City Council makes laws, budgets City money, and can investigate City agencies and employees. Since 1971, the Council has had 13 council members -- 11 from equally populated districts and two elected at large. Council members, who must be at least 25 years old, U.S. citizens, and two-year Denver residents, are all elected at the same time every four years. Council committees, each concerned with various areas of city government, meet frequently to discuss and prepare proposed laws.
Settled in 1858, Denver became a town in Kansas Territory in 1860 -- named after the governor who never saw the place. It became part of the Colorado Territory in 1861 with a board of aldermen stronger than the mayor. The State of Colorado made Denver its capital in 1877. Denver became a City and County in 1902 and adopted a new Charter with a mayor-council government in 1904.
The Charter is "the Constitution" of Denver. A commission form of government, instituted in 1913, lasted only three years. The Speer Amendment, named after a Denver mayor, created the present non-partisan city government with a strong mayor and a city council.
Today, more than 704,000 people live in the City and County of Denver in an area of 154.97 square miles.
Below is a very brief outline of the legislative process and how laws are enacted. To learn more, download our visual diagram(PDF).
The Rules of Procedure (PDF) govern the legislative process of the City Council, serving as a guide to fair and orderly procedure in meetings.
During the recess, council staff will distribute speaker cards at the speaker’s podium. Complete the card, including your address, and return it to council staff. The speaker card must be signed by the speaker. No sign-ups will be accepted after council is back in session.
NO sign-up by proxy; the person wishing to speak must be the one to sign up.
The following maps represent districts as drawn in 2015. You can also view interactive versions of our district maps.
City Council Main Office
City and County Building
1437 Bannock St., Rm. 451
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: 720-337-2000
dencc@denvergov.org
Denver 311 Help Center
Call 3-1-1
Outside Denver Call (720)913-1311
Emergencies: 911
TTY Service: 720-913-8479