Parks Legacy Plan Follow-up

The Department of Parks and Recreation fully implemented three recommendations made in the original audit report. This demonstrates the department has processes and documented policies and procedures to help ensure compliance with the city ordinance governing the Parks Legacy Fund, such as those related to determining administrative costs and distributing annual reports. This increases transparency related to fund use for city residents and voters. However, the department only partially implemented one recommendation related to its communication policy and it has not addressed the risks five other recommendations had sought to resolve.

Remaining Risks

The six recommendations the Department of Parks and Recreation did not fully implement present several lingering risks. Among them:

• Parks and Recreations’ communications related to park improvements and projects still do not consistently mention project funding or timelines. By not sharing this information with the public, the department is still not ensuring it meets its intended purpose of developing a better-informed public and letting Denver residents and other key stakeholders, such as elected and city officials, know where and how legacy fund dollars are spent.
• Without documented succession plans, policies, and procedures for key roles at the department, managers cannot ensure institutional knowledge is retained when key staff leave so that the department can continue operating without interruption.
• Finally, because department managers did not conduct a formal needs assessment to identify an appropriate frequency for conducting park evaluations, they cannot effectively identify the resources needed — such as staffing levels — to ensure both existing and new parks are maintained, clean, and safe for visitors. Further, without qualitative and quantitative guidance and training for staff on how to use the revised evaluation forms, the department still risks evaluating parks inconsistently and not being able to use the results of evaluations to inform decision making.

Auditor's Letter

December 1, 2022

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..

After following up on the “Parks Legacy Plan” audit report issued in October 2021, we determined the Department of Parks and Recreation fully implemented only three of the nine recommendations. The other six are either partially or not fully implemented.

During the original audit, we found the department did not have policies for ensuring compliance with city ordinance related to the Parks Legacy Fund. We also found it did not have policies for effectively communicating to the public how fund dollars were spent to build and maintain parks and it was not ensuring appropriate maintenance of all parks even while it acquired land for new ones.

During our follow-up, the department claimed its 2023 budget expansion request included asking for more staffing resources to support parks maintenance. Disappointingly, the department refused to provide us the budget request or the related staffing analysis. The refusal stemmed from instruction from the Budget and Management Office and was supported by the City Attorney’s Office.

I strongly disagree that the city has the authority to shield information about any agency’s proposed use of public funds. The Denver Charter gives the Auditor legal access to all information maintained by the Department of Finance and by any other city agency.

Based on our follow-up work, we determined the Department of Parks and Recreation did not fully address all the risks associated with our initial findings. Consequently, we may revisit these risk areas in future audits to ensure the city takes appropriate corrective action.

We appreciate the leaders and team members in Parks and Recreation as well as the Department of Human Resources who shared their time and knowledge with us throughout the audit and the follow-up process. Please contact me at 720-913-5000 with any questions.

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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