Politics
Denver auditor’s 2027 plan targets shelter contracts, airport costs and city legal work
Outgoing Auditor Timothy O’Brien’s final annual plan calls for reviews of homelessness services, Denver International Airport, voter-approved taxes and the city’s legal operations. O’Brien says contractor oversight remains a major weakness as he prepares to leave office in July.
Denver’s independent auditor plans to scrutinize shelter contractors, Denver International Airport expenses and the city’s handling of legal work as part of a final round of investigations before he leaves office next July.
Auditor Timothy O’Brien unveiled his 2027 audit plan Monday. Residents submitted 40% more suggestions for audits than they did last year, a rise O’Brien attributed to increased concern about how city government is managed.
The planned reviews include how Denver’s homelessness shelters are run, including contractor safety, services and spending. The office also plans to examine the cost of the airport’s Concourse A expansion and whether the operator of its underground train is meeting maintenance and performance requirements.
Other proposed audits would check whether the city is collecting and distributing voter-approved tax revenue for Denver Health and the Denver Public Library as voters intended. A review of city legal operations will look at settlements, outside legal services and efforts to prevent lawsuits.
O’Brien said controversy involving City Attorney Miko Brown’s former law firm and city legal contracts helped prompt the legal operations review. The plans come after years of friction between the auditor and Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration over oversight and city spending.
O’Brien has described weak oversight of city contractors as the biggest unfinished issue of his nearly 12-year tenure, calling it a systemic leadership failure. He said responsibility ultimately rests largely with the mayor’s office.
The auditor also alleges that the Johnston administration is blocking an ongoing review of Denver’s budget process. O’Brien said resistance to scrutiny makes it more important to examine the matter. His claims could not be independently assessed from the information available for this report.
Previous audits under O’Brien found problems with tracking the cost of homeless encampment cleanups, safety and financial oversight at city shelters, and management of the airport’s Great Hall renovation. The new reviews could extend that scrutiny to programs and contracts that involve significant public spending.
O’Brien’s departure may come before some of the planned investigations are finished, and his successor could choose not to continue them. He has endorsed Kharis Eppstein, an audit manager in his office, to succeed him. O’Brien has said he wants to preserve the auditor’s independence and the office’s ability to hold city government accountable beyond his tenure.