City of Sacramento
Budget and Audit Committee Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2025-00474 2/25/2025 Consent Item 5.
City Auditor's Activity Report for the 2nd Quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024/2025 File ID: 2025-00474
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Pass a Motion: 1) accepting the City Auditor’s Activity Report for the 2nd Quarter of FY2024/25; and 2) forwarding to City Council for approval.
Contact: Farishta Ahrary, City Auditor, (916) 808-7266, [email protected], Office of the City Auditor
Presenter: None
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-City Auditor’s Activity Report for the 2nd Quarter of FY2024/25 Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: According to the Council Rules of Procedure, the Budget and Audit Committee shall receive, review, and forward to the council as appropriate, reports, recommendations, and updates from the City Auditor. This report documents the City Auditor’s Activity Report for the 2nd Quarter of FY2024/25.
Policy Considerations: The City Auditor’s Activity Report for the 2nd Quarter of FY2024/25 is consistent with the Mayor and the City Council’s intent to have an independent audit function for the City of Sacramento.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations: None.
Sustainability: None.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
File ID: 2025-00474 2/25/2025 Consent Item 5.
Rationale for Recommendation: This staff report provides the Budget and Audit Committee with information that may be used to meet its responsibility to provide oversight and supervision of the City Auditor.
Financial Considerations: The costs of the projects listed in the Activity Report were mostly funded out of the Office of the City Auditor Budget in the applicable fiscal year.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): None.
October through December 2024 Report Number: 2024/25-10
QUARTERLYACTIVITYREPORT
Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2024/25
Report Issued During the Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2024/25 The Office of the City Auditor issued the Quarterly Activity Report for the period of July 2024 through September 2024 during the second quarter of fiscal year 2024/25.
During this reporting period, all Office staff temporarily shifted their focus from ongoing audits to complete the Charter-mandated Sacramento Children's Fund Fiscal Year 2023/24 Baseline Funding Verification. This critical project, required to be completed by January 15th of each year, demands significant effort within a short timeframe. Given the workload and tight deadline, the entire Office collaborated to ensure its timely and accurate completion.
Additionally, we would like to thank the Department of Youth, Parks, and Community Enrichment, the Fire Department, the Police Department, the City Attorney's Office, and all other City departments for their cooperation and collaboration during this project.
Introduction
The Quarterly Activity Report highlights the activities of the Office of the City Auditor for the second quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2024/25. This report also identifies the status of the City Auditor's Fiscal Year 2024/25 Work Plan projects.
DEI Efforts
The Office's Racial and Gender
Equity Action Plan (RGEAP) Team
completed our RGEAP Annual
Progress Report and attended the
Equity Teams Mid-Year Update &
Peer Learning meeting hosted by
the Office of Diversity & Equity.
Other Highlights
The following highlights other activities of the Office of the City Auditor for this reporting period.
After a competitive recruitment,
Farishta Ahrary was promoted to
City Auditor by the City Council.
The Office also recruited Tryphena
Danford in our Fellowship Program.
The Office also continued the
recruitment process for the vacant
Fiscal Policy Analyst position.
Staff Vacancies Annual Review
The Office initiated our Annual
Policies and Procedures Review.
During this process, our office
reviews and updates our Policies
and Procedures Manual.
Whistleblower
Hotline
The Office received a number of
whistleblower allegations.
Peer Support
Jordan Sweeney hosted a Diversity
Dashboard Workshop for the Office
of Diversity & Equity.
Diversity
Dashboards
Our Office and the Office of Public
Safety Accountability attended a
tour of the Center for Sacramento
History and reviewed historical
government records from the City
of Sacramento and Sacramento
County.
Our three-year peer review cycle
concluded at the end of this
reporting period. As part of this
process, our Office will undergo a
peer review to provide assurance
that we are adhering to Generally
Accepted Government Auditing
Standards (GAGAS) and that our
quality control system is effectively
designed to uphold those
standards. This review helps
ensure accountability and
compliance within local
government audit organizations.
Peer Review Period
FY 2024/25 Work Plan Assignments In-Progress
Audit of Fire Department Emergency Medical Services
Although this audit is not on hold, progress during this reporting period has been slower than anticipated due to departmental resource constraints. The audit is currently in the Report Writing phase, and additional analysis is being conducted to incorporate data from the most recent fiscal year.
Audit of the City's Ethics Commission
The audit is currently in the final stages of the Reporting Writing phase of the project.
A draft was produced and is in the process of being circulated in order to obtain and report the views of management concerning the findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
Department of Utilities' Water and Wastewater Funds Review Our office engaged a consultant to conduct a review of the Department of Utilities Water and Wastewater Funds. During the last quarter, the consultant submitted further drafts of the analysis and report to the City. The City reviewed the drafts and held multiple meetings, including the Exit Conference, with the consultant to discuss the City’s feedback. The consultant provided the final draft of the report to the City in December 2024.
The following highlights the status of the Fiscal Year 2024/25 Work Plan assignments in-progress.
The audit is currently in the final stages of the Reporting Writing phase of the project. A draft was produced and is in the process of being circulated in order to obtain and report the views of management concerning the findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
Audit of Sacramento Police Department Military Equipment Use Policies and Inventory Practices Sacramento Children’s Fund Fiscal Year 2023/24 Baseline Funding Verification
This project is in the Report Writing phase. During the last quarter, we completed the Preliminary Survey and Fieldwork phases. This included researching programs identified as potential youth programs, aiming to gain an understanding of their key characteristics. To confirm that a program qualified towards the Baseline Funding verification, we conducted an analysis to verify its compliance with the City Charter.
This analysis specifically involved identifying expenditures from fiscal year 2023/2024, net of program revenues, confirming their source as unrestricted revenue (i.e. General Fund or Measure U Special Revenue Fund), aligning the program with one or more Fund Goals, and verifying that expenditures did not fall into prohibited categories. This analysis required Citywide collaboration with departments to ensure accurate analysis and representation of programs. We also maintained ongoing consultations with the City Attorney’s Office throughout this process, seeking their guidance to enhance our comprehension of City Charter compliance and its practical application to the tasks at hand.
Fiscal Year 2023/24 Audited Cannabis Business Operations Tax Amount for the Sacramento Children's Fund During the last quarter, the external auditors conducted fieldwork testing to determine the audited amount of Cannabis Business Operations Tax. The draft report was submitted to the City in December 2024.
FY 2024/25 Work Plan Assignments In-Progress (Continued) Audit of the City's Animal Care Services
Audit of the City's Homeless Response - Motel Shelter Program This audit is a subset of our first homeless response audit project on Citywide and systemwide strategy and coordination. The audit is currently in the Fieldwork phase of the project. During this reporting period, the audit team has engaged in interviews with benchmark agencies. The audit team has also gained access to the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and is analyzing data related to past and current participants of the Motel Shelter Program.
Audit of the City's Complaint Investigation and Resolution Practices This audit has been placed on a temporary hold due to department resource constraints. The audit will be re-initiated when sufficient department resources are available.
Audit of the City's Homeless Response - Part 1
Upon acquiring approval for our work plan on our two proposed homeless response audit projects, we initiated and completed the Risk Assessment phase for the first audit project, which addresses Citywide and systemwide strategy and coordination.
We also used the results of our risk assessment to complete our fieldwork audit plan for this first audit project, which is currently in the Fieldwork phase of the project. www.cityofsacramento.gov/auditor
Audit of the Department of Utilities' Energy Use
This audit is currently in the Risk Assessment phase of the project. During the last quarter, we completed the Preliminary Survey phase of the project, which includes substantial work researching and learning about the various programs. This included meetings with key stakeholders in the Department of Utilities and the Department of Public Works to understand potential areas of risk and opportunities for improvement. We compiled our research into an internal memorandum.
This audit has been placed on a temporary hold due to department resource constraints. The audit is currently in the Fieldwork phase, with a small number of sub- objectives left to complete. We anticipate resuming this audit in early 2025.
Audit of the Transient Occupancy Tax
Our office engaged a consultant to conduct a performance audit of the Animal Care Services Division. The audit is currently in the final stages of the Reporting Writing phase of the project. The consultant is nearing completion of a draft for circulation in order to obtain and report the views of management concerning the findings, conclusions, and recommendations.