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Council - Tuesday, June 27 @ 5pm and 7pm
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Special Meeting at 5 pm:
We said in 2014 that Planning must address customer service needs more systematically with accurate performance information, root cause analysis, and improvements in technology and records handling. Our key recommendation to accept project plans only if they were complete was contentious at the time. We were pleased to see the consultant's emphasis on the same issue:
The City Auditor in her March 25, 2014 report made the following observation concerning customer service:
"An underlying theme of our audit findings is that Planning's focus on customer service is to do what it takes to make the customer standing in front of them happy. Planning must address its customer service needs more systematically. That means evaluating program performance to understand the root causes for not meeting established performance goals and for long customer wait times, and ensuring that customers are assessed fees accurately, consistently, and equitably."
We very much agree with this suggestion, and addressing these system issues will be seen throughout this report.
* Regular Meeting @ 7pm
Action Item 40 - Protecting the City's Vulnerable Residents
We respectfully urge the City Council to unanimously adopt this item on consent Tuesday night. The item restores and improves language from the City Manager's proposed reserve policy. Item 40 implements audit recommendation 1.1 to clearly state purposes for which the reserve may not be used. The approved policy will be consistent with two of Council's prudent budget policies:
- One-time revenue to be used only for one-time expenses
- New expenditures require new revenue or expenditure reductions
Action Item 47 - FY2018 & FY2019 Biennial Budget Adoption
* May 30th, Action Item 47
City Auditor news and views:
The University's Office of the President is under fire for findings in a performance audit from the California State Auditor; see the City Auditor's comparison of the City and UC in
Berkeleyside.
What Risks Will We Address in 2018 Audits?
When auditors assess risk, we consider financial, regulatory, operational and reputational risk. We also consider strategic risk, which is a risk that could prevent the City of Berkeley from reaching its goals. In the current climate of turnover at every level of the organization, a crumbling technology infrastructure, and numerous new initiatives, the risk is high that what the city plans to do will not, in fact, get done.
We see a strategic and operational risk; that the City may not have the staff capacity to provide expected services. We will address the workload impact of immediate community needs and requests in 2018. We will also continue to be a voice for moving forward on long promised improvements. Please email your suggestions and comments to
[email protected]
, or mail them to City Auditor's Office, 2180 Milvia St. 3rd floor, Berkeley, CA 94704.
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Ask us a question - send us advice
Thank you for your continued support for our work to help Berkeley deliver services in a more efficient, effective, and equitable way. Please contact me at
[email protected] or at 981-6750 with your questions, comments, and ideas for the audit plan. I'm always happy to hear from folks who want to get more involved. I look forward to hearing from you.
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Sincerely,
Ann-Marie Hogan, Auditor
City of Berkeley Auditor's Office |
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| Audit News from the City Auditor June 2017 |
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