhoods are not standing still.

I'm tremendously excited to share the next chapter of our ongoing neighborhood story.

A growing collaboration with the University of Denver's Center for Community Engagement.

Through this strategic partnership, Inc.

is dramatically expanding its capacity to provide the critical tools and resources neighborhoods need while teaching, helping, and mentoring the next generation of civic leaders.

In these challenging social and economic times, I actually couldn't be more excited for what's to come for Denver's neighborhoods.

On behalf of INC's board, our member neighborhoods, and all who have carried this work for half a century, thank you for recognizing that the health of Denver depends not only on what we build, but on who we are to each other.

Thank you.

All right, Madam Secretary, please read the bills for introduction.

From the Health and Safety Committee 25-1485, a bill for an ordinance approving a proposed second amendatory agreement between the city and county of Denver and Denver Public Schools to provide support for students who are at the beginning stages of substance misuse.

And from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 25-144, a bill for an ordinance, renaming a portion of Sharp Lane to North Telluride Way, located near East 56th Avenue and North Telluride Way.

Council members, since all of you were sponsors, do you want to take a five-minute break to go take photos for the proclamations and then we'll reconvene?

Or do you want to do it after call-outs?

After call-outs now.

Now I will reconvene in four, what's five minutes?

It's 4 28 at 4 35.

6 7.

Card 35.

Okay.

Here's what's happening in Denver this week.

Bubble bubble soil and shovel.

This spooky season, discover the roots of magic at the gardens.

Learn about the beautiful plant adaptations for survival in a challenging world and the eerie legend that accompany them.

This tour highlights frightening flora, the poisonous psychoactive, and parasitic.

Get ready for an intimate conversation with artists Kanupa Hanska Luger and MCA Denver's Ellen Brush Chief Curator Miranda Lash.

Together, they'll discuss Luger's book Survivor, a future ancestral field guide, and how his Lakota Heritage informs his call to treat nature with reverence rather than as a resource.

Get your team together or fly solo and test your knowledge across a wide range of fun and quirky topics.

It's fast-paced, hilarious, and packed with chances to win awesome prizes.

Whether you're a trivia newbie or a seasoned quizmaster, there's a seat and maybe a drink waiting for you.

Denver's next election is on November 4th.

Your ballot should be in your mailbox.

But before you fill it out, head over to Denver Decide so you can get a look at candidates and all the other ballot information you need to know.

Go get your vote on.

What's this?

Back by popular demand, see one of Tim Burton's most celebrated films like never before.

The full feature film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, will be projected on the big screen with dialogue, singing, and effects, accompanied by Danny Elfman's darkly charming score, played live by your Colorado Symphony.

Families are welcome in costumes are encouraged.

After all, this is Halloween.

November is worldwide pancreatic cancer awareness month.

Let's kick off the month by running for a cause.

Warm up for winter by enjoying a race with your friends at the City Park Classic.

Money Raised is going directly to pancreatic cancer at the CU Division of Surgical Oncology.

You voted.

Thanks for getting your voice heard for the future of Denver.

Make sure your ballot is counted by using the free ballot track service.

Head to the website and click on voter services.

Once you sign up, you'll get notifications when your ballot is received and counted.

Stay up to date with what's happening in Denver by following our socials.

And you can always ask our chat bot Sonny online or by text.

But how do I report this?

And what else can I report?

How about graffiti?

Potholes too.

Wow.

Sunny makes it so easy to report issues in my neighborhood.

I wonder what else Sunny can help with.

On this How to Denver, how to sign up for a My Denver card.

A My Denver card is for Denver residents ages 5 to 18 and unlocks a wide range of benefits and features.

More on that in a moment.

But first, getting your hands on a My Denver card is very easy.

You can register online at DenverGov.org slash My Denver card.

Click online service center and fill out the necessary form.

Cards will not be mailed, so you will need to go into a rec center to pick up the card.

Cards can be picked up at 28 of Denver's 30 rec centers.

Just see someone at the front desk to provide some brief information.

Then after a quick photo, you'll be all set with your new card.

Once you have your card, that's when things get exciting.

The card replaces a library card and can be used to access idea labs, get homework assistance, or just check out books at any Denver Public Library branch.

Your My Denver card also gets you access to any Denver Rec Center in addition to a wide range of programs.

Find out more at DenverGov.org slash recreation.

And lastly, show your My Denver card at the zoo, botanic gardens, or any museum for possible discounts or even free admission.

Restrictions and limitations vary for each site.

Thanks for watching and make sure you subscribe for more how-to videos like this.

And if there are any city services you want to learn how to take advantage of, leave a comment down below.

Experience the magic of Denver, one mile high moment at a time.

Have you visited the Westwood neighborhood?

It's a diverse and culturally rich section of the Mile High City.

A drive down Morrison Road reveals a brightly colored celebration of Hispanic culture.

Vibrant murals are everywhere you turn.

While restaurants up and down the street offer up delicious cuisines.

Westwood is home to several prominent festivals throughout the year and is an excellent place to enjoy Cinco de Mayo.

Just around the corner from Morrison Road is the legendary Far East Center and the Little Saigon District.

The Far East Center also hosts one of the biggest lunar new year celebrations in the state.

Don't miss out on this important corner of our city and visit Westwood today.

That's just one of many mile high moments to enjoy in Denver.

On this episode of How to Denver, how to find your street sweeping schedule and sign up for reminders.

Street sweeping plays a critical role in keeping Denver's streets, air, and water clean.

Dottie's street sweeping program removes dirt, leaves, and debris from city streets, which reduces air and water pollution and supports a clean environment.

But we need your help to move your car so we can get as much debris off the streets as possible.

Plus, by moving your car, you'll avoid a ticket.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

To find when the sweepers will be on your street, look for the posted red and white signs on your block.

Or go online, visit Denver's online services hub and click on Sweeping Schedules and Reminders.

Type in your address to find and access your schedule.

Sign up for sweeping reminders, sign in.

And if you don't have an account, it's easy to create one.

Thanks for watching, and thanks for doing your part to help keep Denver clean.

And if there are any city services you want to learn how to take advantage of, leave a comment down below.

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Sign up for the Denver Local, a newsletter with all the info you need from your local government in one place.

Signing up is easy at DenverGov.org slash Denver Local.

You can also follow Elevating Denver for exclusive video content on our YouTube channel and broadcast on Denver Channel 8 Tuesdays at 7 p.m.

Connect to your city.

Connect with community with the Denver Local and Elevate Denver, ready to get started.

Alright.

Council members, this is your last opportunity to call out an item.

Councilmember Torres, will you please make the motions for us this evening?

Yes, Madam President.

Now we'll do a recap.

Under resolutions, I am calling out resolution 251618 for comments.

Councilmember Parity is calling out Council Resolutions 1475 and 1500 for comments.

Councilmember Lewis has called out Council Resolutions 1623, 1624 for comments in a block.

Councilmember Gonzalez Cutieres has called out resolutions 1486 through 1489 in a block for questions.

Councilmember Lewis has called out council resolution 1488 for postponement to a date certain.

Under bills for introduction, no items have been called out.

Under bills for final consideration, no items have been called out.

Under pending, no items have been called out.

Madam Secretary, please put the first item on our screens.

Council resolution 1618, a resolution approve approving a proposed agreement between the city and county in Denver and 18th and Penn Building 1 LLC to finance the construction of 72 income restricted units to be leased at affordable rent to qualifying households.

I uh council members, I just wanted to call out Bill 1682.

It's the first time that we've been able to get a LITECH project tax credits in and closed within the same year.

So just wanted to say commend host for doing this.

And if we can do this once, we can do it again.

So I'm just actually really making sure that you all are aware that this has happened.

So if we get told that it can, remember 1618.

All right, because I'll hold you to it.

And just want to say thank you to the powers who be to got this done.

Madam Secretary, please put the next item on our screens.

Council resolution 1475, a resolution approving a proposed purchase order between the city and county of Denver and the Ferris Machinery Company LLC to purchase.

Ooh, I'm gonna mess this up.

Schwartz, medical broom street sweepers citywide.

Councilmember Parity, please go ahead with your comments on resolution 1475.

Thank you.

Yeah, I just wanted to use this up as an opportunity to point out that we've seen other cities across the country piloting electric street sweepers, including in Boston, LA, New York, and other places.

And so I'm disappointed that we're still purchasing new gas-powered heavy duty vehicles, which means that we're basically locking in those emissions for the lifetime of these new vehicles without sort of a clear plan for solving the underlying EV charging issues, which I understand are real.

We have to have the charging infrastructure to power these things.

Um, but we just don't have a plan for that.

Um I also would note that um at one point the mayor had committed to a uh among his climate related goals, I think for this year, um, to switch entirely to electric purchases, and we're just not seeing that happening.

So understanding the challenges, um the point of our climate goals is to um give us a objective and strong reason um that we have to balance against um things like cost over time, um, because if we don't do that, the the climate crisis is gonna cost more to us as a city government and um to our people than we can ever imagine.

So we have to we need leadership on this.

Um we can't keep hunting and expect that um that we're gonna accomplish our climate goals, which are um very real.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Secretary, please put the next item on our screens, council resolution 1500, a resolution approving a proposed agreement between the city and county of Denver and the public service company for of Colorado for the proposed purpose of evaluating the property for planning purposes in connection with the city's effort to develop, construct, and use a renewable natural gas facility at the city-owned Denver Arapaho disposal site.

Councilmember Parity, please go ahead with your comments.

So understanding that this is um preliminary, this is a property access agreement.

Um, so it's not yet a contract for us to go ahead and um build this facility, but we're moving in that direction.

I want to first um recognize and um commend the work of the agencies to get this agreement together.

They started working on this in 2018, and there are absolutely greenhouse gas emission benefits of changing from flaring methane, which is the landfill's current practice, and which is 20 times more potent than carbon as a greenhouse gas.

Um, so I'm glad that we're doing that.

Um, the revenue from this will pay for environmental rehabilitation projects.

Um, I do also over the kind of longer term climate horizon want to note that um renewable natural gas is a bit of a misnomer.

It's a term from the fossil fuel industry because gas is not renewable.

Um, and so although um this is an in-context improvement, um, over time we have to get from even natural gas to electrification, including of waste management trucks, um, when we get to the point where technology enables sufficient trash compression.

So the long-term solution is that we have to change our waste practices, scale up efforts like waste no more, scale up producer responsibility at the state and federal level.

And then in the meantime, as we make progress in that direction, we need to reexamine this particular partnership and make sure that companies like waste management aren't delaying their transition to electricity through reliance on renewable natural gas, although it is a step forward from where we're currently at.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Secretary, please put the next item on our screens.

Council resolution 1623, a resolution authorizing approving the expenditure and payment from the appropriations account designated liability sum.

The sum of $50,000 and no cents made payable to Robinson and Henry PC on behalf of Nicholas Mundin for full payment and satisfaction of all claims related to the civil action captioned Nicholas Moodin versus Michael Pinpineda, which was filed in District Court for the City and County of Denver case 2024, C V 33820.

Council resolution 1624, a resolution authorizing and approving the expenditure and payment from the appropriations account, designated liabilities claims, the sum of 70,000 and no cents made payable to Omar Mubrac MD in full payment and satisfaction of all claims related to the civil action captioned Omar Barak MD and Leslie Rose MD versus City and County of Denver, which was filed in district county court for the City and County of Denver case 2022 C V 32232.

Councilmember Lewis, please go ahead with your comments on resolutions 16, 23, and 24.

Thank you.

So after consistent feedback from my constituents, I see it is my responsibility to ensure that the public is aware of every tax dollar being approved as an expenditure and the payment of funds for a settlement with the city and county of Denver.

My office my office is tracking every dollar by department and has a running total with the approval of 2516.

The city will approve settlements in the amount of $50,000 and $70,000 to settle to settle cases brought against the Denver Police Department and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure infrastructure.

The approval of these items tonight brings the 2025 total for taxpayer dollars in city settlements to $7,999,000.

This funding is drawn from a liability claims pool of money that is refilled when necessary from the city's general budget and does not come out of the safety budget.

We must therefore pay extra attention in this budget environment that we are watching out for how the city spends our money and that we are making decisions from the future with this knowledge.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Secretary, please put the next item on our screens resolution 1486, a resolution of approving and proposed agreement between the city and county of Denver and SBM Management Services LP concerning cleaning services for all three concourses and air-filled outlying businesses buildings at Denver International Airport, Council Resolution 1487, a resolution approving a proposed agreement between the city and county of Denver and Clean Tech Services LLC concerning cleaning services for the trash recycling rooms and compactor rooms, waste I don't know, waste trade tour rooms.

I've never heard that word before.

And loading dock areas located on all three concourses at Denver International Airport.

Council resolution 1488, a resolution of providing approving a proposed agreement between the City and County of Denver and Wayne and Sons Enterprises Inc.

concerning cleaning services in the food court areas on all three course concourses at Denver International Airport and Council Resolution 1489, a resolution of approving a proposed agreement between the city and county of Denver and flagship aviation Services LLC concerning cleaning services for the airport office building and main terminal at Denver International Airport.

Councilmember Gonzalez Gutierrez, please go ahead with your questions on council resolutions 1486 through 1489.

Thank you, Madam President, and um thank you to Den um for being here tonight.

Um I did submit some questions ahead of time, but really I wanted to make sure that you all had some time and to react to it.

So I have a couple of questions, and this is mostly around better to better understand the selection process, specifically with the goal of boosting our minority and women-owned enterprises as it relates to this uh block of contracts.

And so I'm just curious if so I'm gonna go through each of these questions.

Are we meeting the goal to set and MWBEs up for success in mentorship and training so that they are on the same level of consideration as large out of state corporations?

Um and I think it's pointing to looking at the um contracts that are before us and the two larger ones are our larger corporate and corporate entities versus um the smaller ones that are local and and do fall under the um MWBE criteria, um, at least at a larger scale they do, and so just wanting to better understand if there is what kind of work is being done to provide that mentorship.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman.

Um appreciate the opportunity to address any questions regarding all four of these contracts.

These are critical contracts for uh the airport, increasing our level of service um at the airport.

They're tied with our SOAP program, which is serving our uh airport patrons.

Um, having alignment with city council is critical.

I want to make sure we address all your concerns.

To start with, um, we unbundled the these contracts.

I apologize, sir.

Uh you're it's really hard to hear you.

Can you pull the mic up towards your mouth?

I apologize, Madam President.

We started to unbundle these contracts to allow uh smaller firms to participate.

Uh that unbundling basically uh lowered the requirements for bonding and insurance.

I'm gonna pass pass it over for to Lakeisha Shaw to answer the rest.

So part of the unbundling process, we did take time to go and look at what the insurance and require bonding requirements are, and we worked with our outreach and strategy department at the airport to also provide education and opportunity over the last two years to firms within the community.

Wayne Enterprises is one of those firms that took advantage of those opportunities and was able to go above and beyond and meet the bonding and insurance requirements for the food courts, as was CleanTech, a firm that has graduated from the MWBE program.

We do anticipate that as the program the contracts are unbundled that we'll see more firms come and want to be interested in doing business knowing that the requirements are less, and we'll continue to work with our strategy and outreach team as well as do networking at local conferences to educate firms on what the true requirements are and what those changes are that we've implemented.

Okay.

Um thank you for for all of that.

Um with that, do you all have any uh reporting mechanisms and measurable goals um that have been established uh in the in this procurement to promote growth opportunities for MWBE firms over uh the contract term?

So, kind of in addition to what you just talked about, are there also some some goals that have been set?

We're still working on what the measurables will be and reporting goals.

Uh all of the criteria for selection, uh, part of that criteria was how they're gonna grow uh grow the industry, grow smaller firms.

We'll uh we'll monitor that going forward through the increased participation in the WMB programs.

And on that note, um hearing that there is conversation happening with these um firms themselves, it sounds like in trying to understand what it is that they need.

Are there also conversations happening with the unions that represent the workers at these firms as well, even the local smaller firms?

Yes, yes, we are building our relationship with SCIU to just increase what that communication looks like.

It's something that we haven't historically done, but we realize that it's important part of doing business with our janitorial contractors.

Thank you.

I really appreciate um that you all are trying to build that relationship.

I think it's incredibly important.

As we know, um, you know, our minority and women, minority and women-owned businesses.

Um, it's important that we know like the folks that are running those, but then also the workers that are also oftentimes women and people of color um that are the ones doing the work.

So I'm very grateful that you all are considering and having those folks as part of the conversation and at the table.

Um I think the the last um question that I had um is for um SBM.

Is anybody here from SBM or you all might be able to answer for them?

Um so we do have someone online.

Crystal is online with SBM, but I can also help to answer some questions that you may have.

Okay.

Yeah, I was just curious for SBM if they considered any local MWBEs um that have aviation experience.

Uh, were any of those considered as subcontractors for this being one of the largest contracts?

So just to start and then I'll turn it over to Crystal.

Um, on these opportunities.

One thing that we did really focus on was making the minimum requirements applicable to the prime contractors and we're leaving some of the minimum requirements for the MWBE firms so that we didn't push anyone out and to kind of expand the experience opportunity for local firms because that was something that we did hear from the community that they didn't have the experience in aviation and it was hard to get into the industry not having experience.

So for our small businesses, there was not a requirement for them to have aviation background, but they did have to have years of experience in janitorial.

Um, we do know that SBM did reach out to over 35 MWBE firms as listed on the Denver City and County MWBE database, and of those firms, several of them had already partnered with other contractors that bid on this opportunity, and some of them had submitted as primes themselves.

Okay, um, thank you so much.

Uh that are those those are all the questions I have.

Thank you, madam president.

Thank you.

Next up we have Madam Secretary, please put the next item on our screens.

Resolution 1488, a resolution of approving a proposed agreement between the city and county of Denver, Wayne, and Sons Enterprise Inc.

concerning cleaning services in the food court areas at all three concessions at DIA.

Councilmember Lewis, your motion to postpone council resolution 1488.

Um I move to postone this item to a date certain, Monday, November 10, 2025.

It has been moved and seconded.

Comments by members of council?

Councilmember Lewis?

Yeah, I just wanted to provide a little bit more opportunity to get some specifics around this contract.

I've been having some conversations with the um with the airport, and I just want to make sure that we have the opportunity to also have conversations with the union as well to just give some time.

And November 10th, um, is because we have our budget amendments next week.

Um, I can't think of a time um that we might have the opportunity to have these meetings, um, and so just wanted to give sufficient time so it doesn't have to be postponed again.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Secretary, we'll call on the motion to postpone council resolution 1488 to a date certain.

Council members, cashman, aye.

Albitres, Flynn.

Aye.

Gilmore.

Aye.

Gonzalez Gutierrez.

Aye.

Hines?

Aye.

Lewis?

Aye.

Aye.

Romara Campbell.

Aye.

Doris?

Aye.

Watson.

Aye.

Madam President Sandoval.

Aye.

Madam Secretary, close the voting, announce the results.

Eleven ayes.

11 ayes.

The motion to postpone council resolution 1488 to a date certain has passed.

Madam Secretary, please put the next item on our screens.

Council resolution 1497, a resolution approving a proposed mandatory agreement between the city and county of Denver and the Salvation Army to support housing focused case management and housing navigation as well as operations at the Tamarack Family Shelter.

Councilmember Torres, will you please put council resolution 1497 on the floor for adoption?

I move that resolution 1497 be adopted.

It has been moved and seconded.

Comments by members of the council.

Councilmember Lewis?

Um, I don't have a comment.

I I guess I do have a comment.

Um, you all know historically that I've had my concerns about the Salvation Army as a provider, and so I just wanted to pull this off as an opportunity for me to vote no on this contract.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Secretary, roll call on.

Yeah, go ahead.

Sorry.

Thank you, madam uh president.

I just wanted to, um, is there someone here from host that can speak to that amendment to the contract and what exactly it's for?

Security budget.

No.

Oh, thank you.

Hi, my name's Midori Higa.

You she her pronouns.

I'm the director of homelessness resolution programs for the city and county of Denver's Department of Housing Stability.

Uh the contract amendment that is being proposed, um, is passed through funding from the state, and we're just extending the term of the contract through the end of the year so that they can fully expend the funds.

Um, so it is an additional contract to the primary contract we have with Salvation Army for uh the shelter operations at the Tamarack.

Okay, and what are those um what are those funds specifically for?

Is it for rehousing or for just general um shelter operations that the way that the budget's set up, because we were trying to make it as easy as possible to have a pass through grant that it has additional requirements for both the provider and for us, um, is that the contract is primarily set up for staffing expenses related to the operation of Tamarack?

Um thank you and then would those that same kind of pass-through contract um be extended to the new operator as of January 1st.

Um, no, we can't actually extend these funds to any of our other non-congregate shelter providers because we're switching to performance-based contracting for all of the non-congregate shelters, and the way the performance-based contract invoicing works does not align with the requirements for grant funding, which requires full backup documentation, and so really, really, really trying to get all of these funds out the door this year so that uh we're not scrambling to figure out how to use them.

Um they were specifically provided to us uh for this emergency shelter purpose for non-congregate shelters and are switched to uh performance gosh, sorry, performance-based contracting is making it difficult to use those funds for that purpose.

Okay, um, thank you.

Yep.

All right, thank you.

Madam Secretary, roll call on council resolution 1497.

Council members cashman, aye.

Albitres.

Aye.

Flynn, aye.

Gilmore, aye.

Gonzalez Gutierrez?

Nay.

Heinz?

Aye.

Lewis?

Nay.

Faredy?

Nay.

Romero Campbell, aye.

Torres, aye.

Watson?

Aye.

Madam President Sandoval.

Aye.

Madam Secretary, close the announce close the voting announced results.

Nine ayes.

Nine ayes, council resolution 1497 has been adopted.

This concludes the items to be called out.

All bills for introduction are ordered published.

Council members remember that this is a consent or block vote, and you will need to vote aye.

Otherwise, this is your last chance to call out an item for a separate vote.

Councilmember Torres, will you please put the resolutions for adoptions and the bills on final consideration for final passage on the floor?

I move that the resolutions be adopted and the bills on final consideration be placed upon final consideration and do pass in a block for the following items.

I'll uh series 25, 1618, 1477, 1479, 1501, 1023, 1500, 1503, 1623, 1480, 1498, 1475, 1478, 1486, 1487, 1489, 1490, 1491, 1492, 1493, 1494, 1496, 1499, and 1624.

Thank you.

This Madam Secretary, roll call, council members Cashman.

Aye.

I'll be today.

Flynn.

Aye.

Gilmore.

Hi.

Gonzalez Cutieres.

Aye.

Hines?

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

Parity.

Aye.

Mayor Campbell.

Aye.

Aye.

Watson.

Aye.

Madam President Sandoval.

Aye.

Madam Secretary, close the voting once the results.

12 ayes.

12 ayes.

The resolutions have been adopted and bills have been placed upon final consideration and due pass.

Tonight we will hold a required public hearing on the mayor's proposed 2026 budget.

If there are no objections from council, we will recess until 5:30, 5:31 because we started public hearing the public comment late.

Before reconvening the regular meeting, city council will provide a half-hour general public comment session to hear from the public on city matters, except for any matter that is scheduled for a link legally required public hearing.

The general public comment session will begin promptly at 5.01.

Right now.

Welcome to tonight's session is being interpreted in Spanish.

Sam or Jasmine or Ruby, would you please introduce yourself and let our viewers know how to enable translation on their devices?

Council will now reconvene from our earlier session.

There is no unfinished business.

There are no proclamations being read this evening.

We have one required public hearing tonight.

As a reminder, council members need to turn on their video during the vote.

For those participating in person when called upon, please come to the podium on the presentation monitor on the wall.

You will see your time counting down.

For those participating virtually when called upon, please wait until our meeting host promotes you to speaker.

When you are promoted, please accept the promotion.

Turn on your camera if you have one and your microphones.

All speakers should begin their remarks by telling the council their names and cities of residence, and if they feel comfortable doing so, their home addresses.

If you have signed up to answer questions, only state your name and note that if that you are available for questions of council.

Speakers will have three minutes.

There is no yielding of time.

If translation is needed, you will be given an additional three minutes for your comments to be interpreted.

Speakers must stay on topic of the hearing and must direct their comments to council as a whole.

Please refrain from profane or obscene speech and refrain from individual or personal attacks.

The mayor's proposed 2026 budget.

Following the public hearing, council members may offer amendments to the budget.

The last regularly regularly scheduled council meeting at which members may offer amendments is Monday, November 3rd, 2025.

The required public hearing for the mayor's proposed budget 2026 is open.

May we please have the staff report?

Good evening.

Uh Madam President, members of city council.

My name is Justin Sykes.

I have the privilege to serve as the director of the city's budget and management office.

Denver is not alone in facing some financial challenges.

Twenty of the top 25 largest cities in the United States are also facing budget deficits in 2026.

If you look back, historically, we have um seen an attenuation of our revenues to the point that we had to make about 200 million dollars of reductions to the budget.

City agencies took a very close look at the contracts that they have, uh pulled back on discretionary spending on things like uh travel training, uh, official functions.

Uh, and really the root of this is our revenue.

So the city has seen general fund revenue growth taper uh to essentially flat over uh the last couple of years.

We saw uh high rates of revenue growth for the general fund following the pandemic, which have uh slowed to about 2% last year, and then are uh projected to be zero for 2025.

Uh we project essentially flat, uh slightly lower growth in 2026 in general fund revenues.

The general fund revenues are comprised primarily of sales and use tax and property tax.

Those two sources combined make up over two thirds of general fund revenues, and as this graph shows, the revenue growth in sales and use tax in particular is essentially flat going back to 2023.

There are in the proposed budget a few areas where we are proposing to grow revenue.

However, the mayor's proposed budget is something that would not raise taxes and only has minimal increases in parks and rec, for example, in fire, and in the police department.

We project that we could bring in about $6 million in new revenues.

On the expenditure side, the city's overall proposed budget is about $4.4 billion.

That's the amount that the Department of Finance, the mayor, are requesting appropriation for, or city council's permission to spend.

Of that amount, about 1.6 billion is for the city's general fund.

That is the largest single fund.

It's the most flexible fund.

That's what we use to pay for most of public safety, most of health, paving roads.

In the proposed 2026 budget, the amount that we would spend is about a hundred million dollars less than the proposed 2025 budget.

That equates to about a six percent decrease.

And while there are substantial reductions, which was a very difficult budget, there are no cuts to some of those core public services, such as preserving hours at rec centers, pools, permit and licensing counter, similar facilities.

There's no change to trash, either in terms of services or fees.

There's no reduction in police authorized strength, and although there are no proposed merit increases for city employees, there are no reductions to their health or retirement.

In total, uh we had to identify about 200 million dollars of reductions, accounting for some of the natural growth in the budget.

We did that uh through personnel cuts, through services and supplies cuts, uh, and then through about six million dollars of new revenue.

Uh in terms of personnel, the city's proposed 2026 budget would have 957 fewer full-time equivalents or FTE in the general fund, and then citywide, there would be about a six and a half percent decrease in FTE, and that's after an approximately 40% increase since 2020, excuse me, six since 2012.

Uh those 77 million dollars of reductions in contract services and supplies included uh really to every city agency, uh, the Department of Housing Stability, the Technology Services Department, the Department of Finance, uh, just to name a few.

There's lots more details provided about these reductions in agencies, budget presentations, and the various sections of the budget book.

This is looking at a pie chart of the city's proposed budget where from uh the top left working your way counterclockwise, you can see what percentage of the proposed 2026 general fund budget would be allocated to each of the various agencies shown on this slide.

Uh, do want to just mention that in response to the letter City Council sent to the mayor on October 10th, there were several changes that were incorporated into the revised draft of the mayor's proposed 2026 budget that was released last week Monday.

Uh we were able to address 11 of the 16 priorities identified by city council, uh, many of which we were able to fund through one-time ARPA interest funding.

Uh there is a proposed 15.1 million dollar line item for Trua, that is a nearly $3 million dollar increase compared to the proposed budget that was released in September.

Additionally, Dotti will be taking on the parking magistrate program from county court where it was reduced.

We will bring the funding for the immigrant services legal fund up to the $750,000 that was recommended by City Council.

We will fund a food systems summit using some of that ERPA interest.

The Department of Excise and Licenses will reinstitute its business license hearing fund by absorbing that approximately $30,000 cost.

And then we were able to increase the clerk and recorder's budget by $800,000, and the auditor's budget by $120,000.

And then finally, for the first time in the last several decades, to our knowledge, the mayor's office budget will include all of the discretionary appointees except for those who oversee agencies.

And then finally, there are additional items identified that will support safe routes to school, even if they are not included in that specific campaign's line item.

Lastly, I'll just end on the city's proposed capital budget.

That totals about 277 million dollars.

Most of these funding sources are legally restricted to be spent on capital and look forward to lastly, reserves.

So in the city's general fund, we project that we would end 2026 with about 183 million dollars in reserves.

That would equate to about 11% of projected 2026 expenditures.

And then as required by charter, we have budgeted the 2% of estimated expenditures, about $34 million in contingency.

And the reason we were able to actually begin growing back our reserves is by pulling money out of the border crisis response fund, which we project will have about a $5 million balance at the end of the year.

And this will be the first time that we are growing our reserves once again since 2022.

In order to build our reserves back up to that 15% target, assuming flat expenditures would require another $66 million, and that's something that we would work towards over the next several years.

I do want to just note that uh the federal government is currently withholding about 24 million dollars in reimbursement that we believe we are owed for FEMA's shelter and services program for costs we incurred uh in 2023 and 2024 related to the newcomer response.

We'll be glad to feel any questions and look forward to hearing from the public this evening.

Thank you.

Thank you, Justin.

Um, so we have sixty-three individuals signed up.

So if you do the math, that's about three hours right the public testimony.

What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna call up the first 10 names, because we have people in the overflow room and there's a delay for my name, the names to get called.

So I'll call out the first 10 names, and then if the people in the front row can allow some of them to sit there, and if you want to give your testimony and continue to watch, we have an overflow room that you're 100% able to stay.

Um, just want to make sure it's comfortable because we have a capacity issue in here, so we can't let, and once we reach capacity, we won't let people come in and out.

So if you're waiting for your name to be, if you have the list and you're down on the list, just giving you for a warning if you leave the if you leave this chamber and that it's at capacity, you won't be able to get called to come back in until I call the 10 names.

Any questions on that?

All right, so let's get started.

The first up, first 10 names I'm gonna call.

Um the first nine, no, the first 10 are all in person.

Stefan Smith Contreras, Parleen, Zilarney, Treeth Howard, Ramin Ram, Hema Kramer, Donna Garnett, Maria Martinez, Julian, Adam Martinez, and Kevin Castillo.

Are any of those names out in the hall?

Okay.

Yep.

If you all can just kind of uh Yeah, we'll have to just we'll have to just move people around.

Is the first one here, Stefan?

That's me.

Okay, go ahead, Steven.

Go ahead.

All right.

Thank you.

Three minutes, right?

Yeah, three minutes, and then you can just see it starting right there.

Yep.

Yep.

Okay, great.

Um good evening.

My name is Stephen Smith Contreras.

I am a Denver based artist, musician, educator, father, amongst other roles.

Born and raised here in Denver, proud graduate of East High School, grew up in CD9, bought my first house in CD9, currently live in CD5, worked in DPS for over five years in Northeast Denver as well as Southwest Denver, and have dedicated my career to creative youth development and education.

Spent over a decade in LA, moved back home during COVID, and now serve as a director of programs at Youth on Record.

So I'm here tonight because I'm deeply concerned about the proposed cuts to the Office of Children's Affairs specifically.

Youth on Record is currently a grant recipient of OCA.

And this funding truly allows us to provide safe and great engaging and creative spaces for young people during critical out of school times.

So this is after school, during summer times.

This is when young people are vulnerable, and when parents need trusted, constructive and affordable, affordable programs.

I will mention all of our programs are free.

So our programs help young people build community, connection, strengthen communication skills and problem solving skills, and develop professional and creative skills to support academic success.

Each year we work with over 1,700 young people in Denver, and our data shows measurable improvements in mental health and wellness, school engagement, and self-understanding.

So community programs like ours are not just nice to have.

These are core core to supporting public safety.

And so what's at risk if a 50% budget cut would severely impact programs like ours.

Fewer young people would have access to safe, supportive, and affordable after-school summer programs as well, and this would reduce staffing and mentorship opportunities for young people.

These are trusted adult relationships that keep people young that keep young people connected and thriving.

As a longtime educator who's worked with urban youth in underserved schools and communities, I've seen firsthand what happens when programs like these disappear.

School engagement declines, more young people can fall into crisis and risk involvement with the justice system.

So closing, young people are the future of our city.

We must invest in young people, not cut and not cut resources that help grow, heal, and lead.

Young people grow, heal and lead.

I urge you to restore OCA funding to 2025 level so that organizations like Youth on Record and others can continue to provide critical life-changing programs that support young people in Denver, make our community safer, stronger, and more equitable for all.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Pearl Ann.

Yes.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Pearl Anzalarney, and I'm speaking today on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Denver.

I'm here today to respectfully ask that election operations be adequately funded in the city's final budget.

We realize that negotiations are still ongoing, and then an additional 800,000 has been added.

However, the amount as now proposed for next year's budget is what the clerk and recorder's office was allotted in fiscal year 2022, an equivalent election year.

However, that in 2022, the number of voters was 8% smaller, and the minimum wage was $3.42 less.

With the growing Denver electorate and rising costs across all areas of election administration, from staffing and training to technology, to security, to printing and mailing.

This level of funding is simply not adequate to ensure that every voter in Denver can pass, can cast a ballot freely, securely, and with full and equitable access to the voting process.

Next year will be an especially critical and scrutinized election.

An underfunded elections office risks undermining voter access and trust precisely when we need it most.

It is vital for Mayor Johnston and members of the city council to work closely with the clerk and recorder's office to stay committed to fair, accessible, and well resourced elections.

So voters can be confident, their votes will be heard, their votes will be counted, and they will know that Denver is serious about protecting democratic participation.

Thank you all for your leadership and attention and action on these this important issue.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up we have Teresa Coward.

So I'm I'm like, I know you want to do that.

If you want to snap a little bit during, I can't have clapping, literally be here for much longer.

Because I just said the next person's name and no one heard me.

So Therese Howard.

Hello, Council.

Uh Teresa Howard here with House Keith Action Network Denver.

I am here today to beg you, Council, to vote in favor of additional funding in the range of $9 million for family shelter.

The Comfort Inn, which is being closed down, uh as an individual shelter, or the stay-in, which the city currently owns, or many other sites could serve as functional sites for immediate options for family shelter.

This is at a time when we have at least and much more than 250 families on the wait list for family shelter.

All right.

Let me talk about what it is we're talking about here.

We're not talking about families that are in good situations, just trying to get into something better.

They're like, okay, well, you know, I'm in a uh, I'm staying with a family, I just need another better place.

No, we're talking about families who are either literally on the streets, which are some of the families that we have been working with, families that are in their vehicles, and let me remind you a vehicle does not have running water, does not have a bathroom, does not have access to significant electricity, uh, gets extremely cold in winter, and these are the places that families are living.

We're also talking about families that are crashing with friends in situations that are extremely precarious, where you are uh in you're going to lose your friendship with that family uh because of staying with them and then land back out on the streets.

The stories can go on, but we're talking about families that are houseless in need of emergency shelter and are on a wait list and told they have to stay on the streets or in their cars until the spot comes open.

Uh last winter, there were 392 families that stayed in a cold weather shelter on the peak.

392 families.

Now, with investing in family shelter this winter immediately, um that would divert many of those families that are going to be needing to go to cold weather emergency shelter, away from needing that cold weather shelter to having a stable shelter.

By investing in family shelter through this budget, we are saving money on that cold weather shelter front.

We only currently have 303 family shelter rooms total in the city of Denver.

That's all.

That's the total family shelter count.

250 plus on a wait list is not okay.

We cannot accept this.

We can fund more family shelters.

Please vote for family shelters.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up we have Rahima Kramer.

And after that, Donna Garnett.

Hello, City Council.

My name is Raheema Kramer, and I'm the mother of seven children.

I'm here today because of the lack of shelter in Junver is destroying families and futures.

When my family uh when families like mine can't access a safe place to stay, the consequences are devastating.

Children are removed and placed into foster care, splitting up families who simply just need help.

In July, my family lived in a broken down vehicle before being referred to the Tamarack family shelter.

We hoped for stability, but were met with closed doors, unavailable case workers, and rigid rules that ignored our reality.

When shelter beds run out or support falls short, we a parents are forced to make impossible choices.

I was pressured to send my children into an abusive environment just to avoid being separated by the system.

No family should be punished for being poor or homeless.

These fan these failings don't just hurt individuals, they shatter the foundation of our real of our city.

For every family denied shelter, more children end up in foster care through no fault of their own, lives are ruined, trust is lost, and our community suffers.

I urge you to approve a budget amendment for more family shelters.

Um you have the power to keep families together, save children from being torn away from loving parents.

Please help us build a city where compassion guides policy, and no child loses their family simply because of homelessness.

Thank you for listening and fighting to protect them Denver's families.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for coming down.

Next up we have Donna Garnett.

Next up we have Maria Martinez.

Or the family shelters here in Denver.

Thank you.

Next up we have Julie.

Julian Adam Martinez.

Dear City Council and Major's Office, my name is Julian, and I'm a high school student at D SST College View and an Internet Art Lab, it's been hard trying to find an after-school program for young artists and future leaders.

Young people who accept such creativity.

I am currently a newer member of Art Lab, and in the span of three months, I've been able to learn so many skills, such as code switching and applying those emotions for me into a form of art that people can feel.

These people I met make me feel great to be myself around.

I was finally given the opportunity to practice my drawing and painting after school, as my school schedule didn't give me an art class.

But one of the most incredible opportunities our lab has to offer is their payment towards interns, which is a huge boundary to those going into art, especially in the future.

Now, if you ask me what would happen if funding were reduced or cut, most perks like food pantry, which most interns in their family have as a necessity, will be gone, further increasing the struggle for them and their families.

Are reduced funds, then perhaps they may have to shut down.

Reducing the amount of opportunities open to students, especially high school students who are trying their best to get hands-on experience in most of the programs and be set up for success.

As for someone who struggles to find perfect folk program fits that match my interests, I lose what helps me become that person I want to be in the future.

That's someone who hopes to inspire creativity in everyone.

And now grew up, knowing that there's no way to become that leader.

So please, we suggest you continue to fund the Office of Children's Affairs and programs like Art Lab.

These are opportunities for that allow us to express ourselves that allow us to build a better better future for our community and possibly our world.

Thank you for your time and listening for my story.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Kevin Castillo.

Okay, uh, good evening, and thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight in support of the clerk's proposed uh budget request.

I'm Kevin Castillo.

I'm a proud resident of district six, and I've worked for the city and county of Denver for the last seven years.

In the last two years, I've served as your male ballot administrator.

So if you're a Denver voter, you've seen my work.

Last fall, I had the privilege of guiding many of you on council and other elected officials on tours of the areas that I oversee.

Many of these tours concluded the same way.

You thank us for the work that we do.

You watched your neighbors and constituents fulfill the promise of democracy, and you said if we ever needed support, all we have to do was ask.

I believe that moment has arrived.

The clerk has discussed with council and the community how the mayor's proposed cuts would affect voters in the city.

For those who don't know, these cuts will reduce your voting access.

If approved, many of the most popular voting centers and drop boxes in the city will be closed for the 2026 primary.

This includes six out of the 10 most used voting sites in the 2024 general.

Well-known locations like the Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center and the Blair Blair Caldwell Library will likely be closed in the 2026 primary.

These spillover effects will have ramifications in the 2026 general election as well.

We can avoid these closures by fully funding the clerk and recorder's proposed budget in 2026.

The mayor has publicly stated that he made these cuts with the intention of not harming the services that your constituents are expecting.

When it comes to elections, these cuts will harm services, plain and simple.

We understand that now is the time to tighten our belts, but we're not asking for extra, we're asking for enough.

Enough funding to deliver on the promise of democracy and to help your neighbors and constituents do the work that they do so well.

Thank you, and then I hope to have your support.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Katie Gray online.

Katie, if you accept the promotion.

Yes, hello.

Go ahead.

Hi, I am Katie Gray of Lakewood Colorado.

I'm the community education director at the Blue Bench since 1983.

The Blue Bench has been Denver's only comprehensive sexual assault prevention and support survivor support center.

We have a community of survivors, allies and advocates that are working together to end sexual violence and build a safer, more supportive Metro Denver.

Sexual violence is a public health crisis.

Nationally, someone is sexually assaulted every 74 seconds in Colorado.

One in two women, one in three men, and one in two trans individuals will experience sexual violence in their lifetime.

These numbers are staggering, and they demand action.

At the Blue Bench.

We believe in upstream prevention, addressing the root cause of sexual violence before it occurs.

Research shows that teaching consent and healthy relationship skills, bystander intervention can reduce rates of violence by up to 50%.

And our prevention programs are trauma informed, developmentally appropriate, tailored for youth all the way from middle school through adulthood.

But prevention does not happen in isolation.

It requires community-wide approach.

And everyone has a role to play in our community to prevent sexual violence.

And through social diffusion theory, we know that behavior change can spread through social networks.

And when young people learn to recognize these harmful behaviors early, when they learn to intervene safely and support survivors compassionately, they influence their peers and their families and communities.

And one empowered student can shift the norms of an entire school and the norms of a school can shift an entire community.

However, recent cuts to VOCA and other critical funding sources have significantly impacted our ability to sustain and grow our prevention programs.

Without additional support, our reach is going to shrink at a time when our community really needs us the most.

And so we're asking you today to include funding for Get Real Denver and prevention education in the city's budget.

This investment will allow us to expand our reach and deepen our impact where we can continue building a culture of respect, safety, and accountability all across Denver.

So thank you so much tonight for your time and consideration and for standing with us in the fight to end sexual violence.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Yoli Casas.

Yoli.

Next up, we have Victor Marez.

Marez.

Hi, are you doing council members?

My name is Victor Menos.

I am a Denver Metro community member, asking you all to pay attention to the people standing before you, giving you lived experience, giving you the reality of what it's like out there right now.

I know numbers on a spreadsheet or numbers in a report can look different, but as you can see these families behind you, there's a lot more in the overflow room, a lot more downstairs in front of the building that are asking for your help, that are asking for you to stand up and to step out, and they're asking for you to prioritize them.

Organizations like Kenn, members of the community, and members really all over the place, faith-based community service organizations are doing what they can to try to bring people in and shelter them.

And now it's your turn.

What that's telling us, the constituents is that you would prefer to criminalize the people behind me.

It's time to provide shelter to kids.

We're talking kids.

300 families, minimum.

And it's only gonna get worse.

Thank you.

Thank you, Victor.

I'm gonna call out the next 10.

So if we have people in the overflow room, they can come in.

We have V Reeves in the chambers, Alejandra Castanera, Virtually, Milagros, Mayestre, Anna Miller, Lonnie Rush, Karina Langa, HGG, June Churchill, Lakisha Hodge, and Jerry Burton.

Next up we have V Reeves.

I'll call one more time.

V.

Reeves.

There's an overflow room.

They're trying to get in right now.

Got it.

Yep.

Is the Hey V, is the TV on in the overflow room?

You can hear.

Um the TV's on, but it's kind of hard to hear.

The volume's really quiet, and it's we've got kids in there too.

It's packed full of kids running around.

I'll try to see if we could turn it up.

Yeah.

Sheriff, is there any way we could turn up the volume in the overflow?

Can you check if it's up all the way?

Thank you.

Council.

Council President.

Um earlier the storm was interfering with the reception too.

So is it is it clear now?

Yeah, my staff said it's clear.

It's four.

Thank you.

Go ahead, V.

Hi, my name is V Reeves with House Keys Action Network of Denver.

Um I'm also here to plead and appease to your sense of morality and humanity for something that I believe and that I think we should all believe to be the most basic moral line possible, which is that children and kids and babies deserve somewhere safe and warm at night.

I think there are a lot of really important things that people are going to be talking about today.

But children deserve the right to a future.

I think it's horrible to think that any one person can decide who gets to have that future, who gets to raise children in a safe environment, who gets to make sure that their kids, you know, get a full night's sleep and that they're not afraid of being robbed or wondering where they're gonna be the next night.

But unfortunately, we are in a position where you do have that choice.

You are the ones who are gonna be deciding that for these families.

Right now, the wait list, when people call the connection center, they're told it's over 400 families long and they have to wait three months.

So they call us.

And again, we're not service providers, we're advocates.

We're the last line, the last line of hope.

But people are calling us because they've tried all the other channels and there's still nowhere for them.

I had a lot of like technical things to say about this, about how the priorities are really messed up when we're giving tens of millions of dollars to policing, like Victor said, we're deciding that that means that we'd rather put these families in jail and take their kids away with CPS than give them somewhere safe to go.

Right?

And we're asking for nine million.

And maybe that's a chunk of change, but when tens of millions of dollars are going into soccer stadiums and mall purchases, again, we are talking about babies.

A lot of us personally have taken people into our homes because there's nowhere for them to go.

I really hope that you guys realize that it is in your hands to decide if these kids get to have a warm, safe, you know, upbringing, a childhood.

If they get to have the right to a future that any of your children deserve to have as well.

So please make the right choice.

Please vote on the proposal for a family shelter in the budget.

We are counting on you and these children, these kids who don't even know where they are today, who have no no knowledge of this process, they are counting on you to be able to grow up in a safe environment and have somewhere to go at night.

Um, so thank you, and thank you for listening to the families here today.

Thank you for listening to people and remember that bottom moral line of children who need somewhere to sleep at night.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Alejandra Castanera online hello can you hear me yes go ahead hello my name is alejandra castañeda thank you for this opportunity to speak I live in district one with my 15 year old I volunteer my time as a pedestrian dignity co-organizer a member of my local register organization a safe routes to school advocate a housing advocate and my local food bank and more as a member of the Denver community I'm speaking tonight because I'm deeply concerned that the proposed 2026 budget reduces funding for vision zero safe routes to school and other critical programs to prevent unsafe speech on our streets and to help us address preventable traffic deaths and injuries in district one alone in the 2024 25 school year one high school student sammy was killed while trying to get to school two middle schoolers were hurt by drivers and one visiting university student was killed by a driver when biking in our community please vote to increase safe routes to school funding funding by two million dollars the proposed 4000 allocation is an 84% cut from last year and undermines the safety and access of all of our kids when they are trying to get to and from school restore vision zero funding to redesign dangerous streets on the high injury network like federal boulevard where Sammy was killed fully stuff the right of way enforcement team this team pays for itself and it helps keep crosswalks bike lanes ramps and parking spaces accessible and safe your leadership can make a real difference please make sure that this fund is included in next year's budget thank you for your time thank you next up we have Milagros Maestre Milagros okay I'll wait and is Anna Miller here thank you I thought I saw you walk in Milagros Janaica Pineda Milagro Maestre vivimos juntas my name is Jacqueline and I will be speaking for Milagros because she does not know how to read and I will be speaking for her okay we are going through a difficult situation similar to many people yesterday her husband was deported as was my husband as well not to and now we are on on the street the sheriff came by and uh carried out the eviction notice we have our all our stuff including our four children and we are in dire need of shelter see ya muy agradecido and we would be we we would be very appreciative of any help we we could receive because we are going through a very very difficult and dire situation thank you gracia and next up we have Anna Miller.

Evening council, my name is Anna.

I come before you tonight to speak on the urgency of creating more family shelter.

Our mayor has said countless times that there were no children on the streets of Denver.

This has been shown time and time again to be blatantly false.

At this moment, over 250 families are on a wait list for shelter.

That's only a percentage of the actual amount of families that are houseless at this moment.

Many families are living in hotels, their vehicles on friend and family's floors and even under bridges.

At the moment, we only have three hundred and three family shelter spaces, and the city is facing its highest eviction rate ever.

The city prioritizes vanity projects and heavy enforcement over the safety and security of children.

Children, the most vulnerable of the vulnerable.

We claim to be a progressive city.

We are not a progressive city when we have babies and children sleeping in these conditions.

So I'm also going to tell you about the family that I took care of.

I brought in a family.

These are children that you see in this room.

They should not be sleeping on the streets of our city.

So I'm begging you, I am begging you.

So we don't hear stories about families having their children taken away because of the fact that they are poor.

It's disgusting and it is wrong.

Think of the children.

Thank you.

Next up we have Laney Rush on virtual.

Next up we have Karina Longa.

Karina is okay perfect.

Sam.

I introduced myself as one of those people mentioned who finds themselves on the streets.

I I had a place, but it became difficult to pay rent.

Therefore, we were evicted from our home.

I have received help from an organization, which they have helped me they will be helping me for a week to have shelter.

But tomorrow is the day that that week ends.

I am in fact on that waste wait list, but I have not received a response from anyone.

I want to speak as I want to speak a little bit more about my situation.

I have a son who has a disability.

Myself a bit today.

My God bless you.

Could I say that?

Goodbye.

Thank you.

Next up we have HGG.

All right.

Well, Council, here we are after another year.

We keep coming here year after year with asked regarding the same notorious um human decency and the treatment of houseless people.

We see throughout the year of things not getting better for houseless houselessness.

That there is not enough of that to go around.

Under attack, what do we do?

Stand up, fight back.

So we'll attempt again.

And we'll do we'll keep doing so.

As you've heard, we're asking for nine million dollars towards family shelter.

It's nothing compared to 175 million for the mall's facelift.

And I'm not talking about calling 7,000 different numbers, um, calling uh one number 7,000 different times, um, and then going through a process for an intake to receive day services and then still waiting for an answer to do another intake uh and the whole time you're on the streets.

We need a walk-up emergency family shelter.

It shouldn't be this hard to get a family inside.

No, instead, we need more fascism, right?

Keeps the people nice and scared so they don't come together, so they don't unify, so they don't unionize.

In fact, these fascists sometimes go around harassing families on the streets.

I'm talking about uh people who don't have license plates in their car because they're too poorly uh get their car registered and uh don't have proper arguments to get their car registered, uh, you know, harassing them, telling them they have to move the car, telling them they have to get a license plate, tell them they have to get insurance or the car is gonna get towed, ordering them out of their car, impounding their car knowing that they don't have the money to get it out because obviously they're staying in the car.

Families on the shelter wait list for months.

There's empty rooms at the Tamarak shelter right now, by the way.

Uh, who would know better than the residents that we work with directly day by day um living at the shelter?

There are over half the rooms are empty.

Um families are not getting moved into the shelter, and there's empty rooms.

I don't know, one plus one equals two.

Maybe the salvation army is just not moving people into the shelter now.

Uh, that their contract is ending.

Uh these are human beings.

These are not business deals.

We should treat it as such.

Vote yes for the family shelter, nine million dollars.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, we have June Churchill.

Right.

Thank you, Council President Sandoval.

Greetings, Council members.

My name is June Churchill, and I'm the budget chair of the Dotti Advisory Board, and I'm here on behalf of the board.

On October 15th, we sent you our annual budget letter making recommendations and requests on this year's Dotty budget.

I'm not going to recite the letter, uh, but I will explain some of our amendment requests for you all and for the public.

First, the city highlights photo enforcement in this budget as a revenue generator since any tickets go into the general fund.

First, I want to know for the public.

This is a completely separate technology from Flock.

Feel free to ask me questions about that later.

Um we must acknowledge that cameras are used to deter dangerous driving because the roadway design itself is dangerous.

We must stop this loop and make the cameras fund their own end.

We recommend that all photo enforcement revenue be directed to road safety improvements on those same roadways where they're installed, so we solve the problem of traffic violence permanently.

However, my outrage at this year's DODI budget is because of the destruction of the Transportation and Mobility Special Revenue Fund, turning it fully into a slush fund a mere four years after it was after it was established.

When this council created the SRF in 2022, its purpose was to quote support alternative modes of transportation and mobility projects that increase the safety of Denver's transportation network.

That is directly from the bill.

In 2023, 14.6 million dollars of this fund went to sidewalks, bike lanes, transit, and other safety improvements.

This year, zero is going to projecement and parking operations, obviously, very different from the purpose of the fund.

Safe Russia Schools and Vision Zero are both facing steep cuts this year.

The Denver Moves Bike Plan has very anemic funding without any bond dollars and falling CIP dollars compared to previous funding levels.

We aren't funding bus stops or transit signal priority either.

I still don't even have complete line item detail of what's in that fund.

All the FTEs and contracts that Dotty shifted into it, as they were quite vague in their budget presentation.

But I know from last year that the administration placed many FTE into this fund with the justification that they related that they were related to safety, despite being general operations positions.

The catch is that DOTI as a whole is concerned with safety, and almost every staff member could be construed as working on safety.

As a result, you know, everyone can be put in this fund.

It's general fund.

Now it's not a special revenue fund.

That's not what council intended, and we ask that you narrow the purpose of the fund so that it can no longer be used as a slush fund.

Finally, our budget is fundamentally flawed.

We have too many assets for our revenue.

While we stretch every dollar, we must face the facts.

Over 60 bridges in our city are structurally deficient.

Our paving condition is worsening year over year, despite paving being our largest lion item every cycle.

Half our fleet has passed its service life, and we are off track in meeting our climate mode shift and vision zero goals.

The system won't fail tomorrow, but it will fall apart without serious intervention.

Thank you, and I'm available for questions.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Lakeisha Hodge.

Good evening, thank you, Madam Council President.

Good evening, Denver City Council.

First, I'm Lakeisha Hodge.

I'm the executive director for the Struggle of Love Foundation.

And first, I would like to call out that the Struggle of Love Foundation was recognized as the out-of-school time champion by the Denver After School Alliance in 2025, and we are proud of that recognition.

That we are able to operate in our community.

Which is why I'm here today, to talk a little bit more about the support that we need, the continued support that we need to operate our out-of-school time programs.

So, on behalf of the Struggle of Love Foundation, we want to express our sincere gratitude to Denver City Council and to Councilman Cashman for prioritizing the importance of this issue.

The Office of Children Affairs funds are vital to the work that we do every day.

As you know, there are limited funding opportunities available to support our most vulnerable communities.

And as we continue to break resources together to sustain our programs, we deeply appreciate your advocacy and your commitment and continued support.

OCA funding has been essential in helping organizations like ours provide meaningful support for young people and their families.

These funds are more than just program dollars.

They represent a long-standing investment in violence prevention, opportunity, and community safety.

Through OCA supported programs, we've seen measurable and lasting impact in the lives of Denver's youth for keeping students from keeping students off the streets after school and on the weekends.

Programming provides youth uh with mental health supports that fosters trusted relationships with uh trusted therapists.

Um, we've also seen spaces that were created for young people to have a safe place to go, to grow, to learn, and to thrive.

Looking ahead, we hope this moment also opens the doors to identify a more consistent and sustainable funding stream to support youth and community programming in the long term.

We remain eager to work in partnership with the city council and the OC Office of Children Affairs to continue to provide and build a safer and stronger community for Denver's youth.

We want to thank you again for all of your support thus far in raising up the advocacy for Opposite Children's Affairs and the importance of out of school time, and we hope that it continues.

As you can see, there is an impact that is happening at the ground level, um, with the violence reduction, and you know, the support for families that really need that out of school time that cannot afford.

We do provide that for free of cost.

So for families that cannot afford it, we are here to help you.

So thank you.

Next up, we have Jerry Burton.

Good evening, City Kelvin.

I'm here.

You know, everything I can say have already been said.

It was also said last year, the year before that, even when Mayor Hancock was the mayor.

We are facing the same problem that we are facing when they were mayor.

We are facing the same thing, but he has gotten worse.

We have no family shelters, we have no men's shelters, and that's all we look at now.

We look to put people in shelter, not in the housing.

If you want a better Denver, you must put people in housing so they can develop uh stability, so they can develop a work ethic so they can start healing.

Until we put that the priority, we are going to continue to go down the road and gonna get worse and worse.

I said this back in 2015 when I was out there, when they go call me the homeless mayor, as far as uh Jerryville.

The same thing is going.

It has gotten worse.

I told y'all then it was gonna get worse if we don't get a hand on it.

If we don't get a hand on it now, it's gonna get even worse.

It's gonna get out of control.

We got to do something.

People want housing, they don't want shelter.

They don't want everybody want what we I have and what you have.

They want their own place with their own key so they can come and go as they please.

They don't need to be told what to do, how to raise their kid, and what to eat, what not to eat, what to do or what not to do.

We are not kids.

We are grown adults, and we just asking y'all not for a handout, we're asking y'all to do y'all part because no matter what you do, these vanity projects ain't working.

They have the city look beautiful, but what makes the city look nasty?

Homeless people everywhere, unhoused people everywhere.

We got people, kids laying outside at night.

We got older uh senior citizens can't even get into apartment.

We must invest in the citizen, not in companies because if you invest in a citizen, the citizen will make sure that the company that the company and uh corporation will thrive.

Until we change our mindset, it's gonna get worse.

It's gonna continue to get worse, and y'all the one that can stop it.

I can't do it by myself.

Even hands can't do it by itself, even other uh organizations can't do it.

Y'all are the one.

That's why we elected y'all to come into these office and sit behind the chair making life threatening decision about people.

You're not making uh life uh threatening decision about machine or anything.

These are people with real life, real feeling that are asking y'all for your help, and you are not giving it to them.

I'm talking about all thirteen, as you say, address y'all as a whole.

All 13 of y'all should be doing a lot better than what the what the heck y'all are doing right now.

People want housing, they don't need no shelter.

What the hell is shelter gonna do?

They're gonna have to be moving within a year because you're gonna sell the hotels.

Well, anyway, y'all get the jest.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm gonna call out the next five.

So Isabella De Sing Signor, Marisa Kruger, Tammy Balafado, Sandra Young, and Mark Donovan.

And I'll just wait a minute to see if anyone's in overflow.

Okay.

I can say those five names again.

Isabella Del Signore, Marisa Kruger, Tammy Belafado, Sandra Young, Mark Donovan.

Yeah.

I think they're um we're just waiting if anybody's coming from Overflow.

While we wait, is Marilyn Ackerman here?

Okay.

Is that you?

Okay.

You can go ahead.

Mark Donovan.

Some reading.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I didn't, I didn't see anybody else that came forward.

Um, go ahead and then I'll go back on the queue.

Good evening, City Council.

Thank you for this public testimony time.

My name is Marilyn Ackerman.

I am a member of Montview Presbyterian Church and Together, Colorado.

I am a resident of Central Park in Council District 8.

I start by saying how proud I am of your supermajority votes on the mayor's budget.

And the more I learn about our city government this year, it really is the mayor's budget that you, council, get to comment on.

He decides ultimately.

I wish he was here tonight to hear what you are listening to.

When I voted for him, he said he was interested in co-governance.

But over the past half year or so, he hasn't acted like he has any interest in co-governing.

We see too many backroom deals or deals without counsel or the community's input.

Shameful.

As a council as Council President Sandoval likes to say, we are living in unprecedented times.

I agree, and I think most of us would agree the times are going to get worse for our neighbors and ourselves in the coming months and year.

With federal and local layoffs and freezes on hiring, we will soon see people's savings exhausted, increasing the number of people needing more physical and social support.

Our unhoused numbers will rise, especially for families.

Our need for rental assistance will be unprecedented.

Food, medicine, health insurance, and utility costs will all be at record levels.

Crimes of poverty will most certainly rise without many safety nets in place.

So thank you for your supermajority recommendations to the mayor.

When you can't afford life's basic needs for your family, you will do anything to help them survive.

To avoid crimes of poverty, we need every available dollar to go to things like Trua, Denver Food Summit, Children's Affairs, housing vouchers, and funds for the family shelter to get 250 unhoused families off a wait list and get them housed.

The choice not to expand the STAR program seems intentional and reflects the mayor's desire to prioritize policing over community-based public safety.

We see that the police budget continues to stay static or grow each year.

Keeping people safe before police are involved is our goal.

Restoring the STAR funding for non-police interactions works to keep people from the criminal justice system and also makes people and cops safer when calls for help are made.

What if we used a good police work?

We used good police work instead of surveilling our residents with flock cameras to help solve crime.

What if we shifted the source of the mayor's 498,000 flock contract money, wherever that money was coming from, to social needs for these terrible times?

What if we restored crisis response positions for safely handling folks having a mental health crisis while in the sheriff's custody?

Many of these folks shouldn't even be in jail.

Many just need mental health services.

Okay.

We're gonna go back to the previous five.

Isabella, is Isabella here?

Okay.

Um Marissa Kruger.

Okay, you're next.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Marisa Kruger, and I am a proud Denver resident and the board chair of Accesso, the Spanish language access advisory board.

I've served on this board since 2020 because I believe in a Denver where every resident, no matter their language, income, or neighborhood, has a real voice in our democracy.

We are asking you to restore the Denver Clerk and Recorders 2026 budget.

These proposed cuts would directly undermine access for Spanish speaking voters and others who already face barriers to participation in our elections.

Let's be clear, when local accessibility is reduced, local voices are silenced.

These aren't distant federal mandates, these are local decisions with local consequences for Denver neighborhoods.

If this budget isn't restored, Denver will lose 12 polling centers and eight ballot drop boxes for the 2026 primary.

Many are located in communities with the largest share of Spanish speaking residents.

We'll also lose drive-through ballot boxes and mobile voting units.

Essential services that bring voting to where people are already gathered in community centers, churches, and cultural events.

These programs don't just deliver ballots, they deliver trust.

Trust that the city wants people to participate and that their vote truly matters.

And right now, that trust is fragile.

Across the country, people are questioning whether their voices matter, whether systems are fair, and whether leaders are listening.

Denver should be setting a different example, an example of transparency, inclusion, and accessibility.

If we take away the very programs that build trust, if we make it harder for people to vote in person in their language and in their own neighborhoods, we send the opposite message.

We tell them that government is moving further away, not closer, that their participation is not valued.

Cuts like these don't just shrink budgets, they shrink belief in democracy.

They deepen the sense that the government is something done to people, not with them.

Denver has worked hard to become a leader in language equity and inclusive democracy, but this budget cut threatens to reverse that progress.

If we want stronger participation, if we want trust in elections, and if we want a democracy that reflects the people who live here, we must keep the doors open, the ballot boxes accessible, and the language support available.

Restoring this budget means ensuring that elections remain accessible, secure, and trusted by all residents.

Communities with language needs keep the tools and supports they rely on, and Denver continues to lead with equity at the heart of its democracy.

Language access isn't an optional service.

It's a promise that every vote counts and that every voter belongs.

I urge you to protect that promise.

Please restore the Clerk and Recorders 2026 budget and keep Denver a city where democracy is accessible, trusted, and alive in every community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Tammy Belofato.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Tammy Belafato.

I'm the executive director of Beta Enterprises, and I'm here to urge the city to continue supporting and funding the Denver Day Works Program as a vital asset, not only for individuals experiencing homelessness, but for the entire Denver community.

For the past nine years, Denver Day Works has served as a bridge between unemployment and stability.

Participants have achieved an impressive 48% employment rate, a nationally recognized benchmark for workforce success for the unhoused population.

During this time, individuals gain short-term work readiness skills and earn critically needed income, with the prevailing wage currently at $26 an hour.

By contrast, the newer Denver Workforce Pilot only serves individuals after they are housed, leaving a significant gap for those who are ready and able to work now, but are still unhoused.

Both programs have merit, but they must work in tandem, not replace one another.

With the Denver pilot program, as early 2025 statistics showed 80 people were referred, nine were employed, and 11 in training.

It said that with many that were not yet ready due to health or mental health challenges.

Denver Day Works offers a supportive work environment where participants can learn, grow, and recover from mistakes with their health and mental health challenges understood and supported, not held against them.

In traditional job placement, being late, missing a shift, or showing up under the influence, often leads to immediate termination.

But at Denver Day Works, we take a different approach.

If someone struggles, they're sent home for the day, counseled the next day, and with a warning and a second chance.

This compassionate model teaches accountability without cutting people from the opportunity.

Denver Day Works reaches people before housing, providing structure, income, and hope when it's most needed.

And with the new Medicaid and SNAP requirements, individuals aged 19 through 64 will need to complete 80 hours of work per month, work programming, education, or community service to keep their benefits.

Individuals experiencing homelessness used to be exempt from these requirements, but however, this exemption has now been removed.

Right now, the Denver Dayworks crews maintain the grounds around the all-in-mile high sites, keeping those neighborhoods clean and welcoming, and keeping the neighbors happy with the aesthetics.

The partnership between Denver Dayworks and Civic Center Conservancy is another shining example of what programs bring to our city.

Civic Center Conservancy adds funds to the Denver Dayworks program.

This is what allowed us to lower the amount we asked for from 750,000 to 550,000.

Through Denver Dayworks, our team is out at Civic Center Park three days a week, maintaining the cleanliness of the park, removing trash and debris, and ensuring that the grounds remain beautiful.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Sandra Young.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Sandra Young, and I stand before you not just as a resident of Denver, but someone that believes that democracy is as strong as the people we empower to protect it.

The clerk and recorder's office is just not another department on a spreadsheet.

It's the heartbeat of trust between the people and the government it serves.

When we talk about funding in elections, we're not talking about politics.

We are talking about access, equity, and confidence, the very pillars of democracy.

The mayor's proposal suggests that we do more with less, that somehow the rising cost of safety, technology, staffing, and accessibility are exaggerated.

But history tells a different story.

Every time we've underfunded access to the ballot, it wasn't efficiency we gained, it was exclusion.

Let's remember the right has never been, the right to vote has never been free.

It was paid for in marches, in jail sales, in blood, in courage, from the Edmund Pettis Bridge to the streets of Denver, people have fought so that every single voice could be heard.

Reducing polling sites or ballot voices even by one, risk repeating a painful past when access was a privilege and not a right.

In a city that prides itself on progress, we cannot retreat.

Inflation is real.

Security demands are real, and security engagement, translation services, fair staffing, they all come at a cost, a necessary cost.

If we can find millions to repave roads or expand downtown developments, surely we can find the resources to pave a smoother path to the ballot box.

Because roads connect neighborhoods, but ballots connect people to power.

I appreciate the 800,000 proposed for postage and put and printing, it's a start, but it's not enough to safeguard that our Constitution promises fair, secure, and accessible elections for all.

Dr.

Martin Luther King reminds us that the vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have.

To weaken that tool by cutting corners, by reducing access, by questioning the real cost of democracy, is to silence the very people who keep the city alive.

So tonight I ask you not to be politicians, but to be stewards of justice.

Invest in the integrity of our elections.

Fund the Kirk and Recorders' office fully, protect the sanctity of every Denver voice, because democracy doesn't run on assumptions, it runs on commitment.

It runs on courage, and it runs on the willingness to do what's right, even when budgets are tight.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Mark Donovan.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Mark Donovan.

I'm the founder and executive director of the Denver Basic Income Project.

I live in District 5.

In partnership with the City of Denver, 19 community-based organizations, foundations, including the Colorado Trust, the Colorado Health Foundation, the Denver Foundation, Rose Community, and many private donors, large and small.

We delivered 10.8 million dollars in unconditional basic income to more than 800 of our neighbors who were experiencing homelessness.

We delivered it with trust, respect, and dignity, and the outcomes were groundbreaking.

Lives were transformed.

People are alive today as a direct result of being a part of the Denver Basic Income Project.

I hope you are all as proud as we are of what we accomplished.

Thank you for being our partner.

In a short amount of time, we had such a large impact, and we also learned a great deal.

We learned that this is not just about cash, it's about connectivity, community, consistency, but most importantly, trust.

We share these learnings by writing a playbook, which has been downloaded over 200 times by leaders around the country.

Our work is unique, important, and urgent.

We're on the verge of a double tsunami.

The water has receded, and we know it's coming.

Denver continues to face a deepening housing and homelessness crisis.

According to the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, homelessness increased by 7% last year.

At the same time, national challenges, budget cuts, layoffs, the government shutdown, and job displacement due to AI are putting more people at risk of falling into poverty.

We firmly believe that an unconditional basic income is an essential part of a smooth transition to a new economy that will emerge.

Now, more than ever, we must explore proven innovative strategies that lift people out of poverty or prevent people from falling into poverty.

The Denver Basic Income Project offers scalable, data-driven model that demonstrates how financial security leads to stability, dignity, and stronger communities.

The time is now to invest in methods that can help us withstand the storm that's coming.

We hope that you'll join us.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now I'll call the next five.

Kim Ray, Shila Bischoff, Joy.

Oh man, how am I going to pronounce this?

Um, I thought I see you.

Marina Gillart, and Ethan Smith.

Kim Ray.

Hi.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Kim Ray, and I am the Denver campaign coordinator for the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight in support of including $5 million in a community-led safety grant program and Denver's 2026 budget.

This proposal is rooted in a simple but powerful truth.

Communities know how to create safety.

Every day, neighborhood organizations, youth mentors, violence interrupters, and victim advocates are doing the work that stops harm before it starts.

They could be doing so much more.

Every dollar invested in this work multiplies into lives changed.

Conflicts de-escalated, and harm prevented.

Yet, too often these same organizations are asked to solve enormous problems on shoestring budgets.

The community-led safety grant is designed to change that.

It would create a dedicated transparent funding stream for grassroots organizations that have deep trust and relationships in their communities.

It would be managed by a third-party intermediary, a proven way to ensure that smaller community-based groups, especially those without administrative capacity, can access resources, receive technical support, and focus on the work that actually keeps people safe.

It ensures the funding truly reaches those doing effective frontline work.

We've seen this model succeed.

For more than a decade, CCJRC has helped lead statewide efforts to invest in real community safety, reducing violence, increasing youth engagement, and strengthening neighborhoods.

Here in Denver, organizations doing this work have the talent, the passion, and the solutions.

What they need now is investment.

The community-led safety grant is not just another program or just a budget line.

It is a statement of values.

It says that we believe prevention matters as much as the response.

And that public safety isn't just about policing.

It's about belonging, opportunity, and healing.

When we invest in youth programs, victim services, and conflict mediation, we are not just addressing crises, we are preventing them.

We are saving lives, saving public resources, and building a safer, more connected Denver for everyone.

So tonight I'm asking you to take the next step with us.

Include the community safety-led, I mean, excuse me, the community-led safety grant and the 2026 budget and show that prevention, equity, and community voice aren't just ideals.

They are how we build a safer Denver for everyone.

It's time to put real resources behind real solutions.

Thank you so much, Kim.

That's your time.

Thank you so much.

Next up we have Shayla Bischoff.

I'll call one more time.

Sheila.

No.

Joy, I thought I see you.

Is that correct?

Yeah.

Good evening.

It's Joy AthonasyU.

Okay.

Thank you.

I am a Denver resident of District 5.

And I just wanted to come tonight and say thank you to City Council and thank you to the mayor for maintaining the current level of funding for the Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund.

I am a Denver immigration attorney, and right now there are 20,000 Denver residents in immigration court right over at 20th and Stout Street.

Of those 20,000 Denver residents, the vast majority are family members of U.S.

citizens.

The vast majority have lived in the United States for over a decade, and nearly half have lived in the United States for at least 25 years.

So I just wanted to say thank you to all of you to recognize the importance of funding immigrant legal services and recognizing that this actually helps the city.

We're helping spouses of immigrants who face losing their homes.

We're helping children of immigrant parents who would suffer lifelong emotional trauma and the loss of their supporting parent or their primary parent caregiver.

We're also helping elderly U.S.

citizens when their adult child caregiver gets deported.

So I just wanted to take a moment, I didn't write anything formally.

I just wanted to come up and say thank you to all of you and thank you to our mayor for just maintaining that fund at current levels because we are truly benefiting all of Denver by doing this.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up we have Marina Gularte.

Mariana.

Do we have Mariana Gularte?

No?

Huh?

We do?

Yeah.

Does he need a minute?

I'll come back.

Ethan Smith.

I'll call it just one more time, okay, and then I'll I'll move on.

Ethan Smith, go ahead.

Good evening, Council.

I'd like to start by thanking you for your time to kind of try and workshop the mayor's budget.

I know it's kind of a process, and there's a lot of people with a lot of qualms with it.

Um so I appreciate your time.

Uh my name is Ethan Smith.

I'm a proud resident of uh Council 9.

Um, and I have the pleasure of serving as an election judge for your Denver elections division for just over three years now.

Um I've had the opportunity to assist in nearly every stage in the process of counting a ballot, and that's from setting up your voter service in polling centers around the city all the way to storing counted ballots after the election's done and even auditing that the entire process.

Um I've done it all nearly um at one point or another in my time here.

Um having seen all these processes, I wanted to provide my perspective and insight on the harm of the mayor's suggested budget.

Um this cut hurts two different types of people more than anyone else, and that first and foremost is voters.

Um voters won't be able to drop off their ballot on their commute to work in the morning because the VSPC or Dropbox just simply is not open.

Um, convenience really is the most important thing when it comes to voter turnout.

That's why Colorado has such a higher turnout than other states.

That's why states like Texas, where like Houston has last time I checked one ballot box, have a lower turnout than Denver, right?

Where we have dozens when properly funded.

Um these people won't get their voices heard, right?

And the people of Denver are a busy people.

I mean, we have single mothers who won't be able to vote in this upcoming election simply because there's not a convenient enough ballot box when they're dropping off their kids.

Um that's and they're the they're the people impacted more than anyone else by this budget is the voters of Denver.

Um, the second group impacted are election judges like myself.

Um public servants.

Even though we don't work nearly as many hours typically than your average city employee, we're still public servants.

They take their time and they they dedicate themselves for the entire month to serving this city.

And these people show up in spite of political violence, threats, election skepticals, protests, rain or shine.

They're there at this building or at their voter service and polling center.

Uh these folks, they show up and they work countless hours for one of the lowest wages in the city.

And why?

Because they believe in the cause.

They believe in the power of representation and they believe in democracy.

This cut will impact more than just the folks at the polls as well.

It'll reduce however many election judges can work back at the elections building.

That's a lose-lose for the city of Denver.

Why?

Because we're gonna see lower voter turnout in every election next year if we don't get the funding we need because the polls won't be open.

And it will slow down the process of counting your ballot at home.

Less money results in less service every time.

And that's not gonna change.

There's no reason for that to change.

That's no matter how you how you spin it, it.

It's a lose lose-lose situation when it takes longer for us to count your ballot.

Thank you so much, Ethan.

That's your time.

Thank you.

Yep.

Next step, Mariana.

No, okay.

Sam good evening.

I am a father of three children and a wife who are presently uh sleeping in our vehicle.

We uh sleep in the vehicle every night or any place where we can in fear in constant fear that the police may come and throw us out, throw us out of any location where we may be.

Next up we have martinez.

Thank you, good evening, city council.

My name is Vicky Wilhite and I live in Green Valley Ranch.

I'm a member of Shorter Community African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Together Colorado.

First, I want to thank you though for your supermajority vote to get additional funds from the mayor.

But it's still not enough.

Denver is ahead of national trends for evictions and is on track to break its annual record for eviction cases.

Increases in rent or mortgage, utilities, medical cost and food, getting sick or injured, separating from a partner, losing a job, and working without pay, can cause a financial hardship that becomes difficult to recover from.

Cuts to Medicaid and food assistance and other federal programs will make matters worse.

A survey conducted by payroll.org in 2023 highlighted that 78% of people in this country live paycheck to paycheck.

As living expenses and health care costs continue to rise and incomes struggle to keep up, it is not surprising that people from all generations are having a tough time.

Even homelessness among seniors is growing.

Being on health can have damaging effects on a person's life and their mental health.

Multiple studies show the devastating impact of evictions on a child's mental and physical health and their brain development.

Mothers face higher rates of depression, stress, and poor health.

Mayor Johnston says that there is still a focus on preventing evictions to keep people from being unhoused.

I ask that you add additional funds to Trua over what our mayor is currently proposing, because providing temporary assistance with rent and utilities keeps people housed.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up we have Tony Bellano.

Tony.

Next up, we have Isaac Bean virtually.

Isaac.

Good evening.

Can you hear me okay?

Yes.

Awesome.

Um good evening, members of council.

Uh, thank you for having this hearing and allowing me an opportunity to speak.

Um, firstly, I just want to name that this is an incredibly challenging year for budget decisions, and I appreciate the care and attention you're putting into where this funding can have the greatest impact.

My name is Isaac Bean from 80204.

I serve on the board of Project PAVE, a local nonprofit dedicated to ending cycles of violence by empowering youth to build healthy relationships.

Project PAVE provides therapy and support services to youth survivors of violence and their families, and healthy relationship and violence prevention education to middle and high school students.

In our effort to pave the way for a healed healthy generation of new leaders, we've partnered tonight with the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, representing nonprofits and community groups that have long been doing the work, mediating conflicts, mentoring youth, helping victims, and preventing violence, and often without consistent funding.

So tonight we're here asking that our city expands the tools in our safety toolbox to more actively include community partners and voice rather than just asking hammers to work with the screws as well.

Yes, we need to fund responsible and effective policing, but to fully put our money where our mouth is in terms of community safety.

Um, we also need to ensure that early intervention, neighborhood-based prevention, and post-crisis recovery aren't left out of that picture.

Tonight we're asking council to consider five million dollars to establish a community-led safety grant program, giving an active voice to our communities to identify where the current outstanding support needs are each year, and what neighborhood organizations have been effectively doing that work.

Most of these orgs are also getting hit hard by federal funding cuts, and if we want to keep these tools, we need to do the work of maintaining them.

If we want these resources to stay in our communities, they need our help just like our communities need theirs.

Decades of research has demonstrated that when we can intervene before or while harm is occurring, we can interrupt that train from derailing and perpetuating even more cycles of violence.

Community safety depends on prevention through mentoring, intervention by preventing escalation, and victim services, especially for underserved populations whose concerns may not ever make it into a police report.

This is a really difficult time for budget decisions where the need is stretching beyond capacity.

So we need to lean into the most efficient and effective ways to promote public safety.

If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, let's double down on some of that this budget cycle.

Please consider the creation of a community-led safety grant program managed through a third-party intermediary to strengthen our impact and help build an even more sustainable community-led approach to safety.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next up we have Thomas Berger.

Good evening, Council.

Thanks for letting us speak.

My name is Tom Berger.

I live in District 10.

Uh I work for New Cottage Arts.

They are funded through the Office of Children's Affairs.

I uh come here to oppose the 2026 budget that's been proposed.

Uh, it'll take away the grants that New Cottage Arts relies on.

I oppose this because programs like New Cottage Arts are so much more than just teaching kids new hobbies.

These organizations create community and give children something new to strive for.

Many of my students find friends through my classes because of their shared interests in the arts, even parents, waiting for student pickup, create uh plans for play dates and get togethers.

This kind of community is vital to a healthy way of life as community brings safety, safety in a real sense, knowing you have more people who know and support you than just your parents, safety in a mental sense.

Having that community makes us feel like the world is a little bit smaller, knowing the faces inside of the houses surrounding us.

These programs give students something they can strive for.

Art and music can take students away from the constant distractions that this new age brings, while also giving them a recreation that expands their minds and experiences.

Programs like New Cottage Arts are also important because of their affordability.

I have another art teaching job where I give private lessons, and I know that little to none of my students with New Cottage Arts would be able to afford those kinds of classes.

So children that would have no other way to express themselves or find a talent in the arts would be lost without programs like New Cottage Arts.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Gay Eggner.

I try to follow your prompt.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Hello, my name is Kathleen, and I live in Denver.

Imagine the year is 2030.

Denver looks a little different these days.

After years of hard work by community, Denver's budget now actually creates a vibrant city where all of its residents can thrive.

Each neighborhood has at least one city lease location that provides services and gathering space for the people of Denver.

These hubs serve as food distribution points, safe places in extreme weather, resource connection points, and gathering spaces where young and old can play games, host events, take classes, or just hang out.

Each neighborhood hub also offers affordable physical and mental health services.

Every week there are community meals open and free to all, which are made possible by a circular economy of care.

For example, Lena is a regular chef for these meals, and in return for the love and time she puts into cooking the dinners, another community member helps her with yard work at her house.

Each community hub also houses customer representatives for Denver Fiber and Denver Power.

In 2026, Denver decided to create a publicly owned and operated electric utility.

In 2027, the city decided to add broadband services to its utility portfolio.

Denver Power and Denver Fiber offer nation-leading performance and affordable electricity and internet rates.

This lowered IT costs for the city and was a game changer for residents and small businesses.

Speaking of small businesses, mom and pop shops are thriving.

Instead of wasting money on incentivizing corporate type businesses to locate in Denver, the city instead invests in culturally relevant and community focused businesses that help make Denver such a special place.

And their workers are well paid and thriving.

Housing owned by private equity firms proved to be a terrible idea.

Fortunately, Denver wisely decided to aggressively invest in social housing.

Today, Denver social housing is the most sought after and provides first-class property management and community engagement that keeps the buildings in tip shop shaped and the residents glad to live there.

Denver offers a number of safety net services, including medical rental and utility assistance and a universal basic income program.

These programs are always well-funded to be sure Denver is able to help help our neighbors.

But because of city investments that have made everything more affordable, fewer and fewer folks need these resources.

How do we do all this?

Each year, through civic assemblies and advocacy, community collaborates with city council to make sure Denver's budget funds the services that help us thrive and doesn't fund the systems that punish, harm, and kill us.

Denver government is finally by for and with the people.

Specifically in 2025, City Council passed a budget amendment that prevented any money from flowing to the mayor's office until all flock contracts were terminated and all cameras and drones were eliminated.

With a veto-proof majority, City Council also passed all of the amendments from Councilwoman Lewis Ferry and Gonzalez Gutierrez.

Let's make it so.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up we have Lauren Schmidt virtually.

Lauren, if you'll accept the promotion.

Good evening, everyone.

City Council, it's so good to see you.

Can you all hear me okay?

We sure can.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

Okay, fantastic.

Uh great.

I had actually unregistered, but since you had called me, I just wanted to echo the comments by my colleague, Joy Athonasu, who spoke earlier, and thank the city council and the mayor's office for your sustained funding of the Denver Immigrant Legal Services Fund.

And I am happy to cede the rest of my time because I know there are a lot of people on the agenda.

So thank you all so much.

Thank you.

Next up we have Emily Parker.

Hi, good evening.

My name is Emily Parker.

I am a resident of Council District 7, and I'm the vice chair of the Democratic Party of Denver.

I am here today to urge you to fully fund the Denver Clerk and Recorders office in the budget.

The mission of the Denver Democrats is simple but vital to drive voter turnout and strengthen participation in every election.

We fundraise, we organize candidate forums and debates, and we mobilize hundreds of volunteers who, before every election, knock on doors, make phone calls, and talk to their neighbors about the importance of voting.

We do everything in our power to make sure that Denverites return their ballots and vote the whole ballot.

But while we can educate voters about when, where, and how to vote, we cannot actually run the elections.

And that's not only because that would be illegal.

Our work depends on the election staff and the reliable infrastructure that the clerk's office has built over many years.

When we talk to our counterparts in other major cities and states, they are jealous of what we have here in Denver.

It's easy, secure, and accessible to vote in this city, largely because of the progress that the clerk's office has made over many years.

Expanding the number of drop boxes, opening more polling centers, and hiring the staff necessary to make sure voters never face long lines or unnecessary barriers to participation.

Now, however, we're faced with the possibility of undoing that progress, removing drop boxes, closing polling centers, and cutting one-third of the staff who make elections run smoothly.

These cuts are not just talking points.

They would directly translate into fewer options for voters, longer lines, and lower turnout.

Last week, the executive committee of the Denver, the Denver Democrats, a group of roughly 50 local grassroots party leaders from across our city, voted unanimously to call on city council to amend the budget and fully fund the clerk and recorder's request.

I'm here today on behalf of that committee and the hundreds of volunteers who are already out knocking doors for next week's election, asking you to please don't make it harder for us to get out the vote in Denver.

Thank you for your time and for your commitment to protecting the right to vote in our city.

Thank you.

Next up we have Hassan Latif.

Uh good evening, Council members.

Uh, my name is Hassan Latif, founder and retired executive director of Second Chance Center.

I'm here tonight to urge your support for an amendment to the 2026 Denver budget to create a community-led public safety grant program.

For close to two decades, I've worked with people returning home from incarceration, helping them rebuild their lives, reconnect with families, and contribute to their communities.

When I started Second Chance Center, I was working out of my car, meeting people where they were because that's what it took.

And that's what I could do as a one person with limited resources.

There were organizations like that all over Denver, people doing this work out of love and deep commitment, keeping their neighborhoods safe and helping others find their footing.

They and their small team stretch every dollar to their two string budgets.

The sustained investment, they could strengthen their work and reach so many more people.

Today, Second Chance Center employs over 100 people and supports thousands each year.

That growth didn't happen by chance.

We were fortunate to receive that kind of support through state level grant programs championed by CCGRC and supported by Mayor Mike Johnston, Dominic Moreno, and Councilwoman Soreno Gonzalez Gutierrez during their time with the legislature, several foundations, and many individual supporters.

What makes community-led safety different is that it starts with the people who live in these neighborhoods.

People who have built trust through years of showing up, and who are credible messengers because of their lived experience.

It isn't about someone parachuting in to fix a community.

It's about community members deciding what's important and directing resources where they'll have the greatest impact.

Sustained funding makes.

Every dollar invested in reentry and violence prevention pays back many times over in safer communities and stronger families.

Philanthropy alone can't bridge the gap.

Denver invests hundreds of millions every year in reactive systems, policing, courts, and jails.

It's time to show that same seriousness about prevention, intervention, and victim support.

The work that stops harm before it happens and helps communities heal when it does.

Community-led safety is real, is proven, and it works.

Thank you for your time and for your leadership in making Denver safer by supporting this program.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next up we have Kristen Seidel.

Kristen, if you'll accept the promotion.

Can you see me?

I can hear you.

Well, I'm good if you don't see me.

Oh, there I am.

Okay.

Hello, Councilor.

Thank you for your time today.

My name is Kristen Seidel, and I live in District 6.

I'm here today representing TOCA, Colorado.

We are asking you today to reject the budget that Mayor Johnston has put before you because as Britain, it presents long-term generational harm to our communities.

Communities across our nation have seen a decline in crime as ARPA funds have been invested in root cause solutions.

This budget not only undercuts many of those investments, but also increases punitive and surveillance measures across the city.

We don't have to guess what the long-term impacts of Mayor Johnston's budgets are.

The Ferrett Institute has already laid it all out.

Over policing our communities has generational impacts for health, economic security, community cohesiveness, and educational achievement.

After you sent your budget request to Mayor Johnston, his refusal for preventative measures, including funding Denver Day Works, restoring the STAR program funding, which is already incredibly underfunded, and continuing the work ready program.

These requests were just to maintain what we have, not actually bring in investments we need.

Plus, we have no investment in helping the over 250 million families on the shelter waiting list you've already heard about today.

Yet we are still maintaining and increasing DPD funding to ensure punishment of poverty continues to rise.

Another primary concern is the refusal to restore the Denver Sheriff's Office crisis response team.

Last week, the Denverite reported on the extreme levels of stress our sheriffs are feeling from lack of support, understaffing, and poor pay, which has left our sheriff's office among the most understaffed in the metro area.

This is setting both the sheriffs and those housed in their cages up for increased conflict and mistreatment.

This will lead to more lawsuits and further payouts from taxpayers.

This is why I'm asking you all to go back to the drawing board.

Reflect on the values you set forward in the spring and focus on preventative measures rather than punitive measures, and that lead to long-term poverty impact.

I know the mayor met with you with fully tactics to get what he wants, but in these times, we need brave leadership that will stand up for the people of Denver.

You're not sure where to get the money from.

The Department of Safety averages around $5 million per year in civil lawsuit payouts from the general fund.

You can shift that responsibility to their budget, creating a more accountable system and freeing up funds for crime prevention, lowering our need of police interactions.

When you have our backs, we will have yours.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Nathan Egan.

Hi, Council.

My name is Michaela.

I am the wife of Nathan Egan, who had to leave.

But I'm going to be reading our joint statement.

We are residents of District 10, so we are locals here, just a walk away.

My support for community-based public safety programs, both STAR and for the programs that would be supported by Get Real Denver's $5 million proposed community-led public safety grant program, which I know a number of council members supported.

Thank you.

STAR is a crucial and uniquely equipped first responder program, yet, based on the most recent available public statistics, STAR was able to respond to only 38% of STAR eligible calls.

If the police fire department or an ambulance was available to respond to only 30% of 38% of calls for their service, we would rightly recognize this as a crisis that must be immediately remediated.

But this is precisely the crisis faced by our vulnerable neighbors who rely on STAR to respond in their moment of their greatest need.

And instead of acting to fill this gap, the mayor's proposed budget drastically cuts funding for STAR.

Our city spends over half a billion dollars a year on police courts and jails.

The Denver police department's budget alone is 274 million, a 23% increase since 2021.

That's 17% of the city's entire budget.

Plus, the police got a guaranteed $350 million in state funding in the last election, despite the state's own substantial budget shortfall.

So now is not the time to take money from other public safety solutions and feed police budgets.

This is not sustainable evidence-based strategy for public safety.

STAR is just one example, as you've heard tonight of the many community-based prevention focused approaches to public safety that our city needs to support.

Others like violence interruption by credible messengers, like hospital-based violence intervention programs work to address the complex personal and social drivers of crime and stop cycles of violence.

Rather than to react to it after the fact using retributive based approaches that do not produce safety.

Thank you.

Next map, we have Adeline.

Sorry.

That one was I've never, okay.

I was like, whoa.

Sorry about that.

My name is Abby Lennon Nogas.

Okay, no, guess um, I'm the bilingual managing director and board secretary for Celebrate the Bee, a nonprofit base here in Colorado.

The proposed cuts to the OST funding represent 430 Denver children who will lose access to informative arts education.

At Valverde Elementary, where 94% of students are minorities and 88% are economic economically disadvantaged.

Our program isn't a luxury, it's a foundation for success, teaching the children resilience, confidence, and emotional tools that they'll carry for life.

Colorado ranks in the top 10 states for youth suicide.

Half of all mental health challenges emerge during and before adolescence.

Celebrate the Beat provides teachers, teaches children healthy ways to reduce stress, build emotional regulation, and discover their powerful beat within.

We do this at no cost to families, offering bilingual in school and after school dance programs.

We provide high-quality professional arts education to children who rarely have this opportunity.

Our curriculum empowers them with discipline, creativity, and the belief that anything is possible.

In my work with celebrate the beat, I have watched the transformations unfold in real time.

By day three of our residencies, children who barely made eye contact and are now volunteering to demonstrate moves.

By the final performance, formerly reluctant students are beaming in the spotlight.

They're learning more than choreography.

They're learning that they can achieve something difficult, that their voice matters, that they belong.

One student shared the celebrate the beat program made me feel confident that I can be me.

Celebrate the Beat came to Valverde in April of 2020, thanks to the support of the grant that we received from the Office of Children's Affairs.

After just one week of Valverde this past year, Principal Emily, I think it's really O'Reilly, a longtime educator who knows what it takes to reach reluctant students, said many of her students don't typically have the opportunity to participate in professional performing arts experiences.

She called our team unbelievable and said our energy was exactly what the students need.

She closed by saying we're looking forward to partnering with you in future projects.

Without the continued support of the Denver After School Alliance and the Office of Children's Affairs, we do not see how it would be possible to continue our partnership at Valverde.

Each child represents an investment in our city's future.

Each one is a future leader who deserves the same opportunities.

We invest when we invest in these children, we invest in the heart and future of Denver itself.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Dr.

Lisa Calderon.

Good evening, Council.

I'm Dr.

Lisa Calderon, co-chair of the Colorado Working Families Party and uh Executive Director of Women Uprising.

Uh, first, I want to commend Denver City Council for resisting the mayor's austerity budget and restoring uh or at least proposing the restoration of essential programs.

However, even with those meaningful additions, Mike Johnston's budget is not enough to make it a nor a moral document reflecting the values we share as Denverites.

The process of creating this budget was conducted without transparency and without meaningful collaboration with the council and with the community.

It was frustrating to watch hearings where some council members asked the Johnston administration for months to produce receipts for his spending, only to be repeatedly gaslit and even disrespected for doing your jobs.

Whether the mayor spends wastefully on his vibrant pet projects, guts the clerk's elections budget, or circumvents the council on the flock contract, his proposed budget is an affront to the legislative branch and the residents of our great city.

While there is a growing no kings movement nationally to fight back against authoritarian leadership at the federal level, as a progressive, it is imperative to me to hold our Democratic mayor accountable for acting like a king when he invokes unilateral power over the budget, especially when residents and workers pay the price.

Finally, the most significant and painful part of this shameful budget process is the cost to city workers.

Those who were laid off before, during, and now after official notices were given.

This immoral budget was created on the backs of workers before they had an opportunity to collectively bargain, which was overwhelmingly supported by Denver voters.

They are disproportionately women, mothers, caregivers, and people of color mid-career and close to retirement.

This inhumane budget was created with their blood, sweat, and tears by temporary employees, meaning the mayor and his appointees to make permanent and devastating changes to their lives.

There's no such thing as doing more with less when you sacrifice workers.

Council members, you are making a deal with the devil.

If you enable the mayor's mismanagement, overspending and incompetence, I urge you to reject his budget and restore the jobs of city workers who built our government long before Mike Johnston and his billionaire AI friends ever came to Denver.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Chris Rollerson.

Yeah, we have a producer who's looking there.

Yep.

Chris?

Yeah.

Okay.

And then Ashley Nix.

Tim?

Okay.

Chris, if you'll accept the promotion.

I'm trying to figure out how to do it.

I'm on my phone.

Hold on.

We got you.

We can hear you now.

Okay, cool.

Hey, Chris Rollerson with the Sun Valley Youth Center, and just standing in alliance with a lot of my compradres out there just continuing to fight for out-of-school time programming and for youth in Denver.

There's definitely a huge cut in that area of funding in this budget, and just wanting to make sure that you guys are continuing to stand along us in fighting for funding to sustain youth programs for all of the youth across Denver.

So I'm going to give some of my time back to others because I know you guys have a long night, but just wanted to show up and say hello and thank you guys for advocating for us and continuing to ask for more.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Can you hear me?

Yes, we can.

Go ahead.

Great.

Thank you, Chair and members of the Denver City Council for the opportunity to speak tonight.

My name is Ashley Choxal, and I'm representing myself in my testimony.

I'm a Denver resident and constituent of Council Member Watson and an active member of our community, serving on the Denver Elections Advisory Council as House District 5 captain for the Denver County Republicans, and as an election judge supervisor for the 2025 coordinated elections.

I urge you to oppose the mayor's 2026 budget proposal and instead fully fund the clerk and recorder's office.

Even after the mayor's increase to the clerk's appropriation, the remaining 2.7 million dollar shortfall will force drastic cuts to the 2026 primary and general elections.

These will eliminate 13 polling centers across both elections, remove eight drop boxes per election, reduce polling center staff by one third, cut more than 300 on call bipartisan election judge positions, eliminate all nine drive-through ballot drop-offs, and close all but one mobile voter coach location.

These cuts will inevitably mean longer lines, more confusion, and higher potential for errors, and real voter disenfranchisement, particularly for working families, seniors, and people with disabilities.

In a high turnout year like 2026, Denver needs more election workers, not less.

Funding for our elections is not a discretionary expense, unlike marketing campaigns or technology upgrades, both of which were highlighted in the mayor's budget overview as sources of significant savings.

To ensure our democratic processes remain fully supported without compromising essential services, could the mayor's team explore ways to expand savings in other discretionary areas or potentially redirect resources to non-negotiable priorities like secure and accessible elections.

Unlike other departments, elections simply cannot make do without compromising integrity and deficiency.

Costs have risen due to higher voter registrations, minimum wage increases, and greater print and mailing expenses.

But these are necessary investments to meet Denver's legal obligations and maintain high standards.

Fully funded elections are not a partisan issue.

They are the bedrock of public trust in our system.

What stands out most working this election cycle is the power and necessity of our bipartisan teams.

Democrats, Republicans, and independents working together, checking each other's work, answering questions, transparently, and building trust among voters from all backgrounds.

I urge the council to recognize the unique unique public responsibility that fully funded elections represent.

No other department impacts so many residents with such intensity in such a short time frame.

Please fully fund the clerk and recorder's office to preserve Denver's reputation for fair, secure, and accessible elections.

Every voter deserves a process they can trust.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you.

Next step we Harlow Manuel.

Carlon Al Manuel.

Next up, we have Jose Palacios.

Uh, hello, good evening.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to us tonight.

I uh my name is Jose Palacios.

I'm the youth services manager at Servicios de la Rosa.

I'll uh save my rooting impressions for later.

Um, but I am in District Three as well, and I wanted to speak a little bit on the OCA cuts and the proposed uh 2026 budget and advocate for funds to be restored.

Um, so in our work, there is a saying heal people, heal people, hurt people, hurt people.

We are one of the many organizations doing preventative and transformative work with young people, creating opportunities for youth to see themselves and their potential differently.

Services being provided are not a luxury, they are a necessity given the state of our country and the world is in.

With this funding, the youth services team at Servicios de la Rosa has been able to implement psychoeducation, social emotional learning, and life skills programming, leading to increased resilience, increased self-esteem, reduction in stigma, and strong cultural self-identity.

Through our services, Servicios de la Rosa has been able to meet students where they are at, offering a space where youth can feel safe, heard, and appreciated.

Programming is focused on addressing many of the issues youth face, such as negative self-concepts, substance abuse, relationship violence, gang violence, problems at school, and the lack of positive peer and adult support.

Youth across Denver deserve access to supportive services to address hardships that can't be detrimental to their success in school, work, and life.

Our youth services team has been effective at getting young people connected to essential bilingual mental health services and leadership opportunities.

Who will youth turn to and what safe spaces will be available to them during these critical times if funding is cut?

We are one of the many organizations on the front lines providing for one of the most vulnerable populations.

We cannot do this without your support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Brandy Majors.

Followed by Jesse Harris.

Um, council.

Let's try this again.

My name is Brandy Marie Majors.

Um I want to say this.

They're asking you to reject this budget because it's salacious, it's ambiguous.

First off, you don't give the people, the constituents, the right education of what's actually going on in this budget.

The mayor is making backdoor deals without council's permission.

Look at the uh Park Hill Airport scenario.

That is quite disrespectful.

Um 20 extra acres, for what?

But the people don't know what's going on.

We have to read about it through investigative news media like CBS on newsbreak.

We don't know what's going on in our own city, but yet you want to hear from us only for you to agree with the devil.

Now, we want community-led, you know, safety projects funded because these are needs.

We can obviously take care of ourselves.

Tonight, you guys are gonna go home and lay down in your warm beds and eat a nice meal, maybe watch some TV, and you're gonna be inside.

You have all these people outside right now in the rain.

You have a, I think what it is is that you like watching black people beg for you to take care of them, for you to do the right things.

We put you in place, just as easy as you got here, is as easy as you could get gone.

Now, the clerk and recorder office, I don't think he should get any more money.

He's always asking for more.

He thinks he's above everything.

And we all know it, we've seen it.

The mayor has to be recalled to let someone else do the job because he's incapable, and you know it, we know it, and this is embarrassing.

This is sad.

Do you not care about your constituents?

Each of you has a house representative.

Each district has a representative.

And you're not making plans for any of this.

You had 30 days to figure out what you're gonna do with your constituents and how you're gonna feed them when they run out of out of snap.

I'm one of those people.

We already got a letter saying that we're not gonna have it.

What's the options when we live in a food desert in these districts?

Eight and nine, especially.

They've made you put all the housing in these districts on purpose so they could scapegoat and gaslighting, only to take away those shelters.

They're un they're not conditioned right.

And this is not on you, it's on them.

And it's your job to represent us.

We come here and beg you to do the right thing.

Thank you, Brandy.

Next up, we have Jess Paris.

Yes, good evening, members of council.

Those watching at home, those on the council chambers.

My name is Jesse LaShawn Paris and I'm representing for Black Star Action Movement for Self-Defense, Positive Action, Commercial Social Change, as well as the Unity Party of Colorado, the Northeast Denver Residence Council, Frontline Black News, Shabaka's Black Express Enhanced Revolutionary Agenda, and I reside in District 9, the fine district nine, Darrell Washington's district, the historically black district of five points at the legacy loss.

I'm thoroughly and utterly appalled by both this budget and some of the testimony I've heard today.

This budget is complete insult to all of our intelligence, and it is not a measure of the city's values, or is it a measure of the city's values?

Because I'm the one that said that budget is a measure of a city's values.

I said that back in like 2016.

Um we can clearly see where this budget, which city's priorities lie.

Uh more policing.

Policing people that are down and out, down trotten, but nobody had a problem with it when it was just black people that was being arrested, ticketed or harassed.

I didn't see none of y'all trying to take an unhouse neighbor home.

But now you want to try to take illegal immigrants home and play the violin for us like we're supposed to feel pity or something.

This crisis was going on before the migrant invasion, and it's still gonna continue to go on.

We've been beating the drum about this for over a decade.

It's falling on deaf ears, just like it's doing tonight.

We got council members looking each and every way, not paying attention to nothing I'm saying or anybody else's saying, but you work for us.

We're the ones that vote as you in.

Not the illegal immigrants.

Remember, they can't vote.

They're not citizens.

But you seem to want to prioritize them over actual citizens over actual people that built this country in a city and a state.

It is the same for an appalling.

This budget, I'm like beyond myself with this budget.

Um also fund star.

And give the credit where credit is due.

There wouldn't be no star if it wasn't for people like me, and and and Mary Ann Thompson and Janet Van Locke.

Remember, it was supposed to be a pilot program.

Your source are funding it like it's still a pirate program.

Do better, Denver.

You said six years, seven years ago we could do better.

You're not doing better, you're doing worse.

And ultimately the citizens are the ones that are suffering, not so much the illegal immigrants that have a homeland they can go back to.

We don't have that luxury.

Next up, we have Sue Johnson.

Yep, no problem.

Sorry, I have to move it a little bit.

Thank you so much.

By the way, Sue Johnson, Susie Johnson, and uh thank you, members of city council.

Um I serve as president of Denver Republican Women.

Um I also lived in Denver District 6 for 37 plus years, and um also worked for Denver elections off and on as a um uh poll watcher, voting tech judge, and uh election judge for 20 plus years.

So I I consider our elections to be the best in the nation.

It's probably exaggerating, but not too much.

I'm also a former engineer and public school teacher.

I taught math and computer science in Boulder Valley School District for 18 years.

Um I'm asking council to vote no on the mayor's current budget proposal and to amend it to fully fund the Clark and Recorders request for 18.7 million for the 2026 election operations.

By the way, this is not a partisan ask, as I think you can tell.

Um, this is about a fundamental right, uh, for a democracy.

The need to fully fund our elections.

And by the way, we know city council um and the mayor are dealing with tough choices, that is for sure.

However, the cost of underfunding is not theoretical.

Watch the time.

Um, it means a citywide reduction in polling places, drop boxes, staffing cuts, the elimination of vital services that voters from all political backgrounds rely on.

Denver has built a reputation since I've worked in it since Deborah Johnson before that, our current wonderful clerk and recorder, uh, for leading on securing efficient elections through robust staffing, smart technology, and voteran services.

The system is now being put at risk when you unfund a bunch of stuff.

Under the current budget plan, all nine of Denver's drive-through ballot boxes.

Sorry, I'm watching the time.

They'll all be eliminated.

And by the way, these are not luxuries.

They're practical solutions that ensure voting parents disabled and citizens on tight schedules across our city can vote safely and easily.

The current budget will mean um one third fewer people at remaining polling locations, not very many.

Elimination of more than 300 on call election judges, longer lines, slower ballot processing for the first time in years delayed election results for Denver voters.

These changes are not just inconvenient, they represent a direct threat to the public's trust in our elections.

So what I'm going to do is I'm going to urge every member on this council to amend the 2026 budget to fully fund the clerk and recorders office at 18.7 million, restoring the integrity of our elections.

Let's ensure that every Denver veteran can cast their ballot without barriers or doubts, and that our city's proud tradition of secure, fair, and accessible elections indoors for another generation.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thanks for your service.

Next up, we have Victor Gosmith.

Good evening, Council members.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

My name is Victor Gosmith, and I'm the founder and executive director of New Cottage Arts, a Clayton-based nonprofit that has partnered with the Office of Children's Affairs for the last five years.

I'm a resident of District 9.

Our OCA funded programs serve more than 400 Denver youth each year through free year-round after school and summer programs.

We provide daily music and art classes, mentoring and leadership development in neighborhoods such as Clayton, Westwood, and College View, and newcomer youth and family families at family shelters.

In 2025, we served eight program sites throughout four city council districts and provided employment and leadership development opportunities for youth from teaching apprentices to participation in our youth leadership council, which advises and influences our programming.

They build community, keep families connected, and prevent harm before it starts.

If these funds are cut, we would have to eliminate the very programs that keep kids safe, engaged, and thriving.

On behalf of our staff, our youth, and our families, I urge City Council to reinstate OCA after school and youth violence prevention funds to 2025 levels.

This investment is small compared to the cost of disconnection.

Our young people deserve consistency, creativity, and care.

As one of our program parents said, there's such a deep need for programs like New Cottage Arts that I am aware of as a full-time DPS teacher.

I watch children struggle immensely with their mental health, including my own teen, and youth stated that art and music are the best way to get through it.

From a school partner, an environment where schools are continually asked to do more for youth.

This funding enables organizations such as New Cottage Arts to fill the gaps where schools have had to make cuts.

And in fact, there are not enough counselors nor programs to keep these kids connected to themselves, to each other, and to the world.

And finally, from a parent, my two children, now teenagers have participated in new cottage art music programs for many years.

These experiences have shaped their creativity, confidence, and self sense of belonging.

I hope you will take into account how many young people will be affected if these programs are cut.

These are the future community members and leaders who will carry forward the spirit of creativity and civic engagement that programs like New Cottage Arts foster every day.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Maria Gabrielle Garcia.

Good evening, esteemed members of the council, fellow fellow citizens.

My name is Maria Gabriela Garcia, and I'm speaking against the proposed 2026 budget.

I've been a resident in Denver in District 2 for eight years, and have had the great privilege to be a Roman Catholic music minister and educator, as well as the music director at St.

Mary's Academy and St.

Thomas Moore Catholic Church.

I've been serving the greater metro area as a music educator for New Cottage Arts, a music and art school for all.

The 2026 proposed budgets would obliterate the most needed funds to keep our school operational.

We have been given a generous budget throughout the past five years, but in this new proposal through the Office of the Children's Affairs, our budget is zero dollars and zero cents.

New Cottage Arts is in our seventh year of serving all ability students, special needs kids, vulnerable youth community members.

Our vision is to provide free or and affordable artistic and collaborative instructions for all persons that has been fully realized by Director Victor Engo Smith.

I am a trauma scientist with my master's at Metropolitan State University, Go Roadrunners.

I have seen and documented the critical effect of our work to change the lives of our students, families, and community at large.

I began teaching in Denver Public Schools in the fall of 2020 as a remote teacher alongside New Cottage Arts, holding us together in our infancy with a small group of teachers that is now expanded to over 20 educators and partners who have created the most interactive and healing-centered engagements that I've seen in my nationwide experience with music schools and community partnerships.

We continue to serve the community remotely and in person and have worked with students all over the country from our home base in Little Saigon on Federal and Alameda.

We struggled, but we kept our doors open.

In my division of New Cottage Arts, I focus on the one-to-one instruction that is the foundational work to help students rebuild their lives.

I support cancer survivors, teenage suicide survivors, orphans of one or both parents, students of parents who are incarcerated, or refugees who are struggling for a multitude of reasons.

It is well documented that we have helped them overcome their greatest hurdles through our community-centered engagements.

Whether it's a free family meal or free music art lessons at our outreach centers, such as the Atmar Recreational Center, or providing cultural experiences, such as our governor's gala at the Colorado History Museum.

We're able to create lifelong memories of becoming an integral part of the society.

And these positive experiences are what protect their future and create a structure of a supportive community.

These kids are not left behind, they are not left alone.

They have a place to go at New Cottage Arts.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Cynthia Farragon.

Hi, good evening, City Council.

My name is Cynthia Barragán, and I'm a lifelong Southwest Denver resident who represents representing District 2.

I live in District 2.

I'm also a community organizer for a local nonprofit that's focused on elevating our community's voices around education and school board participation.

Growing up for me, I didn't fully understand what voting meant because in my family we didn't really talk about it.

And I know in my community it's something that we don't really talk about a lot.

People don't really turn out to vote.

Not because they don't care, but because they are not informed or they haven't felt included in that process in the past.

That's why it's so important to properly fund our elections to provide not just accessibility and visibility, but also understanding so every resident knows that their vo vote and their voice matters.

My first time voting was in 2016.

Um and I was nervous because it felt like a high stake um presidential election.

And even though I didn't have the outcome that I wanted, I felt very proud of myself for being part of something bigger.

And that's the same pride I've seen in parents that I've worked at I work with.

One of the parents I work with, um, just found out that she could vote this year.

Um, she thought she couldn't for the longest time because she had a felony on her record.

Um, but when she found out that she could vote, she cried because this is the first time she will be voting in her 60 years of life, and she's ready to make it count.

So stories like hers show why it's important, um, to have accessible wild resource elections and they that they truly matter.

Um in 2026, Denver will face two high turnout elections, the state primary and the general midterm.

Yet the mayor's proposed budget underfunds the clerk and recorder's office by two point seven million less than what's needed.

These cuts would mean fewer polling centers and ballot drop boxes, a one-third reduction in election staff, the elimination of all nine drive-through drop off sites and reducing mobile voter coaches from several to just one.

That translates into longer lines, slower results, and less access, especially for communities like mine where people rely heavily on public transportation and need visible, convenient options to participate.

It takes it's taken generations of struggle and perseverance to make voting more accessible for our communities, but we know we're not fully there yet.

And that's why um too many people still face barriers that make it harder to have their voices heard, and it's important now more than ever for us to reduce those barriers, expand access, visibility and understanding of the voting process, and we can do that by fully funding our elections.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next up we have Mo Moab Boshia.

Thank you, Left.

Next up we have oh Eric Jordan online.

Sorry, thank you, Tim.

Eric Jodier Jordan.

I am uh one of the original teachers at New Cottage Arts and also their program coordinator.

Uh I am a co-leader to one of the co-leaders to the executive director, Mr.

Victor Ningle Smith, who just uh spoke on behalf of us as well as uh Miss Maria Garcia, who is also one of our original teachers.

Um Cottage Arts is a non-profit organization, and we have received uh many generous grants uh, especially from the Office of Children's Affairs uh for the last five years.

And we were receiving up to $75,000 a year until we just learned about this proposed budget under Mayor Johnson's of zero dollars, which would be greatly detrimental to us and our programs, which have um a great purpose of enriching uh the youth lives.

So the arts education enrichment is uh something that'll uh most definitely keep them out of trouble into productive healthy activities that'll also support their mental health as well as their um academic performance, academic skills, uh motor skills, uh as well as social skills.

Uh, they are able to um interact and socialize with their classmates and new cottage arts offers more than just enrichment classes and our private lesson programs.

We also offer um we also support um outdoor events uh called Clayton Committee Days in the summers, where as a performing musician myself, I have also referred and recommended not only uh groups that I perform with, but also some other groups uh that I know very well.

So we have created opportunities for local artists, and we have continued to grow and improve from uh our initial opening in August 2019 to what it is now.

We have seen incredible amounts of progress from our youth, uh especially academically and especially socially and emotionally, and it is quite a shock that Mayor Johnson, who was once an educator himself, was proposing these detrimental cuts, and we hope on behalf of him, and we hope that the Denver City Council will reconsider um the proposed budgets um for better results and to continue a better culture and tradition.

We are a call, we are an organization and culture of um diversity and inclusion, and that's very much what uh the city of Denver is very vibrant about.

And I would like to thank uh New Cottage Arts as well as the uh the City of Denver Council for giving me the opportunity to speak up tonight.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next up we have Joel Noble.

Good evening, City Council.

My name is Joel Noble.

I live in District 9, and I've been a neighborhood uh advocate, especially focused on land use and transportation for many years.

I've been following your work on the budget, it's very difficult, and just appreciating it from the distance until I saw on Channel 9 a small piece about the parking magistrate issue, and they ended the piece by saying, but Dottie has proposed using money from the uh parking meters that were raised a few years ago to fund the parking magistrates.

And I stood up and said, No, wait, you can't do that.

That is dedicated to the Transportation and Mobility Special Revenue Fund, and that fund can only be used for biking, walking, transit, and safety related to those things.

I didn't want to believe it was true.

Denver Wright did a story and repeated that.

And then in the mayor's letter to you, it's not in the PowerPoint, in the mayor's letter to you on page two, the first full bullet point at the end of that paragraph, it seems pretty clear he's proposing to raid that fund to use for the parking magistrates completely outside of bounds.

It shouldn't have gotten this far.

The city attorney's office should have said no.

But here it is in front of you.

And I'm afraid that what he's doing is offering you something that you asked for in your letter, provided that you join with him in raiding this fund for an inappropriate use.

If you do that, the damage to our belief in you as residents that dedicated funding is dedicated, not just on this fund, but in general, will be long lasting and devastating.

A couple years ago, maybe it was a year, maybe it's two years ago, the administration proposed raiding the same fund to use for a bridge, and you wisely saw through that.

Please see through this as well.

This is not me testifying for whether the parking magistrate program is a good program or not.

I'm here defending this fund because I know that we were all told what it was for, and I do not like being lied to.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Ronnie Houston.

Good evening, City Council.

To my citizens in the room.

My name is Ronnie Houston.

I'm a 51-year teamster organizer.

I'm a broken man tonight.

Just listening to my fellow citizens, breaks my heart.

I got nothing but love for you 13 warriors.

You heard me.

You guys are warriors in this community.

These citizens are looking to you guys because you guys are the visionaries of this community.

They're trusting your judgment.

I'm trusting your judgment.

I pray for you guys every night, because I know it's hard.

I organize city workers and I cry.

I see the fear in their eyes about them losing their jobs.

I see the fear and intimidations in their voices.

Because they'd feel like there's no hope.

But I see hope.

I see this great city council.

Stand up for your citizens.

Stand up for your constituents.

Jesus said, the poor you will have with you always.

He said it because those of us that were better, he expected us to lift them up to this council.

All my love.

You got it.

You have my support.

I believe in you.

I'm asking you to listen to these citizens.

What the mayor did when he laid these citizens off was uncomfortable.

Put them back to work.

When the workers do better, they do better.

When the workers do better, they spend the money in the community.

That's how we get revenue.

It's an easy process.

Let's do it.

I love you.

Hang in there.

Thank you, Ronnie.

Next up we have Danelle Filder.

Felder.

I think we're getting to the end.

I think it was like the last third name or something.

Good evening, Madam President, Council members.

Thank you for the time.

My name is Danielle Felder.

I am a Denver resident, District 7, and I'm also the managing director at the Sims Fayola Foundation.

At our foundation, we spend our time supporting Denver's young men and boys of color so that they can thrive, both in school, in work, and of course in life.

So first, before I jump into my ask, I want to express gratitude as well.

I can't do it as well as that, but I appreciate you.

I heard everything out here too.

There's a lot of hard decisions that have to be made.

Where's the funding gonna come from?

How is it gonna happen?

I understand, and I know that that's gonna be tough for all of you as you move forward.

My ask today is for a budget amendment to support restoring funding for the Office of Children Affairs for the out-of-school time and the violence protection, youth violence protection funds.

That would be about a million dollars to restore it back to 2025, excuse me.

I probably don't have to say this, but I will.

You know that these programs are not line items, right?

They're lifelines, and I think we all heard today about what's coming in November for our SNAP recipients.

We use the funding in our out-of-school time for meals, and after school is going to become even more important for our young people and the meals they're gonna need as we navigate a really hard year ahead.

Um talk a little bit about how Sims Feola has used this funding since 2021.

We have been a recipient of both OST, out of school time, and YVP, youth violence prevention.

We've served over 500 young men and boys of color in Denver communities across the metro area, and we and the results and what it looks like is really important.

What we have seen year over year in our programs, what we have seen year over year in our cohorts is double digit gains in young men and boys who feel safe expressing their feelings.

What we see is over 90% of our student cohorts who are confident in themselves and have pride in themselves.

These are real gains, these are measurable growth and emotional safety and self-worth.

And transparently, what it tells us is that youth are seen, they're safe, and they're strong.

And transparently that's what our city is built on.

Young people who are strong and have these characteristics that you've heard from many of my other colleagues who also benefit from this funding.

I think I will end on: we know young people aren't at the table for these conversations and these decisions, right?

We haven't heard a lot of them here tonight.

And it's really unfortunate, because what we decide here impacts their futures, right?

We are asking that you please stand with them and with us, who serve them every day to protect the investments that help them to grow and succeed and be the next generation of Denver leaders that we need.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for your time.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Next up, and our last speaker for the night is Dominic Lucero.

Dominic.

All right.

That concludes our speakers.

Thank you all for sitting with us and thank you all for being here and participating.

Do we have questions from members of council?

All right.

Councilman Lewis, why don't you start us off?

Thank you.

So I had a few questions.

Um I wanted to have you all speak to the previous round of layoffs on how those decisions were made and if council members were consulted in those decisions.

Question for the mayor's office.

Hi, good afternoon, members of city council.

Angela Casillas is downstairs, and we'll be right back up in about 30 seconds.

Okay, I'll go to my next one and then you come back.

Thank you.

Um, so I had a question um regarding the COPs because this conversation came um to our transportation and infrastructure committee where RTD mentioned that they had limited capacity for COPs for projects as an agency, and it made me wonder what is our capacity for COPs as a city, and I'm thinking in terms of like future for dollars and the future um for use.

Justin Sykes, budget management office director.

I think uh what's challenging about COPs is they are used to um you take a current asset and then you use it to collateralize a future capital improvement, but then you have to make payments for the repayment of the costs associated with that capital improvement.

Uh so I think what we would have to do is look at of all the city's current assets, what's collateralized, what's not, um, and then we would have to look at the magnitude of the potential payments in order to understand the capacity uh to fund that out in the future.

Thank you.

And because I have you, I just didn't come back.

Because I have you, I am curious as to um to the gentleman's point about the um the parking mass rates.

If you could you speak to that because I was very curious.

Sure.

So let me um I appreciate the opportunity.

I can pull up the ordinance here.

Okay, um, it is something that was passed in 2021, and in section three of the ordinance that created the transportation and mobility fund, it identifies program expenditures are hereby authorized for the transportation and mobility fund uh to be expended by the executive director of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Allowable expenses include program costs to support transportation and mobility programs, including personnel, services and supplies, capital equipment, and appropriated transfers to the capital improvement and capital maintenance fund for CAPA projects.

Thank you.

Um it looks like Angela is here, so I can re-ask my question again.

So Angela, I was hoping that you all from the mayor's office could speak about the um previous round of layoffs, how those decisions were made, and if council members were consulted in those decisions.

Hi everyone, Angela Cassius, uh Mayor's legislative director.

Sorry, ran up the stairs, so you can take your time a little bit out of breath.

Take your breath.

Um, so the um my understanding of the process is that the mayor met with every agency and worked with Department of Finance and each one of those agencies to develop what they thought was a plan that made sense for our current our 2026 budget parameters.

From there, once you know they had several meetings, each agency to refine and determine uh what the best path forward was from there.

We had uh, if I if I can remember right, I think we had uh several one-on-ones with council members.

I I want to say the last week of August, something I can I can provide all of those data points of when we touched with council.

It was my is my understanding that um since this was a personnel issue, that this isn't this is something that we couldn't like give all the names out to um publicly or do anything so we managed it in this way, and in order to have, I mean, I'd I know I'm leaving information out, so I'd like to have a chance to pull some information together and share with you all the steps.

Thank you, Angela.

When you say publicly, you mean to be able to share that with council members about the specifics of who what would be implement or impacted, excuse me, by the layoffs.

Correct.

Yeah, okay, thank you.

Um the second question that I have for you, Angela, um, is regarding the alternatives.

Um, one of the things that's come up quite a bit is that um that budget amendments equal layoffs.

And so I wanted to see if you all could talk about alternatives to um laying off employees.

I know you all explored other options as well, and so maybe you can speak to that.

Um, sure.

I mean, I think what we're gonna do is we're gonna work very closely with the mayor and department of finance and find every every penny that we can to make sure that we don't have layoffs.

Um we can't make that determination until we know what the amendments are, but once we have the amendments, we'll be able to look and and work with Justin and his team to make some of those determinations.

I don't think that anyone's said that there's that's the only option, but we um we know that we have a tight budget right now.

The reason I ask is because the mayor has said it a few times, and I want to clarify for the record for the public to understand that that's one option that the mayor could go to in order to be able to um address the budget amendments that might come forward by members of this body, but it's not the only option that he has, it's just the one that he prioritizes.

I think it's fair to say that that would be an absolute last resort, and um, we just know that we've done everything we can to cut this budget as as slimly as we can so that we can make sure and hold on to as many employees as we can.

Thank you.

And then my last question is regarding the helping youth pursue excellence program or the hype program.

Um I recently heard from those folks about the their contract being pooled as a part of some of the cuts that had happened within the city.

Um, if you're not familiar, it's a program that provides employment opportunities for justice involved youth, and their contract was cut in August.

Um, so and there was no information beforehand, and they ended up having to one not be able to service the youth, um, that were a part of that co the cohort, as well as having to lay off employees, and so I'm curious how um the city how we can just cut someone's contract mid-um service without them like um having a reason to cut the contract.

Uh I'm not familiar with the with exactly what happened with that particular contract, and I'm happy to go back and get some more information for all of you and provide it.

I don't have that information right now.

Okay, thank you.

Okay.

Is that it, Councilman?

Yeah, I might jump back in.

Thank you.

No problem.

Councilmember Alviderez.

Uh thank you, Council President.

Uh thank you, Angela.

Um, I have had uh some different answers on the funding for the soccer stadium, whether it was interest on bond, or then it was like the city lent money.

It looks like someone else might be ready to answer that, but I'm curious if I could just get clarity on like where that funding is supposed to be coming from.

Um I think there's someone in this room that probably has a little bit more expertise around that.

So I'm gonna hand this off to what's like Jackson's coming up.

Hey, good evening, members of council, Jackson Brockway, capital planning and budget manager for the Department of Finance.

Um, so with the soccer um agreement, um, that is currently a $50 million commitment from the city.

Um, the uh legislative action that will be coming to council separate from this budget that we're talking about today, um, is principally to utilize um capital improvement fund dollars um to support that agreement.

How that is um generated is from elevate interest that was built up over time in the program.

Um, as we have a clear line of sight for that program, we've been able to replace some of the CIP commitments that were made in the past for elevate projects, um, and that frees up those CIP dollars to direct towards um towards the soccer project.

Okay, uh thank you.

Um my next question is about a lot of the testimony.

I don't know, Angela, if this is for you around after school care and youth on record programming.

Um, I'm confused on where these dollars all are, but um it sounds like a lot of them are coming from the office of children's affairs.

Do you know what the has the administration looked at what exactly the cuts to this office and how how they're gonna impact out after school time care?

Um, I believe I believe they have.

I don't know if Justin can give a little bit more robust answer than I can.

Um I don't know exactly who is oh Rhett is online from OCA, so he might be able to answer these questions for us.

Producer, can you?

Yep, thank you.

Okay, Rhett, can you hear us?

Yes, Council President, I can hear you.

Awesome.

Want to ask your question.

What question again, Councilman?

Yeah, we've received a lot of testimony tonight about after school time care programs from youth on records and other nonprofits.

Um can we get a full analysis or can you talk about how the Office of Children's Affairs funding is affecting the after school time care and grants for organizations like youth on record?

Yeah, absolutely, Councilmember, and thank you for the question.

Um, and thanks to all the partners who are in the room to kind of speak up on the out of school time field generally.

Um, we for our context-specific out of school time partners and our YVP partners, um, provide funding on an annual basis, mostly because every grant cycle that we have through our RIP competitive process is subject to the amount allocated by city council and in partnership with the mayor's office.

So we can't really do multi-year um funding when we we only know what that single year funding structure will be.

Um that's a little different with some of our comprehensive organizations who are running uh programming throughout the school week throughout the summer um at that high dosage level.

Um but I hope that stands a little bit.

So it's hard to say what the exact impact will be, because again, we try to be flexible to what we are allocated and what the need is in community.

Um could you provide a list of those organizations and which ones are the ones that are the high usage that you mentioned at the end, and then which ones are smaller grantees?

Yeah, we can certainly provide that to you.

Great.

Thank you so much.

Yep, thank you.

Um this question, and I don't know if anyone from real estate is here, but I have a question about the comfort in and just what is the rent there currently, and how much is it costing us to get out of our lease?

Good evening, it's director of her Department of Finance.

Lisa Lumley is not here tonight.

It is her birthday, so we gave her the night off, uh, but we will follow up with that for you.

Okay, I would like to know um what the cost is of getting out of that lease as well as the Republic Plaza lease as well as the post lease.

Okay.

Um and what those rents are.

Okay.

Um great, thank you.

And Laura, sorry, have to rep.

Just want to make sure that when we say follow up, we need to have like a time frame around that because we're on the shot clock for charter.

So I mean, it's we can get those tomorrow.

Yeah, just somebody close a business tomorrow.

Yep.

Okay.

Okay.

I also reached out about a contract to the Department of Finance.

If I could get that tomorrow as well, Laura.

I'll send it to you right now.

I I have um I will say this, Angela Cassius, legislative director.

Um, would the number that I have heard for operations and the rents for the comfort in is around 9 million.

So for one year?

For one year.

Okay.

Um can any is anyone here to speak to the janitors that spoke about um their contract and being cut hours and the impact of that on the cleanliness of the building?

Uh that would be general services, and I don't believe we have someone from general service here services here tonight.

If we could get a response tomorrow, that would be great as well.

Okay, great.

Um, and then I have a question.

I don't know if this is Department of Finance or HR, but the response to the crime lab was that we have these positions allocated, but they're frozen.

What does that mean that we're funding positions that are currently frozen, and when can we ever expect them to be unfrozen?

And what does that mean when we unfreeze them?

Does every single one of those positions go on to our website saying that they're available?

How does that work?

Uh so for the current year, council member, we increased our vacancy savings.

And so what that meant is that agencies oftentimes had positions in their budget that they would not have the capacity to fulfill to fill.

So if an agency filled every single one of its positions for the entirety of the year, there wouldn't be sufficient budget.

Historically, what we've seen is because of turnover, because of time to hire for a new position that an agency wouldn't need 100% of the budget for every position for the entirety of the year.

That was for 2025.

For 2026, we've actually scaled back significantly the amount of vacancy savings that we've removed from agencies' budgets kind of off the top.

Um, and so the positions are in the budget next year.

Um, I I can't speak to whether or not they're frozen right now, uh, but they are they are budgeted and would be for the police department and for the Department of Safety to kind of prioritize amongst their other vacancies in the 2026 budget.

So what's confusing for me is that we're funding positions in 2026, but how do we know which of those positions will actually be able to get filled?

And that doesn't just go for the crime lab, which has been a concern, but for elections for other departments across the city, there's a lot of positions that are frozen right now.

When do we decide to unfreeze those?

And does it because I have a hard time taking um to consideration that these positions are funded if we have a hiring freeze?

It doesn't make sense.

So I think uh for the current moment, we are holding on a lot of positions, pending any potential budget amendments, just not knowing what changes might impact different agencies.

Uh but then it's really each executive director within their agency who is responsible for managing the budget with that within that agency.

And so, for example, uh there might be agencies that do pay equity adjustments or that uh audit a position so that it's a higher classification, but that doesn't mean they have more budget.

That may mean that they delay filling other positions.

Um it's really hard, I think, give a blanket answer.

I think it's something that each agency executive director is managing uh towards fulfilling the mission of their agency.

So when you talk about 2026, and there being positions that are or you what when you started your comment, you said right, you said you're holding back vacancy savings for next year.

Um so let me clarify.

So in the 2025 budget, the current year budget, one of the ways that we were able to balance the budget was by increasing vacancy savings.

So in other words, we we took more out of agency personnel budgets, uh, which then made it challenging for agencies in some cases to fill positions.

So for the 2026 proposed budget, we have reduced the amount of vacancy savings being taken out of agency budgets.

So in other words, there's less being taken out off the top from agency personnel budgets in 2026, which then would mean agencies are able to fill a lot more of the positions that are budgeted pending some of all of those other decisions.

So if an agency were to hire somebody above a cost of that's budgeted for a position, that may then limit their ability to fill other positions, because for one of the positions that they filled, they spent more than was built into the budget.

Okay, so if there's 20 vacant positions in the crime lab, for example, and we're budgeting for all of them, you're saying that discretion is going to be completely up to the head of the department of safety on what positions get filled and what the cost will be.

Yes, and I think with the addendum that we would be working with that agency to help make sure that if they were to fill all of the positions, it wouldn't put them in a spot that would result in that agency overspending its appropriation for the year.

Okay.

So with the appropriation that they have, there's still a hope that there will be vacancy savings, correct?

That is correct.

And I think that's is it a formula or is it?

Yep, I think um it's it's in the budget book.

I don't know the page number, but we can send that over to you.

And the section in the budget book speaks to that reduction in the amount of vacancy savings.

Um so I can um follow up with you here momentarily on the page numbers in the budget book.

Okay, and then when it this is totally separate topic, um when it comes to the shelter system, we've heard some concerns tonight about the health and safety of people in the shelter system.

I'm curious if you have what is budgeted for um deferred maintenance and what maintenance is needed on our shelter system.

I I don't have that number.

Uh I don't know if we've we've got a cost estimate for that, but that's certainly something uh we can follow up on that would be great.

Thank you.

That's all I have for the moment.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you.

Councilmember Gonzalez Gutierrez.

Thank you, um, Madam President.

And I think this may be a question for you, Justin.

Um, last sorry, I didn't want to state the question and not hear it.

Last week in the Health and Safety Committee, we had a presentation from the Office of Neighborhood Safety.

Um, during that presentation, um, I was really confused because they talked about the hype program, the one that was mentioned just a moment ago by councilwoman Lewis, um helping youth pursue excellence, and it was um they talked about like this program and how it's such a great program housed under the Office of Neighborhood Safety.

However, there was a lack of information and consistency of what is in the budget book because I recall Councilman Cashman um asking for that budget to be restored.

And in the budget book, it states um that the there was an elimination, it eliminated the hype program, including the associated filled positions, including two diversion and criminal justice officers, a program manager, and a program administrator, equaling up to 436,600, and that's on page 304 of the budget book.

And when I asked this question in committee, I don't believe we got a real straight answer of why they were promoting a program that based on the budget book has been eliminated.

They continue to say that it has not been eliminated, but that's what it says in the budget book, and I'm still just very confused of what is actually happening here.

Is this program eliminated?

Is it not?

Is this a mistake in the budget book?

Because I know council members are concerned about the this program, and as we've heard, we've there people have already been let go because services have been discontinued or funding has been discontinued as of August.

So I don't know if you have that information, but I'm I feel like we just don't know what's going on there.

Uh council member, I I did not have a chance to watch that committee hearing last week.

I assume it was the Office of Social Equity Innovation and the Office of Neighborhood Safety.

Uh let us follow up with them and clarify.

My understanding is what you accepted from the budget book is that the program uh was being phased out, but um have not watched that committee hearing and we'll follow up with that agency and get back to ASAP with more details.

So I think there needs to be some conversation.

My next question, this might be for Laura, and thank you so much for for um responding via email on this, but I thought it would be great to make sure that we are letting the public know about the Bronco Fund because I'd asked the question during the budget hearings.

And so I just wanted to circle back to the current state of the Bronco Fund, how much we um have historically had in there, um, the amount in the interest fund and where the fund currently resides, like is it in the general fund?

Um, there was talk about it being in a separate fund.

And then the last piece, and I can repeat these, um, is currently what is being unspent in the 2026 budget and what is being spent of that amount.

Thank you.

Laura Sports Department of Finance.

I can tell you the budget for uh the Broncos funds for next year is about three and a half million.

And I might look to Justin to answer the rest of those questions, that's right.

Did you need me to repeat anything?

No, I uh I think probably I don't have the numbers at my fingertips if um had some time to pull up work day.

Um, well, I can I can just go over the email because I have the email from Laura.

Um so we have here that the total interest accrued um was six hundred and sixty-seven thousand five hundred and seven dollars.

Um, and that's based on uh 2024.

Um, the full first year that the balance was in an interest-bearing account was for two 2024.

Uh and at that time, 384,223 interest was accrued.

Um, and then you talked about future yields will be bat based on cash balance year-to-date interest accrual in 2025 was 253,224.

Um as far as the annual expenditure in 2023 was around 1 million dollars, 2024 1.2 million dollars, and then it says 2025 projected 1.9 million dollars.

And so now I'm hearing for 2026 you're projecting 3.5 million dollars to be spent out of that fund.

Um I I would have to reference the budget book.

I'm sorry, I can pull that up in a moment, uh, but don't have it pulled up at this section.

Okay.

Um, and the initial deposited amount was 12 million, 12.5 million dollars.

Yes.

Um, and we have a current cash balance at 9.7 million, so about a third of that, potentially based on what we just heard.

I guess we'll just need to know about how much of the fund is being spent.

Um, and I think what will be helpful is to have um some more specifics around what it's being spent on.

Um that would be great.

We can work with the Office of Children's Affairs to follow up on that question.

Absolutely.

Okay, thank you so much.

That's all I have for right now.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you.

Next up we have Councilmember Cashman.

Thank you, Madam President.

Um, so our uh uh comments uh appropriate, Madam President.

Uh Councilmember Cashman, we're just at the public hearing, so we're asking questions from the public hearing, then next Monday we will do amendments and then the following Monday we vote on it.

And so if you want to save your comments for when you vote, or if you want to do now.

It's just it's a comment on uh question.

I'm concerned with uh an unanswered question that uh councilwoman uh Lewis asked, uh, which was uh about the role that City Council might have played in the layoffs.

And I I just don't want to leave anything unclear to viewers that council played absolutely no role.

Uh we don't we don't see the budget before the public does.

We had no idea the number of layoffs or who were going to be laid off before that was released uh in the press.

So, with that, I will save the balance of my comments for next week.

And I uh um have no questions right now, Madam President.

Thank you, thank you.

Yeah, Councilmember Cashman.

Councilmember Parity.

Um, yeah, it's likely a question for Angela.

Um, what positions are currently vacant in the mayor's office that were not um cut prior to layoffs?

Uh that's a good question.

Um, I could look if you give me a minute, I could try and pull it up just right now.

Um I have it somewhere.

Let me just that would be great.

So after conferring with Justin, it sounds like there are four currently four positions that are vacant in the mayor's office.

And what are they?

Uh that I'll get back to um.

Okay, give me a minute.

I don't think there's anyone here who can likely answer um Department of Safety Finance or HR questions.

If there is, I have questions for them while we're looking at this.

Um, looks like Laura, maybe.

Councilmember, I believe there is somebody uh online from the Department of Safety.

I think Emily Lux is available if uh great.

Yeah, let me ask.

Let me um let's promote Emily and I'll ask her that question once she gets here.

And if she can't answer it, it's possible.

So someone from the Department of Finance might be able to.

Is Emily available?

Hi, Emily.

Hopefully you can hear us and we'll see you in a moment.

What was that?

What was that?

She's in between.

Oh, she's coming here physically.

Okay, I see.

I thought she was online, not on overflow.

Everyone from Overflow should probably come in here now.

Okay.

Emily.

I'm here, Councilmember.

Okay, she is online.

Sorry.

Um, sorry, what I wanted to ask you, and it may be a I don't know if you'll have the answer to this, but um I would like to know what positions are vacant um that are still budgeted for, and you know, that we're trying to fill um in the Department of Safety under the finance and HR umbrellas.

I can get back to you on that tomorrow, Councilmember.

Okay, that works.

Um, and I'm pausing and looking at Angela, who I think is still not quite ready on the other question.

Okay, I don't want to keep everyone sitting here, so if it needs to come in an email, I think that's fine, or or um Councilmember Parity.

If you want to get to the bottom of the queue, I'm happy to have it go on the record tonight in the public record.

Yeah, that's great.

Or or um maybe Councilmember Lewis can ask for questions and then if Angela's ready, just step up and say it then, whichever.

Okay, thank you.

But that's all I'm done other than that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Lewis.

Yeah, thank you.

I wanted to follow up on the question that I had that Mr.

Noble had presented to us because I got some additional information.

Um, and it's my understanding that there were two, so there was the initial um uh ordinance, and then there was amendment in 2021.

So 2021, the initial, and then 2022 it was funded.

Um, and the actual language says that it was for a specific lift up list of projects and um purposes, and the languages we're asked the presiding judge determined that the parking citation fine increases are necessary to support the safety of the streets, curbside space, new models of transportation, bus lanes, uh delivery activities, pedestrians and needs of adjacent land uses, and we're asked the city desires to dedicate the incremental revenue derived from the 2022 increase from said fines to support alternative mode alternative modes of transportation and mobility projects that increase the safety of Denver's transportation network.

So it is very specific, actually.

So I just wanted to.

Council member, what I would clarify is I think that's in the whereas clauses, and so what we look to is the body of the ordinance.

And so I think that that fund is used for a variety of different programming.

Um I think it's used for parking programs, it's used for transportation mobility.

Um happy to defer to lawyers on kind of the um full scope, but but I think we look to the allowable uses as specified in the ordinance to kind of govern the core uses of what a fund can go towards.

Okay.

Do we know what the cost estimate is for the replacement of the parking magistrates and the proposal that the mayor has on the table currently?

So I think the number in the letter that city council sent to the mayor was 575,000.

Yes, that was for the restoration of the parking magistrates, but I'm asking about the proposal that the mayor has on the table and creating a difference as well.

Sure, uh so I think the department of transportation and infrastructure is evaluating that right now, uh, with that five hundred and seventy-five thousand dollar kind of uh former cost being the amount that they would spend up to.

So use just to make sure I understand.

So it would still be the 575 that council members essentially ask for for the restoration of the parking magistrates, it would just be 575 used differently.

I think up to 575.

So I think the uh the department of transportation and infrastructure is looking at that.

They're evaluating what that program uh would look like in the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, and and I think the commitment would be to spend up to that amount 575,000 dollars out of the transportation and mobility fund.

Is that um I'm guessing that's money for personnel?

Uh so I think it may primarily be personnel, there might be uh systems, there might be marketing.

Um I can't speak to what exactly those costs would be.

It's something that the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is evaluating and thinking about, and I think we'll have more details on um in the months to come.

Thank you, Justin.

I appreciate it.

Absolutely.

And I just want to make one comment because um there's been a lot of we'll get back to you, and it's kind of disappointing that the mayor didn't send staff here to be able to answer questions for us.

Like this is the one time that we were having this discussion um as a body, um, and so it's disappointing to see that not prioritize.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Gilmar.

Thank you, Council President.

Um, I wanted to um ask uh Justin, we'll start with you, I guess.

Um, when I had gotten my briefing, well, my briefings numerous times, I've asked um for some sort of documentation on past fiscal years about the interest savings from the bond, because this is the first time that I'm ever hearing about um this year that all of a sudden there was 70 million dollars available through bond interest savings, and so um we don't need to belabor it here, but um, for me to affirmably vote on the budget, I would like to be able to see the last five years of the interest revenue that has been generated on our bond, because that's what you're telling me that's gonna be used for the soccer stadium, correct?

I will defer to Jackson on that question.

I um I'm not certain on quite what that uh trajectory is for the interest earnings.

Yeah, thank you, Councilwoman.