Jenny Wong, City Auditor
Promoting transparency and accountability in Berkeley government.
Audit News
from the City Auditor
October 2019
Domestic Violence Response: Berkeley Needs a Comprehensive Policy to Support City Employees
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and last week my office released an audit of Berkeley’s policy allowing leave time and workplace accommodations for city employees experiencing domestic violence. We found that Berkeley is a step ahead of many employers in having a policy to support employees, but that the policy does not clarify that people who have experienced sexual assault or stalking are covered by the policy as specified by state law. We also found that there are best practices Berkeley could adopt to strengthen the policy and ensure that employees and supervisors are better informed about their rights and responsibilities.

We recommended that Human Resources update the policy to more closely reflect the law and adopt best practices to be a leader among cities and organizations in supporting employees.

I will present this report to City Council on October 29, 2019. Recommendations will be on the consent calendar for the meeting. Please feel free to provide Council or me with any comments. 

The full report is available here .
Planning and Development Department Takes Final Action
On Tuesday, October 15th, the Planning and Development Department reported to Council on its progress addressing open audit recommendations aimed at improving the customer service experience. The department is set to install a new state‑of‑the‑art queueing solution for the Permit Service Center and to procure a new digital permitting system. This will reduce customer wait times and allow for monitoring activity to identify process improvement needs. The department’s action successfully close out our March 2014 audit, Construction Permits - Monitor Performance and Fee Assessments to Ensure Excellent and Equitable Customer Service. The full status report is available here .
City of Berkeley Open House on 10/20/19 Community Event
Please join us for a day of fun and information at Berkeley’s first annual City Open House. The event is taking place at Civic Center Park located at 2151 Martin Luther King Jr. Way between Allston Way and Center Street. It is an opportunity to meet us and other city workers and learn about our services as well as other city services. We hope to see you there!
We are busy working on a variety of audits that evaluate the performance of city programs and services across a variety of departments. These audits include:

  • Recommendations Follow-Up – Status of outstanding recommendations
  • Fleet Replacement – Equipment Replacement Fund Audit
  • Library Tax Fund – Examination of non-personnel expenditures and purchasing practices
  • Plastics Recycling – A look at what really happens to that plastic put in recycling bins
  • Streets
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