Audit - City and County of Denver

process include applicants submitting applications and supporting documentation to theDepartment, Department staff completing an application checklist, the applicantmaking a license fee payment, and Department staff entering data into a database. Theindividual steps in the process are depicted in greater detail in Appendix A.Based on the Department’s lack of internal controls around the MM program, weobserved a number of weaknesses in the license application process that affect both theDepartment’s ability to operate using accurate, reliable information and its ability toprovide high quality customer service to external stakeholders, including business licenseapplicants. First, we found that many steps in the process are performed by one person,who is not being provided with a level of oversight appropriate for the associatedlicensing activities and decisions. Second, applicants are not being provided with thehighest possible level of customer service from the City. Specifically, the fee that MMlicensees must pay was established without any sort of cost analysis to determine theproper amount, and information on the Department’s website regarding the MMlicensure process is incomplete, inconsistent, and at times outdated. Third, the program’srecords and data are incomplete, inaccurate, and at times inaccessible. Instituting aproper internal control framework would help the Department remedy these challenges.The Licensure Process Completely Lacks Management Oversight, Adequate StaffingResources and a Proper Segregation of Duties– MM licensure processes are handledalmost exclusively by one individual, and there is very limited oversight of this person’swork and decisions. This staff member has been involved from the beginning of MMlicensing and willingly took on the responsibilities associated with processing MM licenseapplications in addition to other work duties. Over time, as Department staff turned over,this employee has become the MM subject matter expert. We found this employee to bevery knowledgeable and capable. However, there are no documented policies andprocedures related to licensing processes handled by this individual.Despite the staff member’s demonstrated willingness and experience, the generalworkload volume and administration with regard to MM operations is greater than whatcan reasonably be managed by one person. Licensing Technicians in the Departmentare unable to assist in processing MM business licenses because the Department has notprovided cross-training and appropriate staffing resources. This lack of resources mayinhibit the timely processing of MM license applications, increasing the time thatapplicants must wait to begin operating. An even greater risk is posed by the fact thatlicensing decisions are made by this individual, and decisions and supportingdocumentation are not reviewed or signed off by Department management to ensurethat only qualified businesses are granted an MM license. Further, because no crosstraininghas been provided, if the staff member responsible for MM applicationprocessing were to leave the City, the Department would lose a tremendous amount ofinstitutional knowledge.City and County of DenverP a g e 12