City auditor reports progress on prior recommendations; NHSD home improvement program set for re‑audit

City Auditor Buddy Vargas briefed the Audit Committee on the status of outstanding management action plans for prior audit recommendations, reporting that most recommendations are now verified as implemented or are pending final verification.

Vargas said the audit office contacts departments before completion dates to request status updates and then reviews a representative sample after the completion date to determine whether policies and procedures are in place. He said the office often confirms the existence of new policies and procedures but will re‑audit to test effective implementation over time.

Vargas highlighted that 48 items had been verified without exception and nine items remained verification pending. He noted that one previously yellow item on audit 2429 is now verified (blue) and that the NHSD Home Improvement Program audit will be re‑audited in fiscal year 2026; staff identified October–November 2025 as likely timing.

Committee members emphasized the importance of the re‑audit. Councilman Courage asked for confirmation on timing; Vargas said re‑audit is expected in fiscal year 2026, probably October or November. The chair clarified that the earlier audit had not found fraud; Vargas confirmed no fraud had been found and said the auditor's office validated that new procedures had been written, though it had not yet verified full implementation across the program.

Vargas said verification pending (yellow) statuses often reflect system implementation bottlenecks and the need to allow projects to mature before re‑sampling; a scheduled reaudit will test whether the implemented policies are effective in practice.

The committee took the briefing under advisement; no formal action was requested.