Definitions.

Denver Revised Municipal Code § 2-52

in effect

Sec. 2-52. - Definitions. (a) Employee means any person in the employ of the city or of any of its agencies or departments and any person employed without compensation. (b) Direct official action means any action which involves: (1) Negotiating, approving, disapproving, administering, enforcing, or recommending for or against a contract, purchase order, lease, concession, franchise, grant, business loan or other similar instrument in which the city is a party. With regard to "recommending," direct official action occurs only if the person making the recommendation is in the formal line of decision making. (2) Enforcing laws or regulations or issuing, enforcing, or regulating permits, licenses, benefits or payments; (3) Selecting or recommending vendors, concessionaires, or other types of entities to do business with the city; (4) Appointing and terminating employees, temporary workers, and independent contractors. (5) Doing research for, representing, or scheduling appointments for an officer, official, or employee, provided that these activities are provided in connection with that officer's, official's, or employee's performance of (1) through (4) above. Direct official action does not include acts that are purely ministerial (that is, acts which do not affect the disposition or decision with respect to the matter). With regard to the approval of contracts, direct official action does not include the signing by the mayor, the auditor, the manager of finance or the clerk, as required by Charter, unless the mayor, auditor, the manager of finance or clerk initiated the contract or is involved in selecting the contractor or negotiating or administering the contract. A person who abstains from a vote is not exercising direct official action. (c) Immediate family means husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, step-son, step-daughter, step-mother, step-father, father or mother-in-law, son or daughter-in-law, brother or sister-in-law, half-brother, half-sister, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, grandmother, grandfather, grandchildren, brother, sister, domestic partner, any person with whom they are cohabiting, and any person whom they are engaged to be married. The term includes any minor children for whom the person or their domestic partner provides day-to-day care and financial support. A "domestic partner" is an unmarried adult, unrelated by blood, with whom an unmarried officer, official, or employee has an exclusive committed relationship, maintains a mutual residence, and shares basic living expenses. (d) Officer means any of the following: the mayor, the auditor, the members of city council, the clerk and recorder, the manager of transportation and infrastructure, the manager of parks and recreation, the manager of finance, the manager of public health and environment, the manager of general services, the manager of safety, the city attorney, the manager of human services, the manager of aviation, and the manager of community planning and development. (e) Official means a member of a city board or commission. (f) Donor means an individual or entity that has an existing, ongoing, or pending contract, business, or regulatory relationship with city, or a lobbyist or other representative for any such individual or entity. The term "donor" does not include the city itself including any department, agency or other unit of the city and county, or any officer, official or employee of the city, when the gift or donation is paid for by funds appropriated by the city. (Ord. No. 96-01, § 1, 1-29-01; Ord. No. 631-04, § 2, 9-7-04; Ord. No. 264-07, § 2, 6-11-07; Ord. No. 382-07, § 2, 7-30-07; Ord. No. 775-07, § 3, 12-26-07; Ord. No. 698-09, § 1, 11-30-09; Ord. No. 1202-16, § 2, 3-6-17; Ord. No. 427-18, § 1, 6-11-18; Ord. No. 614-18, § 1, 7-9-18; Ord. No. 39-20, § 1, 2-3-20; Ord. No. 401-21, § 1, 4-26-21)

Source: City and County of Denver, Revised Municipal Code and Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/co/denver/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIIREMUCO_CH2AD_ARTIVCOET_S2-52DEFetched: 10/27/2026