Friday, September 25, 2026, 1:30 p.m. (Denver time), Parr-Widener Community Room, Room 389
0:04 Beginning in 2020.
0:34 Final budget hearing for
0:40 budget week The I got tell you
0:42 so before we start, I just
0:43 want to say these meetings did
0:44 not occur on their own. It was
0:48 not by Most your full to
0:50 really lay down on to make
0:51 sure does happen. I want to
0:53 lift victim year.
1:06 And Stoudemire. If within Air
1:08 Staff City Council staff for
1:09 making sure that the community
1:11 had an opportunity here, but
1:14 important ways in which we
1:15 different identifying spending
1:16 far general fund dollars hear
1:17 directly from the folks who
1:20 are prioritizing and spending
1:21 it. And here tough questions.
1:23 Tough questions from Denver
1:25 City Council members because
1:27 that's our role. So with no
1:29 more Jaren Gavin from miners
1:30 Terawatts I'm honored. Honored
1:32 to serve. All wraps all of the
1:34 residents of the Vine District
1:36 9 and will start introductions
1:40 starting. And we are net
1:42 pretty par what everyone said.
1:44 Also a tennis councilmember at
1:46 men descended earth tempered
1:48 district 7 Flynn, Southwest
1:50 and we're district Justin
1:52 Sikeston Department of Finance
1:53 next deputy executive director
1:55 of aclu expense Sanders
1:58 executive director of policy
1:59 Reagan not on the Office of
2:02 Children's first just helping
2:06 to just against the Mets are
2:07 to survive. Doing tours was
2:09 diminishing Diana Romero,
2:09 Campbell, Southeast Denver
2:10 district court. You can call
2:12 the main issue financial
2:14 officer, but just a And I know
2:15 we have consular Cashman
2:19 online. You Good afternoon.
2:21 Paul Kashmann shot down
2:24 British awfully proud to know
2:26 what as she I and I was she a
2:30 meeting? It is awesome. So
2:32 with that, I'll turn it over
2:33 talk to senators from the
2:34 Office of Social Equity and
2:37 innovation for your. The
2:38 presentation. Good afternoon,
2:38 everyone. And thank you so
2:40 much for having me.
2:40 Congratulations on saving the
2:44 best for last. I am really
2:47 happy to be here to talk about
2:48 the proposed 2027 budget for
2:49 the mayor's Office of Social
2:51 Equity and Innovation. Again,
2:53 my name is been Sanders. I
2:53 serve as the executive
2:56 director sci and the city's
2:58 chief equity officer. As we
2:58 walk through the budget today,
3:01 I'm really excited to focus
3:02 both on what we're spending,
3:03 but also and maybe even more
3:05 important on what Denver
3:06 residents should expect from
3:07 that investment. They should
3:09 expect safer communities,
3:10 stronger pathways for young
3:13 people. More responsive city
3:14 systems and a deliberate
3:16 effort to prevent challenges
3:19 from becoming costly crises.
3:19 These are the goals the
3:22 framework we used to build our
3:24 2027 budget. As you know, se
3:25 also supports the broader
3:27 citywide budget process by
3:29 equity, senator questions and
3:29 helping agencies incorporate
3:31 to their budget development.
3:32 And while we continue working
3:34 to standardize that
3:35 consultation, each agency's
3:35 work, as you all know from
3:37 being in this room all week
3:38 and its relationship to the
3:41 city goals is distinct. And so
3:42 at the exact at the executive
3:43 level, I worked with the
3:44 mayor's office and the chief
3:45 financial officer to help
3:47 ensure that our citywide
3:48 commitment to equity is
3:49 reflected in our financial
3:51 priorities and resources. So
3:52 start off with vision and
3:55 mission. Before getting into
3:56 the numbers just to ground us
3:57 in the mission and vision that
3:59 organize our work as the eye.
4:01 Our mission is to cultivate an
4:02 equitable and inclusive Denver
4:04 by dismantling systemic
4:05 barriers and creating targeted
4:08 solutions for historically
4:10 marginalized populations. Our
4:12 vision straight forward, a
4:13 Denver where race and other
4:14 social identity is no longer
4:17 predict life outcomes. These
4:18 commitments, shape, both
4:19 divisions sci through our
4:20 Office of Neighborhood Safety.
4:23 We work directly with young
4:24 people, families,
4:24 neighborhoods and residents
4:25 experiencing elevated and
4:29 critical risk. And through our
4:29 equity strategies and
4:31 innovation unit, we work with
4:32 city agencies on systems
4:36 around those think policy
4:36 data, organizational
4:37 practices, training, planning
4:41 and resource alignment. One
4:42 side addresses needs in front
4:44 of us today. The other side of
4:45 our agency works to change the
4:46 conditions producing those
4:48 needs in the first place. Our
4:49 budget hopefully will reflect
4:54 to the 3rd slide here. For
4:55 2027. We by dentists, we've
4:56 identified 5 strategic
4:57 priorities are really driving
4:58 our budget. First, we want to
5:00 expand social justice and
5:01 resiliency supports for youth
5:02 and adults in underserved
5:03 neighborhoods. We believe that
5:04 strengthening those
5:06 relationships and resources.
5:08 Well, presidents remain safe
5:10 and connected before a crisis
5:12 occurs. Second, we intend to
5:13 complete a sustainable
5:14 maintenance model for place
5:16 network investigations or p.
5:18 And I building on improvements
5:19 and neighborhoods formally
5:21 challenged by gun violence.
5:23 3rd, we intend to establish a
5:25 gun violence review commission
5:27 to systematically examine
5:27 shootings, identify patterns
5:29 and opportunities for
5:31 intervention and to translate
5:32 those lessons into coordinated
5:35 prevention and response. 4th
5:35 will continue partnering with
5:39 the Office of Children Affairs
5:40 members of City Council and
5:41 community organizations to
5:42 develop a coordinated youth
5:43 violence prevention funding
5:45 strategy, including work
5:47 supported by community safety
5:52 grants. Pilot the Bronco 5th.
5:53 We're prioritizing a unified
5:54 in taking case management
5:55 system that allows us to
5:55 better coordinate services. We
5:59 provide to our clients, reduce
5:59 duplication and services and
6:01 measure outcomes across
6:03 programs together. We think
6:04 these priorities move us
6:05 toward a coordinated
6:08 prevention based system which
6:09 engagement intervention, data
6:09 and system improvement
6:11 reinforce one. Another in turn
6:15 to the next slide. As we
6:16 approached our 2027 budget
6:18 knowing that the city's
6:19 financial state, why we
6:20 trending in the right
6:23 direction. Resources remain
6:24 critically limited. And so
6:24 every dollar has to work
6:28 harder. Our first principle
6:29 was to protect Core mission,
6:30 critical services. We asked
6:31 what functions are most
6:34 central to our mission as an
6:35 agency. What services are
6:38 residents most relying on and
6:39 where would a loss of capacity
6:40 create greatest predictable
6:43 risk. Our second principle
6:44 around organizing our budget
6:45 was to strengthen capacity
6:47 where demand is growing fast.
6:48 That led us to our diversion
6:50 and deflection workwear
6:51 referrals in case loads have
6:52 increased significantly over
6:55 the past couple of years. And
6:56 this budget will shift
6:57 existing dollars towards
6:58 staffing capacity that allows
7:00 us to continue providing
7:01 timely high-quality service in
7:05 those areas. Arthur principle
7:06 was to strengthen Denver's
7:08 community safety sci as a
7:08 growing responsibility not
7:11 only to deliver programs, but
7:12 also to help connect the
7:13 system's organizations and
7:14 communities around those
7:16 programs. So our theme in this
7:18 budget has not been expansion
7:19 for expansion sake. Instead,
7:21 we focus really intently on
7:23 realignment, focusing limited
7:23 resources on core functions
7:26 and demonstrated demand while
7:27 strengthening the city's
7:29 work. That's the Saints safety
7:29 capacity for community-driven
7:33 and opportunity. Equity, of
7:34 course, to the next slide,
7:35 please. Staley was not equity,
7:37 of course, was not a separate
7:38 consideration for us. It was
7:39 the primary land. So which we
7:42 developed our budget, we
7:42 considered who and what
7:45 efforts would be affected by
7:46 reductions, particularly
7:47 communities experiencing
7:47 concentrated violence, poverty
7:49 and systemic inequity that
7:50 meant protecting services such
7:53 as diversion reflection. Why
7:54 which provide young people
7:55 with alternatives to deeper
7:58 justice system involvement. It
7:59 also meant identifying
8:00 reductions to services and
8:01 supplies that would not
8:04 disproportionately reduce
8:06 support for community
8:06 organizations while protecting
8:07 osu eye's ability to
8:10 contribute to the broader
8:10 governance of the city's
8:14 violence prevention. For us in
8:15 equity centered budget does
8:18 not mean that every program
8:18 needs to change. It means
8:19 understanding who benefits who
8:23 bears the burden of a decision
8:23 and whether our investments
8:24 are reducing or reinforcing
8:25 disparities. And so we've
8:25 worked really hard. Next
8:29 slide, please tailing. This
8:31 slide provides a simple
8:32 structure of how I see eyes
8:33 organized. The chief equity
8:33 officer reporting directly to
8:35 the mayor. The 2 divisions
8:37 I've already described Office
8:37 of Neighborhood Safety and our
8:39 Equity Strategies and
8:40 Innovation unit, one s and
8:43 yes, I respectively o n s
8:44 houses are community violence.
8:45 Solutions and juvenile justice
8:49 and resiliency work. So think
8:50 violence intervention,
8:50 diversion, deflection,
8:51 stabilization and support for
8:54 youth and families while our
8:56 yes, includes data and
8:57 evaluation strategy and
8:58 learning and is the current
8:58 home of our youth violence
9:02 prevention pilot. Dsi side
9:03 helps agencies translate what
9:05 we learned through programs
9:06 and community engagement and
9:07 to better policy, stronger
9:09 data practices and improved
9:10 organizational systems. And
9:11 all of that is about upstream
9:14 prevention and transformation.
9:16 So when we us osu, I often
9:18 think about it as a daily
9:19 impact and systems being
9:21 focused on daily impact in
9:22 systems, change in the name of
9:23 racial and social equity. Jump
9:26 to the next slide. Of course,
9:28 that only matters if we can
9:29 demonstrate results. And so on
9:32 the dsi side, one of our core
9:33 performance metrics continues
9:34 to be our use of racial
9:36 equity. Action reaps as we
9:38 call them within our agency
9:39 and the percentage of those
9:41 strategies connected to
9:42 measurable indicators of
9:43 success of this is work. We do
9:46 internally with agencies
9:47 devolution we want is from
9:48 simply having equity strategy
9:51 within city agencies to asking
9:53 a harder question, which is is
9:55 it working? How and why should
10:00 residents be excited? On nsi
10:01 diversion completion helps us
10:03 track the issues like like our
10:04 clients are facing and which
10:06 services are needed and most
10:08 effective. We're proud to see
10:09 incredibly strong completion
10:10 rates even as referrals and
10:11 case loads pressures have
10:12 continued to increase and
10:14 moving forward. We want
10:17 Council and the administration
10:19 and residents to see not only
10:19 where dollars are going with
10:20 those dollars are producing
10:24 next slide. Turning to the
10:26 budget Se eyes proposed 2027
10:28 budget is approximately 8.4
10:32 million dollars. Approximately
10:33 7.3, 7 million of that coming
10:34 from the city's general fund
10:34 with just over 1 million
10:35 coming from grants. That
10:38 funding mix is important
10:39 grants allow us to extend our
10:41 reach to test approaches and
10:43 bring additional resources
10:45 into Denver. Grants also
10:47 expire. And so the general
10:47 fund strategy that put out
10:51 that we're proposing here
10:52 focuses on protecting services
10:53 and capacity that have become
10:55 central to the city's ongoing
10:55 and safety infrastructure.
10:56 Over the past few years. Next
10:59 slide. Looking at how that 8.4
11:04 million is spent approximately
11:05 74% is personnel and 26%
11:07 services and supplies and less
11:09 than one percent is internal
11:11 services. That distribution
11:12 reflects the real nature of
11:14 our sci is fundamentally of
11:16 people in community-centered
11:17 agency, the work we do in
11:18 violence, intervention,
11:19 diversion youth engagement,
11:21 community coordination is all
11:23 about building strong
11:24 relationships and our
11:24 commitments to staff capacity
11:29 reflect that. Our services and
11:30 supplies. But it is equally
11:31 important because
11:32 community-based organizations
11:33 extend our reach and provide
11:34 specialized support that city
11:35 government, I believe, should
11:37 not attempt to replicate
11:38 internally. And so our goal
11:39 here is to maintain the right
11:41 balance between a strong
11:42 community relationships. Next
11:42 internal backbone and strong
11:47 slide. This slide provides
11:48 some important historical
11:49 context related se eyes
11:50 budget. You can see
11:52 significant growth between
11:54 2023 2025. As a neighborhood
11:55 safety functions were
11:57 consolidated sci in the city,
11:59 continue building its actually
12:01 infrastructure following the
12:01 2026 reductions are
12:03 appropriated, budget and
12:05 staffing declined. The
12:05 proposed 2027 budget is
12:08 approximately 8.4 million with
12:10 50 and a half budgeted fte
12:13 compared with 9.3, 9 million.
12:15 And 47.5 Ft in 2026. We'll
12:16 talk about the details of that
12:19 in just a moment. The staffing
12:20 increase hears that we're
12:20 proposing here is not being
12:21 driven by an increase in
12:23 overall budget. Then instead
12:26 we are again proposing to
12:28 repurpose existing services
12:30 and supply dollars to at 3
12:32 positions where workload and
12:32 programmed him and make
12:33 additional internal capacity
12:34 critical to quality service
12:39 and community safety. We're
12:39 making choices, women
12:40 available resources about
12:41 where those dollars can have
12:42 the greatest operational and
12:46 resident impacts next slide.
12:47 The last thing I want to do is
12:48 I want to connect these
12:50 investments directly to City
12:51 Council priorities, which we
12:51 were really intentional about
12:52 doing because we think that
12:53 collaboration is very
12:55 important. Approximately 1.3
12:57 million supports community
12:58 violence solutions in the
12:59 priority of increasing
13:01 community safety. That work