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Denver auditor warns 3% budget cut could slow wage-theft enforcement
Summary
At a Sept. 30 Finance & Business Committee meeting, Auditor Tim O'Brien and Denver Labor Director Matt Fitzmaur said a proposed 3% cut to the auditor's office budget (about $500,000) would slow investigations, litigation and payments to workers; the office asked the council to restore the funds and requested authority to hire for vacant positions.
At a Sept. 30 Finance and Business Committee meeting, Denver Auditor Tim O'Brien and Denver Labor staff told council members that a proposed 3% reduction to the auditor's office budget — roughly $500,000 — would slow wage-theft enforcement, delay litigation and impede staff hiring.
Auditor Tim O'Brien said the office's 2025 budget is about $16.2 million and that the office expects to recover roughly $2.2 million from airport-related work. "I will be asking the council to restore those dollars to the auditor's budget," O'Brien said, and he argued that the auditor's office must retain discretion to hire to meet its caseload.
The warning came as Matt Fitzmaur, executive director of Denver Labor, described a sharp rise in cases and the office's growing reliance on litigation support. Fitzmaur said the office set a record last year enforcing the rights of 4,505 workers and has so far…
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