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Committee approves $8 million on‑call Mass Care contract to shore up emergency staffing
Summary
The Denver City Council Health & Safety Committee on Nov. 19 approved a three‑year on‑call Mass Care contract for Denver Human Services worth $8 million to provide surge sheltering, feeding, transportation and client support during prolonged emergencies; the item moves to the full council floor for final consideration.
The Health & Safety Committee on Nov. 19 approved a three‑year, $8,000,000 on‑call Mass Care contract intended to let Denver Human Services (DHS) bring in trained staff and resources within 48 hours during prolonged emergencies. Committee Chair Daryl Watson called for a motion after a presentation from Mimi Sherman, chief program officer at Denver Human Services; Councilmember Amanda Sawyer moved and Savannah Gonzalez Gutierrez seconded. Committee members approved the item by unanimous thumbs‑up and it will proceed to the council floor for final action.
Sherman told the committee DHS is the city’s Mass Care lead and has partnered with HOST and other agencies during recent prolonged incidents — including the migrant response and the COVID pandemic — when internal capacity was stretched for months. She said the contract vendor (IEM) has supported Denver in the past for cold‑weather sheltering and other surge needs and can source staff locally or fly them in depending on the response. Sherman described the contract scope as shelter operations, feeding logistics, health and safety, transportation, information and client support, and volunteer and partner management.
Clint Woodruff, identified as Denver Human Services’ chief financial officer, said the primary local funding source is DHS contingency (property‑tax‑funded levy dollars held in an administrative contingency line). Woodruff said the department would first seek federal reimbursement (FEMA or similar) where eligible and estimated planning shares of roughly $5 million DHS and $3 million HOST as the expected split for typical utilization.
Committee members asked about insurance and indemnification for vendor operations (for example, setting up tents or transporting residents). Hung Nguyen, contract administrator for Denver Human Services, said the contract includes indemnification language and requires vendor insurance coverage in line with municipal contracting practice. Sherman said reporting back to council would be proportional to incident duration: short responses would require less formal reporting while longer activations would prompt regular updates coordinated among DHS, OEM and the council.
The committee-record motion and second (Sawyer; second by Gonzalez Gutierrez) and the unanimous thumbs‑up approval were recorded in committee. Staff will bring the item to the council floor for final consideration.
