The Audit Oversight Committee met on Monday, October 6, 2025, at 10:00 AM. Chair Price presided, with Members Booker, Kelly, and Chair Price present; Members Kircher and Bruni were excused. Councilwoman Kelly was welcomed as a new member. The meeting complied with open meeting law. No public comments were received on agenda items.
Update on Audit Recommendations (Item #6) City Auditor Brian Smith reported on the status of 84 audit recommendations issued over the past three calendar years. As of the meeting, 76 recommendations were completed, seven were not yet due, and one was in the verification process (with the Finance Department regarding cash handling policy). No recommendations were classified as incomplete.
Current Audits (Item #7) Brian Smith reported on ongoing audits: (1) HR employee separation process – draft report nearing release; (2) Witness fee fund in Municipal Court – reporting phase; (3) Mobile communication devices managed by IT – fieldwork stage. Upcoming audits include purchasing, municipal court, and public works, with scope to be defined after planning and department meetings. Councilwoman Kelly asked when scope would be shared; Smith replied it would be available at the next committee meeting. Chair Price reiterated the request for a consolidated open-recommendation list.
Fraud Prevention and Detection Program (Item #8) Joseph Thronberry reported that the city's fraud hotline (EthicsPoint) went live on September 23, 2024, and is accessible 24/7 via phone, mobile, and online in multiple languages. As of the meeting, 36 incidents had been reported. The fraud committee (city manager, city attorney, city auditor) meets monthly to review activity. Most reports have been external referrals (e.g., identity theft) directed to Metro Police; one investigation is ongoing. The city is updating its fraud policy and plans a calendar year-end report summarizing activity. Metrics for effectiveness were discussed; current reporting levels are below vendor averages for a city of ~4,000 employees. Councilwoman Kelly praised the responsiveness of the hotline.
Good morning. I'm gonna call the meeting to order today. Today is August, I'm sorry, October sixth, two thousand twenty-five, and the audit oversight committee meeting is called to order. Will the city clerk call the roll, please? Chair Price. Present. Member Kircher. Excused. Member Bruni. Excused. Member Booker. Present. Member Kelly. Here. Thank you, Chair. You have a quorum. Thank you. And I would just like to start real quick by welcoming uh Councilwoman Kelly here to the audit committee. And congratulations on that. We look forward to having you here. Thank you very much. Agenda item number two, an announcement regarding the compliance with open meeting law. To the city clerk. Has this meeting been noticed and posted in compliance with the open meeting law? Yes, Chair, it has. Thank you. We'll be moving to item number three on the agenda. Agenda item number three is public comment. Comment during this period of the agenda must be limited to matters on the agenda for action. If you wish to be heard, come forward and give your name for the record. The amount of discussion as well as the amount of any single speakers allowed may be limited. Is there anyone wishing to be heard at this time? Seeing no one, I'll close the public comment portion and we'll move on to agenda item number four. Agenda item number four for possible action to approve the final minutes by reference of the regular meeting of July twenty first, two thousand and twenty-five. I move for approval. There is a motion. All in favor. Yes. Should I be abstaining since I wasn't present at that meeting? That's a good question. This is uh Nicole Garcia from the city attorney's office. You can still vote on the minutes. Thank you. Aye. Aye as well. Uh there's a mo all in favor. Any opposed? Uh please post, please. And the motion carries. Moving on to agenda item number five.