Denver Mayor and City Council Meeting: House 1000 Budget and Migrant Updates - October 3, 2023

This weekly working session of the Denver Mayor and City Council on October 3, 2023, included council announcements, a presentation on the proposed 2024 budget for the House 1000 homelessness resolution initiative, an update on migrant arrivals and shelter policies, and a motion to enter executive session.

Opening Announcements

• Councilwoman Romero Campbell announced her participation as a guest crossing guard for National Walk, Ride, and Roll to School Day at Holm Elementary, and highlighted the need for more crossing guards and safe routes to school.
• Councilwoman Gilmore reiterated her request for the administration to publicly share the top two budget expansions not funded in the 2024 proposed budget, citing transparency and accountability. Mayor Johnston responded that the budget is comprehensive and DOTI plans have no delays.
• Councilwoman Sandoval announced that City Council had previously approved postponing the sidewalk collection fee for six months to allow a task force to convene; she sponsored the bill and emphasized the need to study the pay-as-you-throw trash fee to avoid gentrification and burdens on fixed-income residents. The Mayor offered to have DOTI present lessons learned.
• Councilwoman Alvidres echoed support for sidewalk funding work and asked for simultaneous progress on fixing sidewalks; she also announced the Miles for Moms event benefiting Florence Crittenton School for Teenage Mothers at Huston Lake Park on Saturday.

House 1000 2024 Budget Briefing

• Cole Chandler, Senior Advisor for Homelessness Resolution, presented a one-page overview of estimated 2024 costs for House 1000. The initiative aims to bring another 1,000 people indoors in 2024 after the 2023 goal of 1,000, using the same strategies: hotels, micro communities, leased units, and encampment response.
• The 2024 budget includes a larger investment in leased units and rapid rehousing to transition people from non-congregate shelters into permanent housing, creating a pipeline and backfill strategy. It also covers ongoing operations for hotels and micro communities as well as potential new development. The hotel line item does not include potential hotel acquisitions in 2024.
• In response to Councilman Flynn’s question, Chandler explained that the funding supports both maintaining 2023 efforts and adding new capacity, but an exact breakdown was not available and would be provided later.
• At Councilwoman Alvidres’s request for cost comparisons, Mayor Johnston provided rough averages: hotel units cost about $100,000 per door, tiny homes cost $25,000–$35,000 per door including wraparound services, and leased units cost $25,000–$30,000 per year. Land costs are included for hotel acquisitions and leased units but vary for micro communities.
• Councilman Watson questioned the dashboard’s 14-day threshold for counting someone as housed versus HUD’s 7-day time frame. Chandler said 14 days was a minimum marker of stability and that the system is being expanded to track long-term outcomes including exits to permanent housing or returns to homelessness. Watson encouraged adding narrative context to the data, and asked how the House 1000 dashboard aligns with HOST’s action plan. Chandler said they are in daily coordination with HOST and pushing beyond the previous goal of a 50% reduction in unsheltered homelessness.
• Watson also argued that the "House 1000" target for 2024 is too low if the 2023 goal is achieved quickly; Mayor Johnston noted the point-in-time count was 1,500 and that 2,000 would be a 30% expansion, while throughput could move 3,000–4,000 people through units annually. He committed to revisiting goals and KPIs across departments as part of the transition.
• Councilwoman Gilmore requested line-item detail for the $20 million micro communities budget and other categories for transparency. She raised concerns about the site selection process, including proximity to a grocery store as a livability criterion, and asked for information on SNAP/EBT enrollment timelines and workforce development. She also expressed concern about reductions in shelter length-of-stay for migrants.
• Councilwoman Lewis asked whether supportive services are included in each housing type; Chandler confirmed they are. He also confirmed that long-term retention and success data will be tracked via HMIS reporting. Lewis asked for an updated site map/list and stressed prioritizing District 8 residents for housing.
• Councilman Hines asked whether the cost of encampment sweeps is being tracked; Chandler said it is not currently tracked but he would investigate. Hines discussed the Houston model, noting gaps around employment and permanent housing outcomes; Chandler confirmed the administration will track whether people return to the HMIS system and will provide access to job services. Hines also reported on a recent town hall, noting some attendees became supportive but concerns remain about density (two micro communities three blocks apart in Golden Triangle) and misinformation (e.g., a belief that all 1,000 people would be housed in Golden Triangle).

Migrant Shelter Update

• Mayor Johnston reported that the number of migrants in shelter is now just over 2,300, up significantly since July. The administration has expanded the length of stay for families to 37 days, while shortening it for single individuals from 21 to 14 days to balance services and staffing. An RFP for community partners is out and will close next week, and the city is pursuing expanded state and federal funding.
• Councilwoman Gonzalez-Gutierrez asked about the $40 million migrant funding: Budget Director Stephanie Caratus Adams explained that $40 million was the total for 2023, with over $20 million already spent and additional funds drawn from the general fund contingency; a special revenue fund set aside another $20 million for the rest of the year. She said the city is monitoring the increased run rate. Gonzalez-Gutierrez also asked about the RFP process and nonprofit capacity; the Mayor said he would connect her with the appropriate contact.
• Councilwoman Gilmore asked where individuals are expected to go after shelter time ends. Mayor Johnston said the challenge exists regardless of the length of stay, and extending stays would require additional funding (e.g., a further $20 million). Councilwoman Gonzalez-Gutierrez took responsibility to help identify sites for migrant families, including churches and closed schools, and noted work with the apartment association on employment.

Key Outcomes

• The council received the 2024 House 1000 budget overview with commitments to provide follow-up data: line-item breakdowns (Gilmore), cost-per-unit comparisons (Alvidres), and cost tracking for encampment sweeps (Hines).
• The council moved unanimously to enter executive session under DRMC 2-34A3 and 6 to discuss settlement of ongoing litigation against the city.