Budget and Audit Committee Meeting – November 2, 2021
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Budget and Audit Committee Meeting – November 2, 2021
The Budget and Audit Committee of the Sacramento City Council met on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, from 3:01 p.m. to 3:14 p.m. via teleconference. Vice Chair Eric Guerra presided, with members Rick Jennings and Mai Vang present; Mayor Darrell Steinberg was absent. The committee unanimously approved two items: the City Auditor’s Whistleblower Hotline Activity Report (consent calendar) and the City Auditor’s FY 2021-22 Department of Utilities Audit Plan (discussion calendar). No public comments were received.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 – City Auditor’s Whistleblower Hotline Activity Report for April through September 2021 Period: The committee voted unanimously (3-0, with Mayor Steinberg absent) to accept the report and forward it to the City Council for approval. No public speakers or discussion.
Discussion Items
- Item 2 – City Auditor’s FY 2021-22 Department of Utilities Audit Plan: City Auditor Jorge Oseguera presented the plan, which includes performance audits of the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, security and emergency preparedness, asset management and preventative maintenance, and special projects on succession planning/turnover, hiring/recruitment practices, and review of the water and wastewater funds. The plan was developed collaboratively with the Department of Utilities (DOU). Oseguera introduced new team member Sarah Balcha, who will lead the DOU work. Councilmember Vang asked about the timeline; Oseguera noted the SCADA audit will begin first, lasting into summer 2022, followed by succession planning, with the plan spanning several years and updates provided via quarterly reports. DOU Director Bill Buse expressed support, stating the SCADA audit addresses the department’s greatest risk. Councilmember Jennings moved to forward the plan to the City Council; Councilmember Vang seconded. Vice Chair Guerra requested that the succession planning component include outreach to engineering programs and organizations to recruit a diverse workforce. The motion passed unanimously (3-0).
Key Outcomes
- Whistleblower Hotline Activity Report: Accepted and forwarded to City Council (unanimous).
- FY 2021-22 Department of Utilities Audit Plan: Accepted and forwarded to City Council (unanimous). The audit plan will be executed over multiple years, with quarterly progress updates to the committee.
- No committee comments or public comments on matters not on the agenda.
Meeting Transcript
Vice Chair Staff is ready when you are. Great. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Okay, uh, I'm gonna call this meeting to order of the budget and audit committee of the city council of Sacramento to order at 301 p.m. on uh November 2nd, 2021. Madam Clerk, if you could please call the rule to establish a quorum. Thank you. Vice Chair Gera. Here. Councilmember Jennings. Here. Councilmember Vang here. And Mayor Steinbook will be absent this afternoon. Thank you, Madam Uh Clerk for establishing a quorum here. Um first item on um the uh agenda here, consent calendar. Madam Clerk, do we have any members of the public sign up to speak on the consent calendar? I show no hands raised to make public comment on this item. Great, thank you, madam clerk. Let me bring this back to the count to the committee here. Uh members of the committee for an action, a motion to approve the consent calendar. So move. Second. It's been properly moved by council member vang and second by council member Jennings. Uh Madam Clerk, um uh could you please call the roll? Thank you. Vice Chair Getta. All right. Councilmember Jennings. All right, Councilmember Vang. Yes, and Mayor Steinberg is absent. The motion passes. Great, thank you. That carries on to our discussion calendar for the committee here. Um, Madam Clerk. So item two is the city auditors FY 2021 to 22 Department of Utilities Audit Plan. Auditor Osa Yena, good afternoon. Thanks for being here. Good afternoon. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, I'm gonna share my screen really quick. If you will just bear with me. So hopefully everybody can see that. So um good afternoon, members of the budget and audit committee. My name is Jorge Seguera. I'm the city auditor. And the recommendation that is before you today is to pass a motion accepting the city auditor's fiscal year 2021-22 Department of Utilities Audit Plan and to forward the plan to the City Council for approval. Um as you know, uh the Department of Utilities and the Auditor's Office share a strong interest and commitment to operational improvement. In April of 2021, we indicated to the city council in our proposed 2021-22 annual work plan uh for the office that we would be performing a DOU risk assessment to create a list of potential projects that would benefit DOU operations. We worked with DOU management to evaluate potential projects and arrive at the following list.
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