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Record of Proceedings

Budget and Audit Committee Meeting - April 6, 2021

Budget and Audit Committee — Tuesday, April 6, 2021
BodySacramento, California
SessionBudget and Audit Committee
DateTuesday, April 6, 2021
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:26

Vice Chair Staff is ready when you are this meeting of the uh Sacramento City Council budget and audit committee to order on Tuesday, April 6th, 2021 at 308 p.m.

0:40

If the clerk could please call the role to establish quorum.

0:43

Thank you.

0:44

Councilmember Jennings.

0:46

I'm here.

0:47

Councilmember Vang.

0:49

Here.

0:50

Vice Chair Getta.

0:51

Here.

0:52

And we expect the mayor momentarily.

0:55

Great.

0:55

Thank you.

0:56

We'll go ahead and uh dispense with the first item.

0:59

Um Madam Clerk.

1:04

Your first item on the discussion calendar item one is the city auditors proposed audit plan for fiscal year 2021-22.

1:20

Afternoon.

1:22

Councilmember Gera and members of the budget and audit committee.

1:38

And Vice Chair for Vice Chair for the record.

1:41

I have no callers on this item.

1:43

Great.

1:43

Thank you very much, madam clerk.

2:03

Go ahead, uh Mr.

2:04

City Auditor.

2:05

Uh you we can see uh see your screen.

2:09

We can't hear you.

2:10

No, we cannot.

2:36

You want to do a microphone test while you're not sharing?

2:43

Oh yep, we can hear you.

2:50

Try to share again.

2:51

Hopefully it doesn't shut off my mic.

2:53

Thanks.

2:55

Thank you.

3:06

All right, can you still hear me?

3:08

We can still hear you.

3:10

Thank you.

3:10

Wonderful.

3:11

Thank you.

3:12

Sorry about that.

3:13

And at this point, you should be able to see my work plan as well.

3:17

Yes.

3:18

So the recommendation that is before you is that you pass a motion accepting the city auditor's proposed audit plan for fiscal year 2021-22 and to forward to the city council for final approval.

3:32

Um as we've done in prior years, our work plan is developed by implementing a citywide risk assessment and also solitis uh soliciting some input from the mayor and council, uh, the city's executive team, as well as also gathering some additional information based on our own audit and uh whistleblower information that we receive.

3:55

By gathering this information, we hope to provide a proposed work plan that is objective and that is value added, and that the council uh gains value from uh its ultimate work products.

4:12

At this point, I'd like to briefly walk through the variety of different uh proposed projects that we have.

4:20

Um if there is any questions, please feel free to interject, and I will be happy to stop and discuss a particular project further.

4:29

Our work plan is broken up into two different sections.

4:32

One uh deals with the work that is primarily done out of our performance auditing division.

4:38

The other section focuses on the work that is done out of our research and analysis division.

4:44

Uh starting with performance audits, audits that are currently in progress are an audit of our emergency medical services uh in the fire department, uh an audit of our evidence and property division in our police department, and an audit of um more of an assessment of the revenues and expenditures expenses associated with the COVID-19 response.

5:08

For proposed work products for 2021-22, we are proposing doing a Department of Utilities risk assessment to identify areas of interest to do more in-depth analysis into, uh, doing an audit of our planning division in the community development department, uh reviewing our homelessness, homeless services in the city manager's office, um, potentially contracting out for an audit of recycling and solid waste services.

5:38

That's one that we've carried over and that we weren't able to do last year due to COVID-19.

5:45

Uh, doing an audit of our information technology department and to do a language accessibility and community engagement review, uh, which would be citywide.

5:57

Uh, we also are interested in uh exploring employee travel.

6:01

I understand that employees aren't traveling much right now during COVID 19, but I think it's an opportunity to explore what kind of controls we have in place to ensure that employee travel is done uh efficiently and effectively, and potentially to develop a continuous monitoring tool for our employee travel.

6:20

We've also listed a code enforcement division uh audit, and we've set aside um some availability for council requests that we haven't anticipated that may come up uh over the course of the year.

6:34

Priority two audits, which are audits that uh we noted during our risk assessment, but that we currently do not have the resources to do, but that we uh note are an audit of body worn cameras in the police department, an audit of parks operations in uh youth parks and community uh enrichment department, an audit of animal care services in the community development department, and to execute the audit that we identified through the DOU risk assessment.

7:07

Uh as we mentioned a few months ago, um this is just you know uh the same plan that we had previously presented regarding the work that our cannabis uh auditor would be doing.

7:20

Um, just quickly, uh we are developing a continuous monitoring program.

7:25

Under continuous monitoring, we are uh working on the following areas uh cannabis policy education and community outreach, monthly business operation tax payments, cannabis code enforcement activities, and business permitting.

7:41

We would also like to develop a continuous monitoring process for the core program, but that is something that we have not initiated as of yet.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Audit Management█████████████████████████████████████37%
Personnel Matters███████████████████19%
Budget and Finance██████████10%
Cannabis Regulation█████████9%
Participatory Budgeting████████8%
Public Safety█████5%
Language Access Services█████5%
Procedural████4%
Measure U███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Budget and Audit Committee Meeting - April 6, 2021

The Budget and Audit Committee met on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, from 3:08 p.m. to 3:39 p.m. to consider the City Auditor's Proposed Audit Plan for Fiscal Year 2021/22. The committee heard a detailed presentation from City Auditor Jorge Oseguera, discussed potential additions to the audit plan, and unanimously voted to accept the plan and forward it to the City Council for final approval. The meeting was conducted via teleconference due to COVID-19.

Discussion Items

City Auditor’s Proposed Audit Plan for Fiscal Year 2021/22
City Auditor Jorge Oseguera presented the proposed audit plan, which was developed through a citywide risk assessment and input from the Mayor, Council, executive team, and whistleblower information. The plan included:

  • Performance Audits in Progress: Emergency Medical Services (Fire Dept.), Evidence and Property Division (Police Dept.), and COVID-19 response revenue/expense assessment.
  • Proposed Performance Audits for 2021/22: Department of Utilities risk assessment, Planning Division audit, Homeless Services audit, Recycling/Solid Waste audit (carried over from prior year), Information Technology audit, Language Accessibility and Community Engagement review (citywide), Employee Travel audit, Code Enforcement audit, and availability for Council requests. Priority two audits (pending resources) included Body Worn Cameras, Parks Operations, Animal Care Services, and DOU risk assessment.
  • Cannabis Compliance Auditor Work: Continuous monitoring of cannabis policy education, tax payments, code enforcement, and business permitting; in-depth reviews of cannabis code enforcement and administrative penalty appeals process. Priority two cannabis audits (pending resources) included business operation tax cash collection, illegal cultivation, conditional use permits, and community impact.
  • Research and Analysis Division Work: In-progress reviews of Police Commission, diversity of employee applicants/separations, citywide community survey (over 5,000 paper surveys plus online), Wide Open Walls, and David Sobon events. Planned annual reviews: community survey, diversity/equity/inclusion, ethics commission, diversity of boards/committees/commissions. Planned ad hoc audits: city financial condition analysis, revenue source risk assessment, and Transient Occupancy Tax audit.

Councilmembers discussed several aspects:

  • Diversity and Workplace Harassment: Councilmember Guerra requested the City Auditor to explore processes for racial disparity assessments, particularly in departments with high incidences, and to coordinate with the Office of Public Safety Accountability (Dr. Watson) and Human Resources. The Auditor agreed to incorporate these concerns.
  • Language Accessibility: Councilmember Vang praised the inclusion of language accessibility in the audit plan and urged the city to provide simultaneous interpretation for virtual meetings (citing Fresno’s practice). The Auditor indicated the language audit would likely begin in early 2022 with a report to Council mid-2022.
  • Timelines and Resources: Councilmember Jennings requested estimated timeframes for priority audits and a discussion on adding resources. The Auditor agreed to provide broad timeline targets and resource information when the plan goes to Council, acknowledging potential flexibility due to shifting priorities.
  • Cannabis Audits: Vice Chair Guerra requested assessment of illegal cannabis cultivation if resources allow.
  • City Manager’s Office Updates: Assistant City Manager Leyne Milstein noted that a revised travel policy and new booking system are being implemented, and a study on cannabis industry impact is underway, which may accelerate related audits.

Committee Comments – Ideas, Questions, and Meeting Reports

  • Participatory Budgeting: Councilmember Vang requested a status update. Ms. Milstein reported that the Measure U Committee is staffing participatory budgeting and awarding a contract; funding will be included in the end-of-month budget proposal.
  • Measure U Committee Recommendations: Councilmember Vang asked that the City Council respond in writing within 60 days to the committee’s comprehensive recommendation list. Vice Chair Guerra directed the City Clerk and City Attorney to work with Councilmember Vang on a response mechanism.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion to Accept Audit Plan and Forward to City Council: Moved by Vice Chair Guerra, seconded by Councilmember Vang. Passed 3-0 (Members Guerra, Jennings, Vang voting yes; Mayor Steinberg absent). The motion included direction to the City Auditor to explore racial disparity assessments and improve whistleblower reporting on workplace conduct, particularly in public safety departments.
  • Councilmember Vang’s Request: Directs City Clerk and City Attorney to develop a written response to the Measure U Committee within 60 days regarding their recommendations.
  • Future Steps: The City Auditor will include estimated timelines and resource needs in the final plan presented to City Council.

Meeting Transcript

Vice Chair Staff is ready when you are this meeting of the uh Sacramento City Council budget and audit committee to order on Tuesday, April 6th, 2021 at 308 p.m. If the clerk could please call the role to establish quorum. Thank you. Councilmember Jennings. I'm here. Councilmember Vang. Here. Vice Chair Getta. Here. And we expect the mayor momentarily. Great. Thank you. We'll go ahead and uh dispense with the first item. Um Madam Clerk. Your first item on the discussion calendar item one is the city auditors proposed audit plan for fiscal year 2021-22. Afternoon. Councilmember Gera and members of the budget and audit committee. And Vice Chair for Vice Chair for the record. I have no callers on this item. Great. Thank you very much, madam clerk. Go ahead, uh Mr. City Auditor. Uh you we can see uh see your screen. We can't hear you. No, we cannot. You want to do a microphone test while you're not sharing? Oh yep, we can hear you. Try to share again. Hopefully it doesn't shut off my mic. Thanks. Thank you. All right, can you still hear me? We can still hear you. Thank you. Wonderful. Thank you. Sorry about that. And at this point, you should be able to see my work plan as well. Yes. So the recommendation that is before you is that you pass a motion accepting the city auditor's proposed audit plan for fiscal year 2021-22 and to forward to the city council for final approval. Um as we've done in prior years, our work plan is developed by implementing a citywide risk assessment and also solitis uh soliciting some input from the mayor and council, uh, the city's executive team, as well as also gathering some additional information based on our own audit and uh whistleblower information that we receive. By gathering this information, we hope to provide a proposed work plan that is objective and that is value added, and that the council uh gains value from uh its ultimate work products. At this point, I'd like to briefly walk through the variety of different uh proposed projects that we have. Um if there is any questions, please feel free to interject, and I will be happy to stop and discuss a particular project further. Our work plan is broken up into two different sections. One uh deals with the work that is primarily done out of our performance auditing division. The other section focuses on the work that is done out of our research and analysis division. Uh starting with performance audits, audits that are currently in progress are an audit of our emergency medical services uh in the fire department, uh an audit of our evidence and property division in our police department, and an audit of um more of an assessment of the revenues and expenditures expenses associated with the COVID-19 response. For proposed work products for 2021-22, we are proposing doing a Department of Utilities risk assessment to identify areas of interest to do more in-depth analysis into, uh, doing an audit of our planning division in the community development department, uh reviewing our homelessness, homeless services in the city manager's office, um, potentially contracting out for an audit of recycling and solid waste services.

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