Public Comment: Knowing Denver by Hearing from Neighbors

By The Denver North Star Staff

Every Monday from 5-5:30 p.m. Denver City Council holds a general public comment session. Any Denver resident can sign up to make remarks during this session, and anyone can attend the session to listen in. Council members do not respond during the session.

Speakers are allotted three minutes and can make their remarks via Zoom or in-person at the council chamber at 1437 Bannock Street, fourth floor.

Sign-up is on a first-come, first-served basis and opens every Friday at 11 a.m. (for the following week’s session). Sign-up closes Mondays at 3 p.m. 

Speakers can sign up at https://www.denvergov.org/citycouncil or by calling 720-337-2000.

The Denver North Star will periodically print remarks given by residents in the area we serve. Opinions expressed at the general public comment session are entirely those of the speaker.

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Good evening and thank you for allowing me to speak tonight.

My name is Heather Noyes Gregg, and I live in District 1. I have a degree from UCD (University of Colorado/Denver). I’m a property owner. I own a house. I’ve raised two kids through the DPS School District and both have graduated.

I’m a small business owner on Tennyson Street certified as a WBE (Woman Business Enterprise), SBE (Small Business Enterprise), DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise), EBE (Emerging Business Enterprise) and ESB (Emerging Small Business).

I’m sharing this with you as a way to communicate to each of you that I and my family are invested in this city.

I’m now going to share with you things that, most of them, you are aware of:

• In 2023, my property tax assessment increased significantly and my property tax will increase proportionally.
• I’m now paying for solid waste removal: Pay As You Throw. We all are paying between $100 and $250 annually for this service. I agree with this new fee and I support it and I think it’s fair. 
• I just received my sidewalk assessment. I own a house on a corner so my annual assessment will be close to $500.
• In July I received a notice from the City Forester to remove two mature trees at a cost of $3,500 each.

I am here tonight to ask who at the city is tracking the cumulative fiscal impact of all of these increases and assessments on me and families like mine?

I’m supposed to be saving for retirement. I have two kids in college. I am super concerned about this. I don’t understand who at the city is monitoring this.

I believe in the betterment of this city. I’ve supported every City/County of Denver and Denver Public Schools Bond Initiative. I believe that it is a responsibility that I have and that we all share.

As you know, the current bond is quickly coming to an end. And as this city starts to explore opportunities for a new bond and asks me for my support, I will be asking myself whether or not I can offset the cost of all these new assessments by voting against the bond? You each need to understand that as a direct result of all of the new assessments, my automatic support for future bond initiatives is now in question.

This past weekend, I received a survey from the city asking if I would support another new assessment for tree pruning. You are looking at someone who supported and voted in favor of the Parks Legacy Tax.

We are quickly and rapidly reaching a maximum threshold here on what Denver families can afford. It would be nice to know whether or not someone at the city is monitoring the fiscal impact of this on people like me.