With barely 60 days left before the general election, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper needs to make a short, city-centric to-do list. By Nov. 3, he will either be licking his wounds or — as governor-elect — forming a team ready to govern the state on Jan. 11, 2011.
Denver faces major budget challenges. Sales and use tax revenue will continue to decline due to significant — perhaps permanent — shifts in consumer spending and the near-paralysis of commercial and residential construction. Because compensation and benefits make up more than 75 percent of Denver’s general fund expenditures, costs will rise due to increased personnel costs, particularly police, fire and sheriff’s collective bargaining contracts and inefficiencies in the delivery of city services.
Denver is in the midst of 2011 general fund budget preparations. It’s a safe bet Hickenlooper will opt for more-of-the-same to manage the 2011 budget dilemma: across-the-board cuts rather than bold strategic moves.
Instead, the mayor ought to identify enough tough, stiff-spined council-people (my list would include Jeanne Robb, Carla Madison, Judy Montero, Jeanne Faatz, Peggy Lehmann, Marcia Johnson, Paul Lopez and Charlie Brown) to build support for city charter changes for the May 2011 municipal ballot:
• Abolish the manager of safety’s office for a savings of $3 million or more. Mayor Robert Speer created the position in 1916 to insulate himself from the shenanigans of renegade police/sheriffs. More recently, the manager’s neutrality has been co-opted by the cops, with Al LaCabe being the possible exception.
When elected in 2003, Hickenlooper, faced with the Paul Childs imbroglio, hired Denver’s first independent monitor and appointed the seven-member Citizen Oversight Board to monitor the monitor. Both were established to restore public confidence in the police and sheriff’s departments. Until Denver makes Internal Affairs Bureau files public — as many cities do — the public will lack confidence in both departments. A more transparent monitor and board obviate the need for a bloated Department of Safety.
• Abolish the Department of Environmental Services. Emulate other large cities and spin off the department of animal care to a non-profit. Let the city attorney negotiate Denver’s annual contract with Denver Health. The coroner must be independent, emergency preparedness can operate as a sub-agency of the mayor’s office and in partnership with Denver Health, and put public health functions back in Denver Health (where it was prior to 1998).
• Institutionalize development services. Under the able direction of Dan Roberts, this initiative is solving problems for developers, property owners, architects and contractors. Development Services has reduced the silos between public works, planning, parks and the fire department, facilitating the permitting process. Institutionalizing this function along with other charter changes is key to Denver’s vitality. Streets must accommodate cars and people. Authority over public right-of-way must be clarified and standards for quality public infrastructure should be established. The new zoning code will make Denver a more livable city. Eliminate the charter obstacles that challenge the full realization of the code.
Other items in need of immediate attention:
• Aggressively seek an active use for the vastly improved McNichols Building in Civic Center, one that ensures greater public safety and enjoyment.
• Make a swift decision about admission-based events in Denver parks. Don’t leave this over-processed, moldy Velveeta for the next mayor.
• Denver’s free trash pick-up, including large item pick-up and recycling, is adding to illegal dumping and filthy alleys throughout the city. Complete a realistic, cost-neutral solid-waste master plan and make certain it’s implemented by July 2011.
In 2003, Wellington Webb and a largely term-limited City Council teed up various opportunities for the next administration: Charter Amendment 1A overhauled an obsolete career system; planning had begun for downtown’s new Justice Center; Blueprint Denver paved the way for the new zoning code; and consolidating city departments in the new municipal office building created the opportunity to streamline city services.
John Hickenlooper owes Denver residents and, if he wins, his successor no less.
Susan Barnes-Gelt (sbg13@ ) served on the Denver City Council and worked for Mayor Federico Peña.
