Allentown interns present process-flow audits for revenue, pools and code enforcement

Allentown City's Budget and Finance Committee heard presentations from three controller interns on process flows for revenue refunds, seasonal pool operations and the city sweep (code-enforcement) program, and was told full audit reports will be delivered to the committee in September.

The interns described how each department's day-to-day practices align with internal guidelines and city ordinances and said the next phase will be an audit comparing practice to the documented flows. "These students do great work, and it's absolutely a tribute to Jackie," said Mr. Glaser, who introduced the interns and praised Jackie Moore, the audit manager who runs the intern program.

Emma Sanford, a Lehigh University junior from South Hadley, Massachusetts, presented process flows for garbage and water-sewer rebates, business license refunds, business privilege tax (BPT) refunds and city real estate tax refunds. Her presentation outlined intake steps, eligibility checks, required documentation and the role of the operations manager in approving refund requests. She said tax examiners enter applicant gross income into spreadsheets to calculate rebate amounts, print refund-request forms and update a refund log before managerial review.

Thomas Tripopoulos, a Lehigh student from Allentown, described hiring and day-to-day procedures for the city's pool system, including seasonal hiring, season-pass purchases through the MyRec portal, daily opening and closing procedures, concession and inventory tracking, and special-admission rules such as the Morning Adult Lap Swim (MALS) age and ID checks. He said managers reconcile cash drawers to expected totals, finalize manifest sheets and deliver deposits to the treasury for same-day overnight deposit.

The third intern presented the sweep process flow for Recycling and Solid Waste, describing complaint intake, investigation reports (IRs), onsite inspections, warning issuance for violations such as high grass or weeds, ticket issuance, an appeal process and escalation to magisterial court when tickets are unpaid or appealed. Timelines discussed included a 14-calendar-day window for payment or appeal, a 30-day appeal window for citations, and the potential for up to 90 days of jail as an enforcement outcome described in the magisterial court segment of the flow.

Committee members asked no substantive questions during the presentations; the committee chair and staff thanked the interns and reiterated that the audit reports comparing actual practice to the process flows will be presented in September for committee review and any advisory recommendations to departments.

The interns and staff referenced systems and tools used in the processes: Munis for accounts-payable routing, MyRec for pool accounts and passes, EnerGov for permit checks, and Tyler cashiering for daily deposits and reconciliation. The committee was told the internship program completed three projects during the summer and that the reports are advisory to departments.