Denver welcomes $38 million in coronavirus aid one week after city council delayed the FEMA reimbursement money

Fine. We’ll take your money.

A blackhawk helicopter carrying U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite flies over Denver toward the Colorado Convention Center. April 14, 2020. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

A blackhawk helicopter carrying U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite flies over Denver toward the Colorado Convention Center. April 14, 2020. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

staff photos
David Sachs

A week after a city councilman delayed federal reimbursements for money spent on Denver’s COVID-19 response, the city council approved the $38.6 million cash transfer Monday.

A large bulk of the Federal Emergency Management Agency money, $17 million, will go toward city government. DIA will get $2 million, and $19 million will go to Denver Health, the medical arm of the city’s public health department. As of Monday, the city government had spent (or intended to spend) about $26.1 million on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to government officials.

Councilman Chris Hinds used a procedural tactic to block the late filing last week because he was unsatisfied with the process, which he said was rushed and left little time for vetting. Mayor Michael Hancock’s office called the move “irresponsible grandstanding.”

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