Mayor Hancock abandons the search for approval of the contract with GardaWorld

THE COMPANY WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE CHARGE OF ADMINISTERING A MIGRANT CENTER IN THE CITY.

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock has decided not to introduce the contract with GardaWorld to the City Council to manage the migrant center until mid-2024. “While we had hoped to conclude negotiations, community engagement, and City Council approval prior to the change in administrations, there is much more work to do and therefore we will not be submitting the proposed contract to Council for final action at this time,” said Hancock.

The mayor continued, “with more than 500 Central and South American refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants still in our care, we continue to believe that contracting out shelter services is in the best interest of our guests, city taxpayers, and city employees and operations.” The $40 million contract with GardaWorld would have allowed for the maintenance of a migrant center with the capacity to receive and house up to 1,000 undocumented immigrants.

Relieving the burden

Hancock insists on the intention of the contract that was under discussion. “This contract was intended to alleviate the current staffing pressures on city operations and to provide a more financially feasible strategy for managing the challenge of migrant arrivals, many of whom experienced significant trauma on their journey to the United States,” said the mayor.

GardaWorld was supposed to be in charge of immigrant acceptance and identification procedures. The company would also be responsible for the medical screening of newcomers. As stipulated in the contract, immigrants would be provided with breakfast, dinner, and snacks throughout the day. GardaWorld proposed one employee per every 30 immigrants and committed to training employees in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Poor references

The American Friendship Service Committee (AFSC) states that a contractor could improve “Denver’s efforts to defend the human dignity of migrants.” However, AFSC claims that “GardaWorld is not a reliable partner.” “GardaWorld has a terrible track record that includes lack of transparency and falsification of employee training records.” AFSC points out that the Office of the Inspector General found mismanagement by GardaWorld at Fort Bliss, an unaccompanied children’s facility in Texas.

AFS adds that “there is no public information about the shelters that GargaWorld claims to manage in Chicago, Florida, and San Antonio.” However, the Denver Human Services (DHS) referred to GardaWorld as a reliable company with the ability to operate a migrant center in Denver. Jay Morein, Executive Director of the DHS, informed the members of the City Council that this company had been selected through a bidding process. So far, no DHS spokesperson has explained the basis of that bidding.

Financial cost

The agenda for the current City Council on July 10 will no longer include the discussion of the contract with GardaWorld. This will be the last meeting of the current City Council. This means that it will be a task for the incoming administration of Mayor Mike Johnston to determine how the administration of Denver’s migrant centers will be handled. What is clear is the message left by the outgoing mayor. “The current financial and operational burden is not sustainable,” Hancock said.

“As the city assesses the most viable and sustainable path forward, Denver will continue to welcome and meet the immediate needs of new arrivals for temporary shelter, food, and connections to other resources in partnership with our nonprofit and faith communities,” Hancock added. Since December, the city has provided shelter and other services to over 12,500 migrants at a cost of $20 million.

Procedures

The Denver Human Services (DHS) was responsible for the bidding to select the company and for negotiating the contract. The city’s Safety, Housing, Education, and Homelessness Committee had already discussed and approved the contract. It was expected that Mayor Hancock himself would introduce the contract for discussion and approval by the City Council on July 10. This discussion will occur after July 17, when the new administration takes over.

The current City Council had made provisions to be able to handle a contract like the proposed one. The council members created the Special Revenue Fund in Response to the Border Crisis to pay for these costs. The initial amount for the new fund is just over $18 million, which comes from other local “contingency” projects that have now been canceled or postponed. It is anticipated that the federal government will provide an additional $10 million.