Fleet Management

The city’s vehicles are valuable assets and an essential component of delivering core services to Denver residents and businesses. City agencies rely on the availability and reliability of its fleet to deliver services, and without the proper structure and oversight, the city risks inefficient use of tax dollars and disruptions to critical services such as waste management, street repairs, and parks maintenance.

FINDING 1 – The fleet funding structure results in Transportation & Infrastructure paying for other agencies’ fuel and maintenance costs

The city changed its fleet funding structure in 2015, but this change does not align with leading practices or with how other cities and counties we looked at manage their fleets.

FINDING 2 – The city is not meeting its targets for vehicle use, availability, and fleet replacement

Vehicle use, availability, and fleet replacement are critical components of the overall goal of ensuring vehicles are available when agencies need them. We found:

• The city’s vehicle fleet is underused.

• The city is not meeting its goal of replacing vehicles as they reach the end of their useful lives, increasing maintenance and repair costs.

• The city missed vehicle availability goals, impacting the rate at which vehicles are available to agencies and affecting the delivery of public services.

FINDING 3 – Inadequate controls create risks of waste and abuse

Current processes and procedures at city facilities may not adequately safeguard fleet assets.

• Fuel access and activity is not properly managed or monitored, risking inappropriate fuel transactions.

• Parts storage may be accessed by unauthorized parties and parts are not always tracked to jobs.

1.1 Re-evaluate fleet funding structure – The Department of Transportation & Infrastructure should work with the Department of Finance to evaluate and document whether adopting the internal service fund model for fleet funding is in the best financial and operational interest of the city. After the evaluation, Transportation & Infrastructure and Finance should update the city ordinance and formalize procedures to match the funding structure selected. 

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – Dec. 31, 2025

2.1 Seek authority regarding the city's vehicle fleet – The Department of Transportation & Infrastructure should work with the Mayor’s Office to get operational authority to help manage the city’s fleet more effectively. This could take the form of establishing agreements and a formal process to objectively evaluate the use of the city’s fleet.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – Dec. 31, 2025

2.2 Optimize vehicle use – Depending on the implementation and results of Recommendation 2.1, the Department of Transportation & Infrastructure should develop and document a formal process for evaluating vehicle usage. It should use the results to work with city agencies to improve vehicle use so that it is in line with available inventory and to achieve the desired vehicle use rate.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – Dec. 31, 2025

2.3 Identify and document a plan for vehicle replacements – The Department of Transportation & Infrastructure should work with city agencies to identify and document a plan for vehicles that are approaching the end of their useful lives and determine the best course of action for each. If funding is not available to replace a vehicle, the department should document an alternative plan. Implementing this recommendation may be assisted by additional authority obtained from implementing Recommendation 2.1.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – July 1, 2025

2.4 Develop and document a plan to meet vehicle availability goals – The Fleet Management Division should develop and document a plan to meet vehicle availability goals. The plan should consider rightsizing the fleet as described in Recommendation 2.3, to ensure agencies have access to vehicles at least 95% of the time.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – March 31, 2025

2.5 Develop and document a plan to address staffing needs – The Fleet Management Division should develop and document a plan to address its staffing needs annually. The plan should include alternative staffing solutions to meet availability goals given the challenges around filling vacancies.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – July 1, 2025

3.1 Design and document a comprehensive fuel activity review – The Fleet Management Division should create a comprehensive fueling policy that addresses user access, criteria for identifying abnormal transactions, procedures for following up on abnormal transactions, criteria for appropriate use of override codes, preserving override transaction history, periodic monitoring procedures, and training to ensure that users understand and follow the policy.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – July 1, 2025

3.2 Remove unauthorized users from the driver database – The Fleet Management Division should remove all former city employees from its authorized driver list and develop, implement, and document procedures to keep the list promptly and consistently accurate.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – July 1, 2025

3.3 Perform a physical security assessment – The Department of Transportation & Infrastructure should perform a full physical security assessment of its buildings and locations where parts are being stored and identify risk-based approaches for securing vulnerable parts.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – March 31, 2025

3.4 Comply with the parts service-level agreement – The Fleet Management Division should comply with the existing and approved service-level agreement related to linking supervisor’s performance goals to inventory management of stockrooms.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – March 31, 2025

3.5 Create policies and procedures – The Fleet Management Division should create and document policies and procedures for determining when work should be outsourced. At a minimum, these policies and procedures should include criteria for outsourcing work, a requirement to perform a cost-benefit analysis, roles and responsibilities, and documenting the decision.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – Dec. 31, 2025

3.6 Review, identify, and correct inaccurate data – The Fleet Management Division should systematically review and identify any instances of inaccurate data in AssetWorks to ensure the data reliable and can be used for informed decision-making.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – March 31, 2025

3.7 Improve software functionality – The Department of Transportation & Infrastructure should work with AssetWorks and the city’s Technology Services agency to develop and document improvements to AssetWorks’ fleet management functionality as laid out in the original vendor contract.

Agency Response: Agree, Implementation Date – Sept 20, 2025