It is time for Denver City Council to reform their committee processes to include public participation.

Most citizens do not understand that bills and zoning matters which become ordinances and policies are studied and discussed in several Council Committees before they are either given a public hearing, a “courtesy public hearing” or no public hearing and are voted upon.

The Council Committee’s names and functions were changed about two years ago during the reign of then Council President Chris Nevitt.  They are at this time:

Business Development, Finance & Services, Infrastructure & Culture, Neighborhoods & Planning, Safety & Well-being, Governance & Charter Review

Less important than their names or what they do, however, is how they operate.  

Members of the committees are assigned by and have chairs appointed by the Council President.  The agenda is set by the Committee Chairs.  Obviously, the information which is presented to these committees has a large influence on the decisions of their members.

Decisions which are strongly supported in committee, by all intents and purposes, are final. When they are brought to the floor of Council, they are approved with a perfunctory vote after minimal discussion. Even where public hearings are required or granted, most often the decision was made in the committee.

Congress is the Legislative Branch of our federal government. City Council is the Legislative Branch in our City government.  Its role is to be a check and balance against and provide oversight of the Executive Branch, which in Denver is headed up by a “strong” Mayor, as defined in our City Charter..  Having a “strong” Mayor charter should make Council’s role even more important rather than less.

In reality, what occurs at the committee meetings is that at the table with the Council members are, most often, some Council staff and most always Executive Branch staff working with various city agencies relevant to what is being discussed. Council members, in the past, who naturally often have working relationships with executive branch employees have seemed to view them as friends and colleagues rather than as those whose activities they are charged with monitoring.   Also often at the table are the special interests representatives about which the legislation at hand is to be decided.

Those citizens unlucky enough to have attended these meetings will tell you that conspicuously absent from the table, at least in the eyes of the city residents, are citizens and neighborhood interests. They are present, though sitting silent on the sidelines like wallflowers at a teen mixer.

In 2011, Councilwoman Robin Kniech was successful in changing the Council rules to allow, at the discretion of the committee Chair, a limited number of citizens to testify for a limited amount of time and, not surprisingly, as it has turned out on a limited number of subjects.

In general, the committee meetings are open to the pubic. Open to the public to sit and listen, not to participate in any way. Ideas which could be valuable to the issue, perspectives which have not been considered or facts which may be disputed or clarified by the public, unless expressed by a member of Council, may never see the light of day.

It is no wonder that so often citizens feel the deck has been stacked against them. The Kniech Rule needs to be taken to the next level and made a requirement for all committees.

It is time for members of Council to recognize their role as the legislative branch of government and to give the public and neighborhood interests the opportunity to comment on the record at the end of the committee’s proceedings. In this way, what is discussed has the advantage of being fully explored and vetted before Council members make their decisions based on all of the facts and information available to them.

From the President,

Larry Ambrose