Internal audit finds safety, billing and contract issues in Garland commercial sanitation unit; management proposes phased fixes

Internal Audit presented a comprehensive review of Garland's commercial sanitation operations at the March 25 Audit Committee meeting, praising revenue growth while flagging safety-process and billing weaknesses and proposing a timeline of corrective actions.

Audit lead Zach (last name not specified) told the committee the division manages roughly 2,200 commercial customer accounts and that revenue has doubled over seven years, from about $3.8 million in fiscal 2018 to $7.56 million in fiscal 2024. "They manage approximately 2,200 customer accounts," Zach said, crediting expanded marketing and customer service for the growth.

The audit highlighted favorable operational controls: drivers documented pre- and post-trip inspections, training logs were maintained, and segregation of duties existed between account setup and payment processing. But auditors identified multiple opportunities for improvement:

- Driver safety and incident review: Auditors documented 73 recorded incidents during the audit period and noted one employee involved in eight preventable incidents over seven months. The audit said the current incident-review process is largely internal to the division and…