Denver Mayor and City Council Briefing on 2024 Citywide Goals - February 27, 2024

At the weekly Mayor-Council session on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 (16:30 UTC), city leaders shared announcements, heard the Mayor's proposed 2024 citywide goals, and voted to move into executive session. Council members offered feedback on measurement, community engagement, climate and equity, and public safety. No agenda or minutes were available; this summary relies solely on the transcript.

Announcements

• Councilwoman Sawyer reminded residents of an online Exposition Street traffic study meeting at 6:00 p.m. that evening, covering Quebec to Leetsdale, including the George Washington High School triangle.
• Councilwoman Alvidrez announced a 5:30 p.m. roundtable at Table Public House with a micro-community operator and Denver Police Department, and a March 6 business roundtable in District 3 with the Council President and Mayor at Mi Casa Resource Center.
• Councilmember Gonzales-Gutierrez highlighted a youth gun violence prevention town hall at West High School the previous Saturday, where young people raised concerns about rec center hours and programs, funding for community-based organizations, culturally responsive mental health support, and root causes of gun violence.
• Councilman Cashman praised community support for newcomers, citing the Love Project at Ellis Elementary and McMean, and noted Little India owner Cimeron Bidwan provided 600 meals to overnight shelter users during a recent cold spell.
• Councilman Watson announced a February 28 Black History Month event at the Posner Center, 5:00-7:00 p.m., co-hosted with Councilwoman Lewis and Mayor Johnston.

Discussion Items

• The Mayor presented proposed 2024 citywide goals built on a vision of a Denver that is 'vibrant, affordable, and safe for all' and values of listening, daring, and delivering. Specific targets include: improving employee engagement by 5%; engaging the public across all 11 council districts to envision vibrant neighborhoods and downtown and identify funding by year-end; moving 2,000 people indoors from unsheltered homelessness; permitting, financing, or supporting 3,000 long-term affordable housing units; moving 200 individuals struggling with addiction or mental health out of the criminal justice system into an intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation pipeline by December 31; reducing violent gun crime by 20%; improving customer satisfaction with emergency services by 15%; reenvisioning the development permitting process to reduce city review time by 30%; and cutting response time to the top three 311 constituent concerns by 20%.
• Councilwoman Alvidrez expressed concern about middle-class housing affordability, foreclosure prevention, and mortgage assistance. She called for more accessible CASER energy-efficiency programs, including vendor list and school-based e-bike distribution, and for better coordination among youth violence prevention efforts. The Mayor said the affordability pipeline will include households up to 120% of median income, pledged to take CASER feedback directly to the office, and noted an ongoing landscape analysis of youth violence programs.
• Councilwoman Parady asked about the mechanics of 'tiger teams,' who owns each goal, how council members can plug in, and how city revenues fit. The Mayor said he would provide a list of point people, explained that each goal has two leads (Mayor's office and relevant agency), and offered quarterly town halls in council districts plus an offline budget/revenue conversation.
• Councilwoman Romero Campbell praised the SMART goals and asked about coordination with council committees, requesting a District 4 town hall within the next quarter. The Mayor described team structure with permanent members, content experts, and on-call advisors from finance, the city attorney, equity, and climate, and said teams would be available to committees.
• Councilman Cashman supported the public engagement goal and urged improvements to the Registered Neighborhood Organization (RNO) structure. He also asked why climate/environment were not explicit goals. The Mayor said climate and equity are cross-cutting priorities integrated across departments, citing work on electric fleet infrastructure, charging stations, solar gardens, and renewable energy.
• Councilman Hines agreed on RNO reform and asked how the 311 response-time goal would be measured, noting that 311 currently closes tickets within 48 hours without taking action. The Mayor responded that 'response time' means actual action or service delivered, not acknowledgement, and that sub-goals will be specific. Hines also raised constituent concerns about trash collection changes in Congress Park.
• Councilmember Gonzales-Gutierrez asked about rollout timelines, community feedback across all goals, and flexibility to add agencies. The Mayor said all goals are starting concurrently with different first steps, metrics will be tracked quarterly, community feedback will be gathered through town halls, and teams can be adjusted.
• The Council President raised equity questions about how neighborhoods experience issues differently and asked how the 20% violent gun crime reduction would be assessed geographically, noting District 3's heavy ShotSpotter use and a 'donut' pattern of violence around the city. The Mayor said the work begins in the most affected neighborhoods, uses place network investigations and crime prevention through environmental design, and includes comprehensive support, community input, and multi-agency coordination.

Key Outcomes

• No vote was taken on the citywide goals; council feedback was received for further refinement.
• The Mayor committed to provide a document listing point people for each goal and to schedule quarterly town halls in council districts.
• Council members' requests regarding CASER accessibility, RNO reform, committee engagement, and district-specific town halls were acknowledged as follow-ups.
• The council voted unanimously to enter executive session under Denver Revised Municipal Code Section 23-4(a)(4) and (6) to discuss ongoing negotiations of contracts to potentially acquire or use real property for shelter or housing. The motion required and received two-thirds approval, and the meeting adjourned to executive session.