A bill for an ordinance repealing certain sections of Chapter 20, Article XI of the Denver Revised Municipal Code regarding Auditor subpoena power and production of records in connection with performance of internal audits and investigations and enforcement of prevailing and minimum wage. Repeals certain sections of Chapter 20, Article XI of the Denver Revised Municipal Code. Councilmember Gilmore approved direct filing this item on 3-3-22.
If folks would like to contribute or participate in any way. So thank you. All right. We're going to go ahead and move on. Madam Secretary, if you would, please put the next item up on our screens. Councilmember Herndon, would you please put Bill 273 on the floor for publication? Yes, Madam President, I move that council bill 20 2-0273 be ordered published. Thank you. It has been moved and seconded. Comments and questions by members of Council on Council Bill 22, Dash 0273 Council members say to Barca. Thank you. This is first reading and so it will come up again in front of us. But I want to go on record at this meeting and I'll be a no next reading as not supporting this. As you may recall, I'm a staunch supporter of the auditor's request for subpoena power. I believe it's a critical component of his work and to the transparency our Denver residents have so frequently demanded from our government. If you're watching the news, members of the public, there are legal actions being pursued by the auditor for what he believes was an overreach of council's power. An amendment in an amendment that made it into this bill when it was passed last spring. There are three branches of government, of course. The mayors, the executive branch councils, the legislative branch and the courts are our third branch. There are three branches of government to serve as checks and balances to each other for a reason. Because this issue is in litigation, I feel that it is in fact an overreach for us to pull the ordinance out completely through a flat out repeal, rather than allowing the issue to be resolved either in court or by conducting a brand new process to find a better solution mutually. While this ordinance remains in effect. So for that, I'm a note tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember CdeBaca. Councilmember Flynn. Thank you, Madam President. I think if I recall last May's debate on this accurately. Most members of this body want the auditor to have subpoena power and would vote that way and in fact, did give him subpoena power. He has it. We put a few guardrails in for the in the interest of security of confidential and proprietary data. But this repeal is necessary now and to start over. I agree with Councilwoman CdeBaca. We will start over because we want the auditor to be able to do proper investigations. But this repeal is necessary to prevent the waste and abuse of taxpayer money that is triggered by the auditor's ill advised decision to file a meritless lawsuit. Repeal removes any basis for it. The auditor suit asks the judicial branch to usurp the role of city council and hand the auditor a version of the ordinance that could not have passed this body. That is an attack on the independence of the council and the separation of powers that we just heard about from Councilwoman CdeBaca. He did this in place of authentically engaging with us. So while the lawsuit is doomed to fail, the lawyers bills to the taxpayer would be all too real and a waste. This council last year was frustrated by the auditor's refusal to engage with us in the legislative process and address very real and serious concerns over how he would handle proprietary and confidential data. Because of this refusal, culminating in his absence from the council meeting where the vote was being taken, the final vote, his request for subpoena authority that night was headed for defeat. In order to give him that subpoena authority that most members want him to have. I proposed this amendment in order to save the bill. Without my amendment, his bill would have died on the floor with my amendment. The auditor would have the authority to subpoena any and all data, documents and information, including complete access to all confidential and proprietary information held by entities being audited. But it allowed those entities, if they chose to require that only, only proprietary or confidential data had to be examined on site instead of being copied and taken away to the auditor's office. Since then, the auditor has made many misleading and incorrect statements about this ordinance, most notably that the amendment allows outside parties being audited to withhold information. It does no such thing at all. His decision to refuse examining confidential or proprietary information on site is not the same as being denied access to it. Audit subjects had legitimate fears about sending their sensitive, proprietary and confidential data out the door on a flash drive, especially knowing that the auditor would extract that data and upload it into third party applications outside their oversight. So after the ordinance is replaced, is repealed. Rather, it is my intention to start outrage over a new bill to reestablish subpoena authority for the auditor in the area, especially of wage investigations and enforcement only at first, which we all want or most of us want, while inviting the auditor reengage on the use of subpoenas in performance and internal audits. And we hope, Madam President, for serious cooperation and authentic engagement this time around. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Flynn. Councilmember Sawyer. Thanks, Madam President. I just wanted to reiterate points both my colleagues made. I do think it's incredibly important that the auditor have subpoena power. And so I hate to repeal this tonight, but at the end of the day, process matters. And the process that we went through is the governmental process of the city and county of Denver. And the judicial branch shouldn't be asked to settle that, especially when it's going to cost taxpayer money unnecessarily. I agree. If the auditor had been prepared a committee, if there had been if they the auditor's office had attended the final hearing, you know, maybe things would have been different. But that didn't happen. And process matters. So as much as I hate to do this tonight, I am going to agree and vote yes that we should repeal this ordinance and start the process over again. I'm not happy about it, but you know, this is the best choice in order to save taxpayer dollars, which I think is the most important right now. Thanks. Thank you. Councilmember Sawyer. Councilman Cashman. Yeah, thank you, Madam President. I just this feels to me like a spat between friends. I couldn't have more respect for my colleagues on the dais. I couldn't have more respect for Auditor O'Brien. I think he's done a spectacular job in his time of service to the city, and the level of discourse has gotten heated and to me a bit extreme on both sides. But I do agree that rather than turn this matter over to the judiciary, I think the proper path. Forward is to bring this back through the committee structure and see if we can't come up with a policy that serves the the citizens of the city and county of Denver as best we can. And but I think it's time for the level of acrimony to come back down to earth again. I was here when this policy was debated. It was a city council doing its best to consider all the elements. There's nothing different from this discussion than any other that that we've put forward in my in my time on council. So I look forward to going through the process again and my best to two other O'Bryan. I hope he's having a good evening. Thank you, Councilman Cashman. Councilmember Sandoval. Thank you, Madam President. I just wanted to iterate some of my comments that my colleagues made and just remind everyone that this is a public city council meeting and anyone is freely and openly willing to attend. And when you have a bill in front of city council as a sponsor, I hope that we make ourselves available for questions from this body. Anyone is able to participate. We have people who participate at all of our public hearings on Monday night and they don't need an invitation. This is a public meeting for everybody. And so I ask Ed O'Brien and his team to make sure that to understand that this is a very public process. And as we will note that other times, as bills get called out, whoever is bringing the bill forward, we are able to ask robust questions from the bill's sponsor. And this happened to be a bill sponsor from Ed O'Brien. And with that, I also admire the work that we he has done and the audits. I read his audit reports. I have learned a lot about his audit reports. I just ran a bill with Councilwoman Cranitch about the Board of Adjustment and I read his report on the Board of Adjustment when I was reading, when I was doing that bill. And it had a lot of information that actually I did not I was not aware of. So I do hope that we can bring this forward without costing the taxpayers money to have to go to court. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Sandoval. Madam Secretary, roll call on Council Bill 22, Dash 0273, please. See tobacco? No. Flynn. I. Herndon. I. Hi. Hi. Cashman. Can each. I. Ortega. I. Sandoval. I swear. I. Torres. I. Madam President, I. Madam Secretary, please close the voting and announce the results. When Nate and I's. Ten I's counsel build 20 2-0273 has been ordered published. That concludes the items to be called out. All of their bills for introduction are ordered published. Councilmembers remember this is a consent or block vote and you will need to vote I. Otherwise, this is your last chance to call out an item for a separate vote. Councilmember Herndon, will you please put the resolutions for adoption and the bills on final consideration for final passage on the floor? Yes, Madam President, I move that the resolutions be adopted and bills on final consideration be placed upon final consideration, and do pass in the block for the following items. 211 2211 91 to 15 to 23 to 20 5 to 26 two 3231 to 30 2 to 24 to 16 to 19. 184. 202205. All right. Thank you, Councilman Herndon. It has been moved and seconded. Madam Secretary, roll call, please. CdeBaca I Flynn. High. Herndon, I. Hi, Cashman. How can each I. Ortega Sandoval. I swear i. Torres. I. Madam President. I. Madam Secretary. Close the voting and announce the results. 11 East. 11 I. The resolutions have been adopted and the bills have been placed upon final consideration and do pass. Council will not take a recess this evening. Our pre adjournment announcement on Monday, April 4th. Council will hold a required public hearing on Council Bill 22, dash 0147 Changing the zoning classification for 2875 North Albion Street in North Park