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City auditors find delays, contract and accounting problems in ARPA neighborhood beautification program
Summary
The Office of the Auditor General told a City Council committee that most ARPA-funded neighborhood-beautification projects are progressing, but auditors flagged missed contract milestones, a contract-amount discrepancy in the city Oracle system, late invoice payments and inaccurate cost-center reporting and recommended stricter oversight and reconciliations.
The Office of the Auditor General presented its audit of the American Rescue Plan Act Neighborhood Beautification Initiative to the Budget Finance Audit Standing Committee on March 11, finding that while many projects met their stated objectives, the program suffered from delays, contract-amendment discrepancies and accounting weaknesses that increase the risk of misstatement and late payments.
“In our audit we concluded that the project team achieved its project goals and objectives as stipulated in the project plan,” Auditor General Laura Goodspeed said in the committee meeting, but the presentation quickly pivoted to areas needing improvement. Chief Auditor Kevin Asadi told council members the audit covered July 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2026, the federal spending deadline for ARPA funds.
The audit team reported a total neighborhood-beautification appropriation of about $28,500,000 and cited Office of the Chief Financial Officer figures showing cumulative spending of roughly $25,800,000 as of Nov. 30, 2025. The report reviewed 10 initiatives funded under the program, including ACE Arts…
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