National Western Livestock Center Design Follow-Up

The Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center fully implemented zero recommendations made in the original audit report. The office partially implemented two others, but it has not taken steps to address the risks the seven other recommendations sought to resolve.

Remaining Risks

The recommendations the office did not fully implement — including the seven recommendations it did not agree to implement — present several lingering risks. Among them:

• The city risks inadequate project management on any future capital projects the office completes. Clear, documented procedures promote accountability, consistency, and effective oversight.
• The city risks overpaying, receiving substandard work, or experiencing payment delays and disputes. The absence of transparent, documented review weakens public trust and increases project risk.
• The city also risks future payment delays to subconsultants. This could negatively affect the pool of willing participants on city projects, reducing competition, increasing costs, and lowering quality.

Auditor's Letter

September 3, 2026

In keeping with generally accepted government auditing standards and Auditor’s Office policy, as authorized by city ordinance, we have a responsibility to monitor and follow up on audit recommendations to ensure city agencies address audit findings through appropriate corrective action and to aid us in planning future audits.

In September 2025, we audited the National Western Livestock Center Design project and found risks involving inadequate governance and oversight over its consultants, resulting in untimely invoice submissions and processing, reduced project transparency, and heightened risks of overpayment. The Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center agreed to implement two of our nine recommendations.

We recently followed up and found the office partially implemented two recommendations.

Although the Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center has made some progress, it did not fully address all the risks associated with our original findings. Consequently, we may revisit these risk areas in future audits to ensure the city takes appropriate corrective action.

We did not update the status of the seven recommendations the Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center did not agree to implement because we presume it took no action toward implementing those. We include these recommendations in this report as a reference.

Denver Auditor's Office


Timothy O'Brien, CPA

AUDITOR TIMOTHY O'BRIEN, CPA
Denver Auditor

Denver Auditor's Office

201 W. Colfax Ave. #705 Denver, CO 80202
Email: auditor@denvergov.org
Call: 720-913-5000
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