Budget and Audit Committee Meeting - April 5, 2022
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Budget and Audit Committee Meeting - April 5, 2022
The Budget and Audit Committee of the Sacramento City Council met on April 5, 2022, at 3:00 PM. The meeting included approval of consent calendar items and a discussion on the City Auditor's Proposed Work Plan for Fiscal Year 2022/23. The committee approved the work plan with direction to the auditor to explore prioritizing a comprehensive audit on homelessness coordination across departments.
Consent Calendar
- Approved meeting minutes from January 4, 2022, February 1, 2022, February 8, 2022, and March 1, 2022.
- Accepted the City Auditor's Recommendation Follow-Up Report for the six-month period ending December 31, 2021, and forwarded it to the City Council for final approval. Both items passed on a motion with a 4-0 vote (Councilmember Getta, Jennings, Vang, Mayor Steinberg in favor).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mr. Davis (phone caller): Expressed appreciation for Mayor Steinberg's leadership during a recent tragedy, noting that the basketball game proceeded and was well-attended. He spoke generally and not to any agenda item.
Discussion Items
- City Auditor's Proposed Work Plan for FY 2022/23 (Item 3)
- Presenter: City Auditor Jorge Oseguera presented the proposed work plan, which includes five sections: performance audits, cannabis, utilities, research and analysis, and hotline activity. Key proposed new audits include the Community Development Department (planning division), Department of Community Response (homeless services), citywide pedestrian safety, public works recycling and solid waste (contract audit), and animal care services. Under cannabis, audits of illegal cultivation and administrative penalty appeals are planned. Utilities audits include supervisory control and data acquisition, succession planning, and security/emergency preparedness. Research and analysis projects include a community survey, employee diversity and inclusion, and an audit of the ethics commission. The office also manages approximately 160 whistleblower investigations annually.
- Councilmember Vang: Commended the office's work and highlighted the importance of the language access audit. She requested an addition to the work plan: a holistic audit of how various city departments (e.g., DCR, police, code enforcement, community development) coordinate resources to address homelessness. She noted the city is scaling up efforts and wants to ensure effectiveness and efficiency across departments.
- Councilmember Guerra: Thanked the auditor for the language access work and supported the homelessness coordination audit. He expressed concern about workload and suggested reprioritizing existing audits rather than adding new resources. He questioned whether a proposed $150,000 contract audit for code enforcement could be redirected. He also asked for an update on the complaint investigation and resolution practices audit, which is facing challenges with the city manager and city attorney.
- Mayor Steinberg: Echoed support for prioritizing the homelessness coordination audit, emphasizing it should be a high priority, not a tier-two request. He directed the auditor to assess what trade-offs would be required if this audit were moved up.
- Auditor Response: Oseguera agreed to meet with Councilmember Vang's office to refine the scope and incorporate her concerns into the existing DCR homeless services audit. He clarified that priority-two items require additional funding (e.g., $150,000 for a contract audit) and are not currently planned for initiation.
Key Outcomes
- The committee passed a motion (4-0) to accept the City Auditor's Proposed Work Plan for FY 2022/23 and forward it to the City Council for final approval, with direction to the auditor to:
- Meet with Councilmember Vang to incorporate a comprehensive audit of homelessness coordination across all relevant city departments.
- Return to the full City Council with an analysis of trade-offs (which audits would be delayed or deprioritized) if the homelessness audit is given higher priority.
- The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:45 PM, with the full City Council session scheduled for 5:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Mayor Staff is ready when you are. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. The City Sacramento's budget and audit committee will come to order. Would the clerk please call the roll? Councilmember Getta. Here. Councilmember Jennings. I'm here. Councilmember Vang. President and Mayor Steinberg. I am here. If everyone would plead, please rise. I would like to lead us in the land acknowledgement and the pledge of allegiance. Please rise for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands. To the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, the Southern Maidu Valley and Plains of Miwok, the Patwin Putwin Wintoon peoples, and the people of the Wilton Ranchery of Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who come before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous people's history, contributions, and lives. Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. For which it stands. One nation under God, individual liberty and justice rule. Okay. Thank you, everyone. Welcome. Um today, our budget and audit committee. We do have a consent calendar, um, which is uh uh the minutes of the last meeting as well as the auditors' recommendations for the period ending December 31 of last year. Um is there a motion on the consent calendar? So move, Mayor. I'll move all second, Mr. Mayor. Okay, thank you. Um and do we have public testimony? Mayor, I have no hands raised to make public comment in the consent calendar. Right, then please call the roll. Councilmember Gata Councilmember Jennings. Yes, Councilmember Vang. Yes, and Mayor Steinberg. Yes. All right, thank you. Uh that passes. Now let's go to the one discussion item today, which is the city auditors' proposed work plan for the next fiscal year. Uh auditor also Greta, uh, welcome to you and your team. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, can everybody hear me okay? Yes. All right. And can you see my document of the proposed work plan? Uh sounds like you can. All right, so we will get started then. So good afternoon, Mayor and members of the budget and audit committee.
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