Now you can tell the Denver City Council what you think. About anything at all.

Telling a group of elected officials — like Denver City Council — about a problem in front of a live audience creates a certain do-something pressure.
3 min. read
Views of Denver’s City and County Building. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Denver's City and County Building. (Kevin J. Beaty, Denverite)

Think that IUDs for animals should replace the low-cost spay and neuter program? Want to personally serve the council members with your hand-written lawsuit? Come on down!

Have something you've been dying to say to Denver City Council? Now you can.

Starting in July, the first meeting of the month will start a half hour early - at 5 p.m. instead of 5:30 - to allow for a general public comment period that isn't tied to any particular agenda item or scheduled public hearing.

"At this time when public regard for all levels of government is at a dangerous low, it's incumbent on all of us in elected office to welcome citizens back to a participatory role in their government rather than place hurdles they need to clear to take part," said Councilman Paul Kashmann, who brought forward the resolution adding public comment.

In the cities and counties I've had the honor of covering, public comment is that time when everyone has their say.

But it's also a time when ordinary citizens can let council members know about problems that government can solve. Maybe they already tried calling a few city departments, and there was nothing staff members could do because the right laws weren't on the books. Or maybe they got blown off because it was no one's job to help them.

Telling a group of elected officials about a problem in front of a live audience creates a certain do-something pressure that letters and emails can't replicate.

Councilwoman Robin Kniech said the success of public comment will depend on, well, the public.

"Whether this period is successful depends on people bringing things that are applicable to the city," she said. "There is a lot going on at the national election level. That's not something we control. The more applicable your comments are to things the city has control over, the more we can take action."
Here's what you need to know:
Sign up via email using [email protected], by phone by calling 720-337-2000 or in person in Room 451 in the City & County Building starting at noon the Friday before the meeting. Sign-up closes at 4:30 p.m. the day of the meeting.
Be prepared to provide your personal information. If you're going to speak, you need to sign up. No sign-up by proxy. Let the city know at least 24 hours in advance if you need accommodations for a disability or language interpretation.
Speakers will be scheduled on a first come, first serve basis. There's only 30 minutes for comment, so some people might not get to speak. Those people will get preference at the next meeting.
You get three minutes to speak. Go.

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