City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2025-00688 3/18/2025 Consent Item 11.
City Auditor's Activity Report for the 2nd Quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024/2025 File ID: 2025-00688
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Pass a Motion approving the City Auditor’s Activity Report for the 2nd Quarter of FY2024/25.
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: On February 25, 2025, the Budget and Audit Committee passed a motion to accept the City Auditor’s Activity Report for the 2nd Quarter of FY2024/25 and to forward to
File ID: 2025-00688 3/18/2025 Consent Item 11.
the City Council for approval.
Rationale for Recommendation: This staff report provides the City Council 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
Q U A R T E R L Y
A C T I V I T Y
R E P O R T
Second Quarter of Fiscal Y ear 2024/25
Report Issued During the Second Quarter of Fiscal Y ear 2024/25 T h e O f f i c e o f t h e C i t y A u d i t o r i s s u e d t h e Q u a r t e r l y A c t i v i t y R e p o r t f o r t h e p e r i o d o f J u l y 2 0 2 4 t h r o u g h S e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 4 d u r i n g t h e s e c o n d q u a r t e r o f f i s c a l y e a r 2 0 2 4 / 2 5 .
D u r i n g t h i s r e p o r t i n g p e r i o d , a l l O f f i c e s t a f f t e m p o r a r i l y s h i f t e d t h e i r f o c u s f r o m o n g o i n g a u d i t s t o c o m p l e t e t h e C h a r t e r - m a n d a t e d S a c r a m e n t o C h i l d r e n ' s F u n d F i s c a l Y e a r 2 0 2 3 / 2 4 B a s e l i n e F u n d i n g V e r i f i c a t i o n . T h i s c r i t i c a l p r o j e c t , r e q u i r e d t o b e c o m p l e t e d b y J a n u a r y 1 5 t h o f e a c h y e a r , d e m a n d s s i g n i f i c a n t e f f o r t w i t h i n a s h o r t t i m e f r a m e . G i v e n t h e w o r k l o a d a n d t i g h t d e a d l i n e , t h e e n t i r e O f f i c e c o l l a b o r a t e d t o e n s u r e i t s t i m e l y a n d a c c u r a t e c o m p l e t i o n .
A d d i t i o n a l l y , w e w o u l d l i k e t o t h a n k t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f Y o u t h , P a r k s , a n d C o m m u n i t y E n r i c h m e n t , t h e F i r e D e p a r t m e n t , t h e P o l i c e D e p a r t m e n t , t h e C i t y A t t o r n e y ' s O f f i c e , a n d a l l o t h e r C i t y d e p a r t m e n t s f o r t h e i r c o o p e r a t i o n a n d c o l l a b o r a t i o n d u r i n g t h i s p r o j e c t .
Introduction
T h e Q u a r t e r l y A c t i v i t y R e p o r t h i g h l i g h t s t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e O f f i c e o f t h e C i t y A u d i t o r f o r t h e s e c o n d q u a r t e r o f f i s c a l y e a r ( F Y ) 2 0 2 4 / 2 5 . T h i s r e p o r t a l s o i d e n t i f i e s t h e s t a t u s o f t h e C i t y A u d i t o r ' s F i s c a l Y e a r 2 0 2 4 / 2 5 W o r k P l a n p r o j e c t s .
D E I E f f o r t s
T h e O ffi c e ' s R a c i a l a n d G e n d e r
E q u i t y A c t i o n P l a n ( R G E A P ) T e a m c o m p l e t e d o u r R G E A P A n n u a l
P r o g r e s s R e p o r t a n d a t t e n d e d t h e E q u i t y T e a m s M i d - Y e a r U p d a t e & P e e r L e a r n i n g m e e t i n g h o s t e d b y t h e O ffi c e o f D i v e r s i t y & E q u i t y .
Other Highlights
T h e f o l l o w i n g h i g h l i g h t s o t h e r a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e O f f i c e o f t h e C i t y A u d i t o r f o r t h i s r e p o r t i n g p e r i o d .
A ft e r a c o m p e t i t i v e r e c r u i t m e n t , F ar i s h t a A h r ar y w a s p r o m o t e d t o
C i t y A u d i t o r b y t h e C i t y C o u n c i l .
T h e O ffi c e a l s o r e c r u i t e d T r y p h e n a D an f o r d i n o u r F e l l o w s h i p P r o g r a m .
T h e O ffi c e a l s o c o n t i n u e d t h e
r e c r u i t m e n t p r o c e s s fo r t h e v a c a n t F i s c a l P o l i c y A n a l y s t p o s i t i o n .
S t a f f V a c a n c i e s An n u a l R e v i e w
T h e O ffi c e i n i t i a t e d o u r A n n u al
P o l i c i e s an d P r o c e du r e s R e v i e w .
D u r i n g t h i s p r o c e s s , o u r o ffi c e r e v i e w s a n d u p d a t e s o u r P ol i c i e s a n d P r oc e d u r e s M a n u a l .
W h i s t l e b l o w e r
H o t l i n e
T h e O ffi c e r e c e i v e d a n u m b e r o f
w h i s t l e b l o w e r a l l e g a t i o n s .
P e e r S u p p o r t
J o r dan S w e e n e y h o s t e d a D i v e r s i t y D a s h b o a r d W o r k s h o p fo r t h e O ffi c e o f D i v e r s i t y & E q u i t y .
D i v e r s i t y
D a s h b o a r d s
O u r O ffi c e a n d t h e O ffi c e o f P u b l i c S a fet y A c c o u n t a b i l i t y a t t e n d e d a t o u r o f t h e C e n t e r fo r S a c r a m e n t o H i s t o r y a n d r e v i e w e d h i s t o r i c a l g o v e r n m e n t r e c o r d s fr o m t h e C i t y o f S a c r a m e n t o a n d S a c r a m e n t o
C o u n t y .
O u r t h r e e - y e a r p e e r r e v i e w c y c l e c o n c l u d e d a t t h e e n d o f t h i s
r e p o r t i n g p e r i o d . A s p a r t o f t h i s p r o c e s s , o u r O ffi c e w i l l u n d e r g o a p e e r r e v i e w t o p r o v i d e a s s u r a n c e t h a t w e a r e a d h e r i n g t o G e n e r a l l y A c c e p t e d G o v e r n m e n t A u d i t i n g
S t a n d a r d s ( G A G A S ) a n d t h a t o u r q u a l i t y c o n t r o l s y s t e m i s e ffec t i v e l y d e s i g n e d t o u p h o l d t h o s e
s t a n d a r d s . T h i s r e v i e w h e l p s
e n s u r e a c c o u n t a b i l i t y a n d
c o m p l i a n c e w i t h i n l o c a l
g o v e r n m e n t a u d i t o r g a n i z a t i o n s .
P e e r R e v i e w P e r i o d
FY 2024/25 W ork Plan Assignments In-Progress
A u d i t o f F i r e D e p a r t m e n t E m e r g e n c y M e d i c a l S er v i c es A l t h o u g h t h i s a u d i t i s n o t o n h o l d , p r o g r e s s d u r i n g t h i s r e p o r t i n g p e r i o d h a s b e e n s l o w e r t h a n a n t i c i p a t e d d u e t o d e p a r t m e n t a l r e s o u r c e c o n s t r a i n t s . T h e a u d i t i s c u r r e n t l y i n t h e R e p o r t W r i t i n g p h a s e , a n d a d d i t i o n a l a n a l y s i s i s b e i n g c o n d u c t e d t o i n c o r p o r a t e d a t a f r o m t h e m o s t r e c e n t f i s c a l y e a r .
A u d i t o f t h e C i t y ' s E t h i c s C o m m i s s i o n T h e a u d i t i s c u r r e n t l y i n t h e f i n a l s t a g e s o f t h e R e p o r t i n g W r i t i n g p h a s e o f t h e p r o j e c t .
A d r a f t w a s p r o d u c e d a n d i s i n t h e p r o c e s s o f b e i n g c i r c u l a t e d i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n a n d r e p o r t t h e v i e w s o f m a n a g e m e n t c o n c e r n i n g t h e f i n d i n g s , c o n c l u s i o n s , a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s .
D e p a r t m e n t o f U t i l i t i e s ' W a t e r a n d W a s t e w a t er F u n d s R e v i e w O u r o f f i c e e n g a g e d a c o n s u l t a n t t o c o n d u c t a r e v i e w o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f U t i l i t i e s W a t e r a n d W a s t e w a t e r F u n d s . D u r i n g t h e l a s t q u a r t e r , t h e c o n s u l t a n t s u b m i t t e d f u r t h e r d r a f t s o f t h e a n a l y s i s a n d r e p o r t t o t h e C i t y . T h e C i t y r e v i e w e d t h e d r a f t s a n d h e l d m u l t i p l e m e e t i n g s , i n c l u d i n g t h e E x i t C o n f e r e n c e , w i t h t h e c o n s u l t a n t t o d i s c u s s t h e C i t y ’ s f e e d b a c k . T h e c o n s u l t a n t p r o v i d e d t h e f i n a l d r a f t o f t h e r e p o r t t o t h e C i t y i n D e c e m b e r 2 0 2 4 .
T h e f o l l o w i n g h i g h l i g h t s t h e s t a t u s o f t h e F i s c a l Y e a r 2 0 2 4 / 2 5 W o r k P l a n a s s i g n m e n t s i n - p r o g r e s s .
T h e a u d i t i s c u r r e n t l y i n t h e f i n a l s t a g e s o f t h e R e p o r t i n g W r i t i n g p h a s e o f t h e p r o j e c t . A d r a f t w a s p r o d u c e d a n d i s i n t h e p r o c e s s o f b e i n g c i r c u l a t e d i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n a n d r e p o r t t h e v i e w s o f m a n a g e m e n t c o n c e r n i n g t h e f i n d i n g s , c o n c l u s i o n s , a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s .
A u d i t o f S a c r a m e n t o P o l i c e D e p a r t m e n t M i l i t a r y E q u i p m e n t U s e P o l i c i e s a n d I n v e n t o r y P r a c t i c es S a c r a m e n t o C h i l d r e n ’ s F u n d F i s c a l Y e a r 2 0 2 3 / 2 4 B a s e l i n e F u n d i n g V e r i f i c a t i o n
T h i s p r o j e c t i s i n t h e R e p o r t W r i t i n g p h a s e . D u r i n g t h e l a s t q u a r t e r , w e c o m p l e t e d t h e P r e l i m i n a r y S u r v e y a n d F i e l d w o r k p h a s e s . T h i s i n c l u d e d r e s e a r c h i n g p r o g r a m s i d e n t i f i e d a s p o t e n t i a l y o u t h p r o g r a m s , a i m i n g t o g a i n a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e i r k e y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . T o c o n f i r m t h a t a p r o g r a m q u a l i f i e d t o w a r d s t h e B a s e l i n e F u n d i n g v e r i f i c a t i o n , w e c o n d u c t e d a n a n a l y s i s t o v e r i f y i t s c o m p l i a n c e w i t h t h e C i t y C h a r t e r .
T h i s a n a l y s i s s p e c i f i c a l l y i n v o l v e d i d e n t i f y i n g e x p e n d i t u r e s f r o m f i s c a l y e a r 2 0 2 3 / 2 0 2 4 , n e t o f p r o g r a m r e v e n u e s , c o n f i r m i n g t h e i r s o u r c e a s u n r e s t r i c t e d r e v e n u e ( i . e . G e n e r a l F u n d o r M e a s u r e U S p e c i a l R e v e n u e F u n d ) , a l i g n i n g t h e p r o g r a m w i t h o n e o r m o r e F u n d G o a l s , a n d v e r i f y i n g t h a t e x p e n d i t u r e s d i d n o t f a l l i n t o p r o h i b i t e d c a t e g o r i e s . T h i s a n a l y s i s r e q u i r e d C i t y w i d e c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h d e p a r t m e n t s t o e n s u r e a c c u r a t e a n a l y s i s a n d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f p r o g r a m s . W e a l s o m a i n t a i n e d o n g o i n g c o n s u l t a t i o n s w i t h t h e C i t y A t t o r n e y ’ s O f f i c e t h r o u g h o u t t h i s p r o c e s s , s e e k i n g t h e i r g u i d a n c e t o e n h a n c e o u r c o m p r e h e n s i o n o f C i t y C h a r t e r c o m p l i a n c e a n d i t s p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n t o t h e t a s k s a t h a n d .
F i s c a l Y e a r 2 0 2 3 / 2 4 A u d i t e d C a n n a b i s B u s i n es s O p er a t i o n s T a x A m o u n t f o r t h e S a c r a m e n t o C h i l d r e n ' s F u n d D u r i n g t h e l a s t q u a r t e r , t h e e x t e r n a l a u d i t o r s c o n d u c t e d f i e l d w o r k t e s t i n g t o d e t e r m i n e t h e a u d i t e d a m o u n t o f C a n n a b i s B u s i n e s s O p e r a t i o n s T a x . T h e d r a f t r e p o r t w a s s u b m i t t e d t o t h e C i t y i n D e c e m b e r 2 0 2 4 .
FY 2024/25 W ork Plan Assignments In-Progress (Continued) A u d i t o f t h e C i t y ' s A n i m a l C a r e S er v i c es A u d i t o f t h e C i t y ' s H o m e l e s s R e s p o n s e - M o t e l S h e l t er P r o g r a m T h i s a u d i t i s a s u b s e t o f o u r f i r s t h o m e l e s s r e s p o n s e a u d i t p r o j e c t o n C i t y w i d e a n d s y s t e m w i d e s t r a t e g y a n d c o o r d i n a t i o n . T h e a u d i t i s c u r r e n t l y i n t h e F i e l d w o r k p h a s e o f t h e p r o j e c t . D u r i n g t h i s r e p o r t i n g p e r i o d , t h e a u d i t t e a m h a s e n g a g e d i n i n t e r v i e w s w i t h b e n c h m a r k a g e n c i e s . T h e a u d i t t e a m h a s a l s o g a i n e d a c c e s s t o t h e H o m e l e s s M a n a g e m e n t I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m ( H M I S ) a n d i s a n a l y z i n g d a t a r e l a t e d t o p a s t a n d c u r r e n t p a r t i c i p a n t s o f t h e M o t e l S h e l t e r P r o g r a m .
A u d i t o f t h e C i t y ' s C o m p l a i n t I n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d R es o l u t i o n P r a c t i c e s
T h i s a u d i t h a s b e e n p l a c e d o n a t e m p o r a r y h o l d d u e t o d e p a r t m e n t r e s o u r c e c o n s t r a i n t s . T h e a u d i t w i l l b e r e - i n i t i a t e d w h e n s u f f i c i e n t d e p a r t m e n t r e s o u r c e s a r e a v a i l a b l e .
A u d i t o f t h e C i t y ' s H o m e l e s s R e s p o n s e - P a r t 1 U p o n a c q u i r i n g a p p r o v a l f o r o u r w o r k p l a n o n o u r t w o p r o p o s e d h o m e l e s s r e s p o n s e a u d i t p r o j e c t s , w e i n i t i a t e d a n d c o m p l e t e d t h e R i s k A s s e s s m e n t p h a s e f o r t h e f i r s t a u d i t p r o j e c t , w h i c h a d d r e s s e s C i t y w i d e a n d s y s t e m w i d e s t r a t e g y a n d c o o r d i n a t i o n .
W e a l s o u s e d t h e r e s u l t s o f o u r r i s k a s s e s s m e n t t o c o m p l e t e o u r f i e l d w o r k a u d i t p l a n f o r t h i s f i r s t a u d i t p r o j e c t , w h i c h i s c u r r e n t l y i n t h e F i e l d w o r k p h a s e o f t h e p r o j e c t . w w w . c i t y o f s a c r a m e n t o . g o v / a u d i t o r A u d i t o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f U t i l i t i es ' E n er g y U s e T h i s a u d i t i s c u r r e n t l y i n t h e R i s k A s s e s s m e n t p h a s e o f t h e p r o j e c t . D u r i n g t h e l a s t q u a r t e r , w e c o m p l e t e d t h e P r e l i m i n a r y S u r v e y p h a s e o f t h e p r o j e c t , w h i c h i n c l u d e s s u b s t a n t i a l w o r k r e s e a r c h i n g a n d l e a r n i n g a b o u t t h e v a r i o u s p r o g r a m s . T h i s i n c l u d e d m e e t i n g s w i t h k e y s t a k e h o l d e r s i n t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f U t i l i t i e s a n d t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f P u b l i c W o r k s t o u n d e r s t a n d p o t e n t i a l a r e a s o f r i s k a n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r i m p r o v e m e n t .
W e c o m p i l e d o u r r e s e a r c h i n t o a n i n t e r n a l m e m o r a n d u m .
T h i s a u d i t h a s b e e n p l a c e d o n a t e m p o r a r y h o l d d u e t o d e p a r t m e n t r e s o u r c e c o n s t r a i n t s . T h e a u d i t i s c u r r e n t l y i n t h e F i e l d w o r k p h a s e , w i t h a s m a l l n u m b e r o f s u b - o b j e c t i v e s l e f t t o c o m p l e t e . W e a n t i c i p a t e r e s u m i n g t h i s a u d i t i n e a r l y 2 0 2 5 .
A u d i t o f t h e T r a n s i e n t O c c u p a n c y T a x O u r o f f i c e e n g a g e d a c o n s u l t a n t t o c o n d u c t a p e r f o r m a n c e a u d i t o f t h e A n i m a l C a r e S e r v i c e s D i v i s i o n . T h e a u d i t i s c u r r e n t l y i n t h e f i n a l s t a g e s o f t h e R e p o r t i n g W r i t i n g p h a s e o f t h e p r o j e c t . T h e c o n s u l t a n t i s n e a r i n g c o m p l e t i o n o f a d r a f t f o r c i r c u l a t i o n i n o r d e r t o o b t a i n a n d r e p o r t t h e v i e w s o f m a n a g e m e n t c o n c e r n i n g t h e f i n d i n g s , c o n c l u s i o n s , a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s .