Thanks: City Reserves and Ethics Employee Survey and Audit
A New General Fund Reserves Policy to Protect the City's Future
Thanks for your support for action on our February 2016 audit General Fund Reserve Policy Fails to Convey that Maintaining the Reserve is a Priority. Strong reserves and a strong policy are needed now more than ever to protect our most vulnerable residents and programs from Federal funding cuts and other emergencies. We commend the City Manager for a robust policy and plan. We thank Council for taking action and especially for committing to future amendments to specify when the reserves may be used, as we and the City Manager recommended.
Ethics in public service means more than just following the rules. It is a commitment by public employees to take individual responsibility for creating a government that has the trust and respect of the public. We thank City of Berkeley employees for participating in our confidential survey of the City's ethical climate.
A strong ethics program can control costs, improve service delivery, and build credibility. In our March 14 audit Berkeley's Ethical Climate Rated Strong Overall and Management Working to Make it Better we found that, overall, Berkeley employees rated the City's ethical culture as strong, at 7.67 points. We recommend clear communication and training to support leaders at all levels of the organization who are willing to listen and to act decisively to uphold ethical values.
Fire Department Ambulance Billing
Follow-up Audit to CouncilMarch 28
We found in our "Fire Department Ambulance Billing Follow-up Audit" that the Berkeley Fire Department made significant improvements since our 2007 audit "Fire Department Ambulance Billing". They improved ambulance billing efforts by implementing an electronic prehospital care report system and clarifying procedures. We recommend improving collection efforts and offering more payment options. We continue to be concerned about the need for local hospitals to cooperate with the City in improving accuracy of data, and support Fire's continuing efforts to obtain that cooperation from the hospitals.
Thank you so much for continuing to advocate for the work that we do on your behalf as independent performance auditors. With your support, we will continue to help make Berkeley better! See you at Council Tuesday night March 14!
Sincerely,
Ann-Marie Hogan, Auditor City of Berkeley Auditor's Office
