Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election
Mayor Hickenlooper and several City Council members were present at the first public hearing on the proposed charter changes last night at the Webb building. The crowd of mostly city employees was polite for the most part. There were a smattering of boos when Kathleen MacKenzie was introduced. Happy Haynes took the opportunity to remind those present to treat each other with respect. Not surprisingly the speakers against the proposed changes outnumbered those in favor. One speaker mentioned that this year's election was all about change but as he looks around he could see the faces of a lot of the same people that were part of the old leadership that was in place when the budget problems started. Another speaker commented about the newness of Council and the Administration, asking them to work with the City for a year or so before pushing such radical changes. She reminded the elected officials present (well the Mayor really) that "you didn't learn how to make award winning beer over night."
The Rocky Mountain News [July 31, 2003, "New mayor gets earful over city workers' pay"] is running a story about the meeting this morning. From the article, "Currently, the authority's board sets salaries based on a survey of other employers, and the City Council must accept them. The system means raises for workers even when the city is in budget trouble. Hickenlooper wants to scrap the survey system and let the mayor and City Council set salaries and benefits by ordinance. He is working to put the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot." The Rocky [July 31, 2003, "The proposal"] also has a table of the major parts of the Mayor/Council proposal and another [July 31, 2003, "What's next"] containing information on the public hearings. Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [July 31, 2003, "City workers air worries"].
The Mayor took notes throughout. I believe that he is sincere when he says that he wants Denver to have the "best personnel system in the country" in 10 months. He invited those present, more than once, to learn about his record with the employees of his businesses. He mentioned that this process is not fun but he wants to deal with employees in an honest and straighforward manner, protect jobs and core rights, and that the cornerstone of any program would be fairness.
The reality is that the voters will most likely approve any charter changes put before them this November. Mayor Hickenlooper racked up a huge winning margin in the June election and that momentum should carry over.
Elbra Wedgeworth, the new City Council President, reiterated that the City is dealing with a serious budget shortfall. She tried to assure employees by saying, "We will not allow the crisis to be solved on the backs of City workers." She said we must work as a team since they need everyone to solve the problem.
Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie made the point that this effort started 6 months ago and that she knows that employees are feeling discomfort and anxiety over the issue. She mentioned that many of us have probably complained about the Career Service in the past and that they hope to provide a system that will motivate employees. She stated that there has been an unprecedented outreach during this process. Continuing on that theme she talked about a hotline and website being set up.
The hotline number is: 303.865.8810. DenverGov is hosting the web information. Here's the link. Channel 8 broadcasted the meeting and will re-broadcast it. The e-mail address for input is charter.suggestions@ci.denver.co.us.
The Career Service board plans a meeting on Friday to discusss the proposal and will have a recommendation for Saturday's meeting. They hope to provide a unified response but will at least comment.
Margaret Browne, the City's appointed Finance Director, took her turn at the shindig to show a bunch of charts with the increases and decreases in revenue over the last few years. She called the widening gap between revenues and expenses the "Jaws" chart. She showed a similar chart with a widening gap between proposed expenditures on capital equipment and the funds needed to keep the plant in good shape. She indicated that the budget office's crystal ball is now showing a 1.1% increase in sales tax revenue in 2005 but a continued decline this year and next. She also mentioned that the City has already cut 30 million bucks this year in non-personnel expenditures but that there is not much fat left.
Dave ??? from the City Attorney's office stressed the fact that the charter proposal handed out is a draft. This will probably not be the final form that goes to the voters. He mentioned that there must be an ordinance in place if the Charter change passes and that ordinance will largely contain most of the existing charter language. It will be that ordinance that is then tweaked in response to the budget crisis.
Best line of the night came from Albert Einstein via a Human Services employee. He quoted Einstein as saying, "Not everything that can be counted counts, not everthing that counts can be counted."
6:51:36 AM 
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