2026 Action Card

Recommendations from audits can help strengthen governance, improve performance, enhance efficiency, increase revenues, reduce costs and risks, and improve the quality of services for Denver. 

Denver 311 and Select Agency Case Management
311 still lacked formalized agreements with partner agencies 10 years after we first identified the issue in an earlier audit. 311 also lacked a coordinated approach to manage and resolve residents’ requests. We recommended the Mayor’s Office identify an individual or group to have the authority to establish agreements with 311 and its partner agencies.

Police and Sheriff Civilian Oversight
A conflicting mandate prevented the Office of the Independent Monitor from publicly sharing the recommendations it made on investigations of officer and deputy misconduct cases, disciplinary actions, and policy reviews for the Police and Sheriff Departments. The office was not comprehensively reporting on the timeliness of misconduct investigations, but only a portion of the discipline review process.

Certifying Disadvantaged Businesses
The Division of Small Business Opportunity connects small and disadvantaged businesses with contracting opportunities with the city. The division was not ensuring prime contractors were making timely payments to subcontractors and was limiting opportunities for small or disadvantaged businesses to participate in available city contracts.

Climate Protection Fund
The Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency manages, monitors, and budgets for the Climate Protection Fund. Staff did not monitor fund-related contracts consistently. Without sufficient staffing levels and formal processes in place, the office cannot ensure that available Climate Protection Fund money is meeting the intent of voters to mitigate climate impacts.

Read Our Audit Reports

ACTION POINT 
Our #AuditDenver2026 campaign during the summer of 2025 invited you to share audit suggestions with us. This community feedback helped shape our 2026 Audit Plan. Send your ideas to Auditor@DenverGov.org.

Audits in our 2026 Audit Plan cover a range of city departments providing services to residents.  

Vision Zero Bikeway Projects 
This audit will review the effectiveness and performance of the bikeway programs. This may include a review of safety outcomes, program goals, the equity of bikeways throughout the city, community input processes, and accessibility impacts. 

16th Street
This audit will assess how the city managed and oversaw the design and construction of the project. It may also evaluate the city’s efforts to provide financial support to businesses affected by construction-related disruptions.

New Parks Management
This audit will assess the process of transferring maintenance responsibilities of new parks in the city to Denver Parks & Recreation.

Artificial Intelligence
This audit will examine the governance and strategy of the city’s use of artificial intelligence.

Our team won its eighth Knighton Award under Auditor O’Brien's administration. The City Shelters report earned the 2024 Distinguished Knighton Award from the Association of Local Government Auditors

"When our auditing peers recognize our good work and deem it award-worthy, we’re on the right track," said Auditor O’Brien.

In 2025, Denver Labor made great strides and had its biggest wage theft case ever. We remain dedicated to deterring wage theft, reducing the harms of poverty, and expanding economic justice through comprehensive wage and hour enforcement and education.

In the 2025 reporting year ending Oct. 31, we closed 859 cases collecting a record $2,310,010 in restitution and enforcing the rights of 7,200 workers. The number of workers we helped increased by 60% compared to 2024.

“The increasing amount of restitution we recover each year shows that wage theft is an ongoing problem in Denver," Auditor O’Brien said.

Getting results

We investigate 100% of wage complaints we receive — auditing more than 100,000 payroll records for a second straight year. The highest amounts of restitution recovered occurred in industries where wage theft is common:

• Construction – $1 million.
• Hospitality – $553,000.
• Cleaning & Maintenance – $330,000.
• Professional / Technical Services – $151,000.
• Personal Care – $141,000.

The gig industry is growing but wrought with misclassification and underpayments. There are companies willing to work with us during wage investigations. 

After we met with managers at GigSmart, they returned thousands of dollars in backpay and made changes to ensure their workers are correctly classified as independent contractors.

In our largest wage theft case in office history, we determined two strip clubs owed nearly $14 million in restitution and penalties due to wage theft. We engaged with various workers who had wages and tips stolen over several years. The strip clubs’ owners have not been compliant, but we are using every legal tool for a final resolution.

“We are committed to helping everyone. Every dollar we recover is vital to supporting better worker and family stability,” said Denver Labor Executive Director Matthew Fritz-Mauer.

Looking ahead

The citywide minimum wage rate increased from $18.81 per hour to $19.29 per hour on Jan. 1, 2026. Employers can still claim up to $3.02 in tip credits per hour for qualified food and beverage workers, provided employers can show documentation of at least that amount in actual tips received.

If workers feel they are underpaid, they should contact our office. Complaints can be filed anonymously.

ACTION POINT
All workers in the City and County of Denver are protected by the city’s wage laws regardless of their immigration status. Complaints can be anonymous. We encourage community groups to advocate for their members and partner with us to begin investigations. Visit our website to find resources, like a minimum wage calculator and downloadable, multilingual, mandatory workplace posters, that help both workers and businesses navigate the city’s wage ordinances. Go to DenverGov.org/DenverLabor for more.

I am serving my third and final term as your independent Auditor. A licensed Certified Public Accountant and with more than 40 years of auditing and accounting experience, I previously served as the Colorado State Auditor for 11 years.

My office is a check and balance to Denver’s “strong mayor” government and enforces wage laws. The city and the people of Denver benefit from an Auditor’s Office operating independently without outside interference.

Valuing transparency and accountability, I publicly provide informational materials like this annual Action Card to summarize my office’s accomplishments over the past 12 months.

I appreciate you taking the time to review our work. For suggestions, questions, or concerns, email Auditor@DenverGov.org and sign up for our monthly email newsletter at DenverGov.org/AuditorNewsletter.

We continuously explore new ways to reach members of the community where they are and in ways that matter to them.

We have meaningful touchpoints with the public at Registered Neighborhood Organization community meetings, international delegation gatherings, collegiate presentations, and other events. We also attend large Denver festivals like Cinco de Mayo and Pride to inform the public about wage laws.

If you would like to hear from us, please invite us to an upcoming meeting or let us know about your future community event. We are active online and on digital platforms. Watch our “Ask the Auditor” series every month on Denver 8 TV.

We strive to make our work accessible to everyone. Read a Spanish version(PDF, 1MB) of this Action Card on our website and find other wage and audit resources in Spanish and other languages online.

EMAIL: Auditor@DenverGov.org

WEBSITE: DenverGov.org/Auditor