Denver City Council approves $1M contract to improve addiction and mental services at Denver Health

The Denver City Council on Monday approved a close to $1 million contract that will help improve city services for homeless people in Denver Health’s care. The measure was one of two items called out by councilmembers for questions and comments, with the other being a delay on a vote for an item concerning the Denver Downtown Development Authority.

The first item, a $999,900 contract, will help pay for services at Denver Health related to the Roads to Recovery Program, a program started by Mayor Mike Johnston seeking to move 200 people struggling with addiction or mental health issues out of the criminal justice system and into a treatment and rehabilitation pipeline, according to the Mayor’s webpage.

Denver Health has found itself on center stage recently, especially as city officials attempt to push a 0.34-point sales tax increase to fund Denver’s safety-net hospital system.

During the immigration crisis after Denver opted to temporarily shelter immigrants and pay for their travel to final destinations, Denver Health saw its uncompensated care costs increase. Last year, uncompensated care cost Denver Health $136 million, up more than 200% compared to 2020’s $60 million figure.

The sales tax rate increase will provide at most $70 million, enough to cover about half of that cost. While the council’s vote Monday provided almost $1 million immediately, one councilmember was quick to place the value into context.

“I just wanted to share that $1 million is just one raindrop in an over decade of drought for Denver Health,” Councilmember Flor Alvidrez said. “I’m grateful that we are continuing to fund this program and funding the Roads to Recovery Program, as there is a missing link between the health services people need and people experiencing homelessness.”

The bill was approved unanimously by the 12 members of the council present.

Another issue called out by the council was an agreement with the Denver Downtown Development Authority (DDDA) seeking to establish a special revenue fund. Though unrelated to the DDDA expansion on November’s ballot, councilmembers opted to delay their vote to avoid confusion.

“This item does not relate directly to what is on the ballot regarding the DDDA vote,” she said. “But the way it is written it looks like it is and I think that is a bad look for us, so we are going to postpone this vote until after the election to make sure we are very clear in how we are addressing this.”

The funding mechanism for the DDDA is tax-increment financing. In short, Denver collects property and sales tax increment revenue generated within the DDDA’s boundaries and then transfers that money to an account with PNC Bank where they are “utilized for debt service,” according to city documents. The money will be used by the city to invest in development and beautification projects between 2025 and 2038, according to previous coverage by The Denver Gazette.

In order to properly account for the funds, the Department of Finance requested a new city capital fund, which is what the council unanimously voted to delay.

They will vote on it again on Tuesday, Nov. 12 after Veteran’s Day.