Dear  , 

Tune into the City Council meeting tomorrow, Tuesday February 25 for a 5:30 p.m study session  FY 2014 Mid-Year Budget Report and CalPERS Update that includes estimates of what CalPERS, the State employee pension fund, plans to charge the City in FY2015 through 2020.   Actual charges may be even higher, pending upcoming decisions of the CalPERS Board.   

As noted in our 2010 performance audit

Employee_Benefits:_Tough_Decisions_Ahead  the cost of current and future employee benefits must be clearly explained and fully understood so that Council can take action to address these unfunded liabilities.   Recent changes in CalPers policy, California law, and Federal accounting standards should impact the past CalPERS policy of charging the City less than the true cost of the pensions, while increasing future liabilities.

At the the 7 p.m. meeting tomorow, Council will take action on proposed new Zero Waste curbside collection rates based on a report from Public Works about current operations and funding.   Zero Waste Program: Establishing Sustainable Operations and Rates is action item 22.

Can Berkeley city achieve its goal of getting to  Zero Waste by 2020?  Our current audit of Zero Waste will use  performance feedback from the City's 311 system  to make recommendations about performance measurement and management of progress towards  the Zero Waste goals.

Other performance audits in progress:

Permit Center - to be issued March 25

Objective:  Do the Planning Department's processes result in efficient,  timely , and equitable issuance of building permits and accurate charging and proper deposit of fees? Are the procedures over cash handling ensuring accuracy of collections and deposits? Have previous audit recommendations been addressed? 

Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Cash Handling   - to be issued April 1

Objective:  Are procedures over cash handling ensuring accuracy of collections and deposits? 

We are also working on  audits of Police Officer injuries and  Animal Services overtime.