Audits
Audit of the City's Ethical Culture (AR-2103)
Our audit purpose was to determine: 1) whether City employees understood the City’s ethical values and could apply those values in their daily activities, and 2) the extent of compliance with key ethics-related policies and procedures. Additionally, we evaluated the culture and ethical environment of the City. We conducted a survey of the City's ethical culture and the results from the survey indicate City employees could apply ethical values to daily activities. We found the City has many of the components recommended for a comprehensive ethics and compliance program, including a code of ethics, oversight and compliance for ethical behavior, ethics training, processes for reporting violations of the City's Ethics Code, and annual reviews of the City's Ethics Code and critical policies. During the audit, opportunities for improving the City's ethics program were identified.
Audit of the Housing Division (AR-2102)
The scope of this audit included a review of the processes established by the Housing Division to operate and oversee the federally and state funded Owner-Occupied Home Rehabilitation (OOR) and Emergency Home Repair Program (EHRP). A review and analysis of project files, responses from customer satisfaction surveys, site visits to rehabilitated homes, and interviews of those homeowners found income eligibility and EHRP processes were thorough and well-documented. Additionally, we found the Housing Division generally had controls in place to ensure the OOR and EHRP processes were in compliance with Housing policies and procedures and relevant rules and regulations; however, opportunities for improvement were noted.
Reports from previous years are located in the archived reports page
FOLLOW-UPS
Audit Follow-Up of City Hiring and Promotion Practices (AR-2108)
The purpose of our audit City Hiring and Promotion Practices was to determine if hiring and promotion practices (personnel actions) were conducted in accordance with applicable policies and procedures, state and federal requirements, and industry best practices. We found the personnel actions for which supporting documentation was available were conducted consistent with applicable policies, procedures, and other requirements. However, we noted documentation supporting personnel actions was not always available, as such we were not able to make an overall determination regarding compliance with applicable policies, procedures, and other requirements. Management developed 7 action plan steps in response to audit recommendations. Six of those steps were completed this follow-up period, the 1 remaining action plan step was in progress and will be reviewed as part of a subsequent follow-up.
Final Audit Follow-Up of Right-of-Way Maintenance (AR-2107)
Pursuant to Florida law, the City of Tallahassee (City) is responsible for the maintenance of medians and other green spaces located in the City's right-of-way (ROW) and Leon County ROW within the City limits. The City is also responsible for maintenance of certain state ROW as specified in Memorandums of Agreement between the City and the Florida Department of Transportation. In the original audit report (#1720), we found the City routinely maintains City ROW, County owned ROW associated with gateway roads and main thoroughfares, as well as contracted state ROW. Our audit noted the City does not maintain a listing of all ROW it is responsible for maintaining. Additionally, it was noted written policies and procedures describing the criteria for prioritizing maintenance of ROW and instances where records did not demonstrate verification of receipt of contracted maintenance services prior to payment. Management developed a total of 5 action plan steps in response to our recommendations. As of the end of this follow-up period 4 steps had been completed and management elected to accept the risks associated with the one remaining step.
Final Audit Follow-Up of Potential Conflict of Interest Regarding Acquisition of Engineering Services (AR-2106)
In response to information obtained by the City Auditor and the Independent Ethics Officer, an audit was conducted regarding a potential conflict of interest pertaining to acquisitions of engineering services. In that original audit report (#1801), we did not identify any evidence staff inappropriately used their position to secure a personal benefit for family; however, the approval of those awards did represent the appearance of a conflict of interest. We identified opportunities to strengthen controls and made recommendations accordingly. Management developed 4 action plan steps to address the recommendations. As of the end of this follow-up period, 3 of the 4 action plan steps have been completed.
Final Audit Follow-Up of Commercial Utility Meters (AR-2105)
The City of Tallahassee's utility consumption revenues are defined as those revenues generated by the sale of electricity, gas, and water to commercial and residential customers. The consumption is measured by meters placed at each service point. In the original audit (#1901), we found that the AMI meters were correctly reading commercial customers' consumption. However, we did identify opportunities to strengthen controls related to utility meters and issues with water meter radio module reliability. Recommendations to address the identified issues were made accordingly. Management developed 4 action plan steps to address the recommendations. As of the end of this follow-up period, management successfully completed all 4 action plan steps.
Final Audit Follow-Up of Animal Service Center Revenue Controls (AR-2104)
The Animal Service Center (ASC) is a municipal animal shelter operated by the City of Tallahassee, under the direction of the Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Affairs (PRNA) department. ASC offers a variety of animal related services to the public with a focus on animal care and control. In the original audit report (#2002), we found that ASC revenue controls did reasonably ensure that revenue was collected, accurately recorded, safeguarded, and deposited appropriately, and we identified opportunities to strengthen controls and made recommendations accordingly. Management developed 6 action plan steps to address the recommendations. As of the end of this follow-up period, management successfully completed all 6 action plan steps.
Final Audit Follow-Up of CIS Utility Adjustments (AR-2101)
As part of the customer utility billing process, Customer Service staff within the Customer Operations Department (Customer Operations) routinely make adjustments (additions and waivers of standard service fees) to customer utility accounts that are not directly related to a customer’s utility usage. In the original audit report (#1804), we concluded the non-consumption utility adjustments selected for testing were authorized and accurate, and identified opportunities to strengthen controls and made recommendations accordingly. Management developed 10 action plan steps to address the recommendations. As of the end of this follow-up period, management successfully completed or resolved all 10 action plan steps.
Follow-Ups from previous years are located in the archived reports page