| Greetings!
What has the Auditor's Office done lately?
See tonight's Council meeting report on how we succeeded in our goal to improve City operations, save money, promote transparency and accountability, and deter fraud. We include a list of all of the audit recommendations that City management has not yet implemented, and a report from the City Manager on what is being addressed. For another look at what is on the City's plate, see Item 64 listing all outstanding Council referrals. Our audit plan for fiscal year 2015 is also on the agenda.
Click here to read the Auditor's Office report and here to read the 2015 audit plan.
Because of community concerns about equity in City hiring and promotions, we included a requested audit of Human Resources' application of the merit system hiring process and an evaluation of adherence to equal employment opportunity policies.
In October, we plan to issue Written Guidance and Improved Monitoring can Help Prevent Unnecessary Overtime at the Animal Shelter and Injury Prevention: Better Investigations and Data Use will Help the Berkeley Police Department and the City. We're also working on a contracts audit and an audit of refuse billing. |
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New action on previous audits and reports
Since we issued Failing Streets: Time to Change Direction to Achieve Sustainability and Berkeley passed Measure M, the City has paved almost twice as many streets this summer as previously, the Daily Cal reports. Take a look at the work on Allston Way between City Hall and Berkeley High to see your Measure M tax dollars at work for storm-water improvements. The high-profile demonstration project is meant to showcase "green" infrastructure that should decrease runoff of pollutants into the Bay.
In other good news for the Bay, Public Works staff recently credited our sewer audit with helping them make considerable progress on reducing sewer leaks into the Bay. This was another audit that paved the way for better performance data and evidence-based decision making to increase program effectiveness and efficiency.
Finally, we continue to advocate for new approaches by City management for the upcoming round of budget cuts, most recently in our July 8 Council report. In April, we provided a Goldman grad student study which reiterates the risks of across the board budget cuts and proposes consideration of developing a performance based budgeting approach. At a 5:30 workshop on October 7, the City Manager will discuss the Public Health Priority Based Budget project. |
