The Audit Committee on Nov. 5 accepted the Office of the City Auditor's report (AU-205-019) examining SAFD fleet operations, which concluded that fleet maintenance processes and certain controls need improvement.

Audit manager Nastasha Leech told the committee that fleet maintenance was not consistently performed per policy and controls could be improved. She detailed problems including incomplete preventive maintenance schedules in the Faster Web system, inaccurate parts inventories and inconsistent assignment of parts to work orders, improper logging of labor times, delayed input of purchase orders, inadequate parts-room key controls, and fuel-card program weaknesses such as inactive but still-authorized cards and users who were no longer city employees.

"We determined that labor times were, in excess of reasonable maintenance times as a result of improper logging procedures for work orders," Leech said, adding that some preventative maintenance schedules had not been populated in the system and downtime data did not always reflect vehicle status.

Fire Department leadership acknowledged the findings and described corrective steps. The fire chief said the department had already completed many recommended actions, including tightening preventive maintenance schedules, improving tracking and documentation procedures, updating fleet-maintenance software, and reinforcing accountability. Chief referenced division leadership, including John Perez, as implementing those steps.

Committee members pressed for durable solutions. A member noted fuel-card and inventory issues had recurred in prior audits (2016 and 2019 were mentioned) and asked what controls would ensure follow-through. The chief said the department had distributed a documented fuel-card policy to authorized users and would promptly investigate exceptions and potential violations. City staff described ongoing work to remove system access for departing employees more quickly and said longer-term automation tied to an SAP upgrade should reduce manual account-removal delays.

The committee moved and seconded to accept the audit report; the motion passed by voice vote. Fire management provided an action plan (audited report cited an anticipated completion date of October 2025 for corrective steps) and committed to elevated monitoring and reporting to department command to ensure completion of recommended changes.