Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
City auditor: 47 of 60 audit recommendations completed; departments outline timelines for remaining items
Loading...
Summary
City Auditor Brian Smith told the Audit Oversight Committee April 20 that auditors have closed 47 of 60 recommendations issued over the last three fiscal years. Representatives from Community Development, the municipal court, HR and Finance described steps and timelines to address outstanding items.
City Auditor Brian Smith told the Audit Oversight Committee on April 20 that the audit office has issued 60 recommendations over the past three fiscal years and that 47 of those recommendations have been completed. He said the office is working with departments on the remaining 13 recommendations and performs follow-up testing before changing a recommendation’s status to complete.
"Looking back over the past, the past 3 fiscal years, our office has issued 60 audit recommendations," Smith said, explaining that management action plans include estimated completion dates and that auditors subsequently verify implementation through sampling and other follow-up procedures. Smith also reported that the audit office currently has three audits in process, including an information and innovation technology audit, a public works facilities audit and an audit of municipal court bus-pass management.
The committee heard updates from departments with outstanding recommendations. Darcy Edelbeye Herd, business licensing manager in Community Development, said her office received ten recommendations from a business-licensing compliance audit, has completed eight and is working on the final two. "We did develop a plan on how to look at our collection," she said, adding that system development and testing is expected to begin in May with a target to roll changes out before year-end.
Hans Jessup, municipal court administrator, described work on six recommendations tied to the court’s witness fee fund. He said one recommendation is complete and five remain, and that the court has seen a near 100% increase in filings over the last two years, which has increased amounts of witness fee funds on hand. "We're looking at that a little bit closer," Jessup said, and the court has narrowed access to the cash room to supervisors while coordinating with DPS on safety and security roles.
Sue Brown, director of human resources, said HR has completed two of six recommendations related to the employee separation process and expects to finish the remainder in about a month. Brian Smith added that finance completed a draft update to its p-card policy addressing separation procedures and has submitted the draft for formal approval.
Committee members asked how departments’ estimated completion dates are set and how the audit office confirms that recommended changes are implemented. Smith said departments provide conservative estimates and that auditors conduct focused follow-ups that may include samples of transactions over a period to confirm controls are in place before marking a recommendation complete.
Votes at a glance • Approval of minutes from the Jan. 12, 2026 meeting — motion moved, seconded and carried by voice. • Acceptance of staff reports on staffing, audits and issued recommendations — motion moved, seconded and carried by voice.
The committee scheduled its next meeting for Monday, July 20, 2026, and adjourned.
