Office of the City Auditor
Report to the City Council
City of San José
STATUS OF OPEN AUDIT
RECOMMENDATIONS AS
OF DECEMBER 31, 2024
March 2025
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Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 2 Office of the City Auditor
Joe Rois, City Auditor
March 14, 2025
Honorable Mayor and City Council
City of San José
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San José, CA 95113
STATUS OF OPEN AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2024
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend the City Council accept the Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
The City Auditor’s Office reviews open audit
recommendations every six months. Since the last
update, City departments implemented or closed 41
recommendations from past performance audits
covering various services and programs.
Over the past decade, the Administration has
implemented 80 percent of all recommendations from
the Auditor’s Office (target: 80 percent). Currently, 145 recommendations remain open with 102 partly
implemented.
Attached are:
• Appendix A: A summary table of all
recommendations by report over the past ten years.
• Appendix B: The status of the 186 audit
recommendations from our review as of December
31, 2024.
1 1 This report excludes six recommendations from the December 2024 Audit of Access and Use of Neighborhood Blight Reduction Programs, presented to Council in January 2025. They will be included in future status reports. 186 recommendations in this report
56 were issued in new reports
41 implemented / closed
145 partly or not implemented
80% of audit recommendations made
over the last 10 years have been
implemented or closed
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 3 Departments Implemented or Closed 41 Recommendations in the Last Six Months
Over the past six months, City departments have implemented or closed 41 recommendations.2 Examples include:
• Housing Department: Presented the final Rent Stabilization Program Strategic Plan to the City Council in September 2024. (Audit of The Apartment Rent Ordinance, 2016)
• Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS): Developed reporting and monitoring requirements for the Neighborhood Center Partner Program and presented actual service hours by agency to the Neighborhood Services & Education Council Committee in December 2024. (Audit of Community Center Reuse (now the Neighborhood Center Partner Program), 2018)
• Police Department: The Administration has begun collecting 9-1-1 data related to individuals with disabilities or homeless residents. It continues to work with the County on alternative responses for certain calls. This was in response to City Council direction and aligns with an audit recommendation to begin tracking calls that may benefit from an alternative response such as calls involving unhoused individuals or individuals with disabilities. (Audit of Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload, 2021)
• Code Enforcement: To ensure consistent case reviews, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) implemented a periodic case review policy and developed reporting tools to review and manage inspector workloads.
Code Enforcement is also nearly up to date on outstanding inspector performance evaluations. (Audit of Code Enforcement Management Controls, 2021)
• Children and Youth Services: The Administration created a centralized portfolio to track programs and services, cross-referenced with the Bill of Rights for Children and Youth. Metrics from the Children and Youth Services Master Plan are now presented annually to the City Council. (Audit of Bill of Rights for Children and Youth, 2022)
Over the last decade, the City Auditor’s Office has made 678 recommendations to improve City services, 80 percent of which have been implemented or closed. (See Appendix A for a list of reports issued in the last ten years and the status of their recommendations.)
2 The City Auditor’s Office recommends closing a recommendation when a department has not completed all elements of a recommendation, but the Office agrees that the department has made sufficient progress to address the underlying issues identified in the audit and remaining work may only have marginal additional benefits. We may also recommend closing a recommendation if it does not reflect the current operating environment because of changes to the service delivery model.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 4 Twelve Priority Recommendations
In June 2018, the City Council directed the Administration, in coordination with the City Auditor’s Office, to identify and prioritize 12 open audit recommendations while continuing to make progress on all others. The current priority audit recommendations, categorized by intended benefit and listed with target dates, are:
Potential Budgetary Savings / Revenue Generation
Partly
Implemented
Improve overtime controls in the Police Department (Audit of Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload, #2101-06) Target date: December 2025 (delayed from: June 2022).
Status: The Police Department has taken steps to improve overtime controls including limiting discretionary overtime and requiring Captains to report quarterly on overtime usage. Most recently, it has been working with the Information Technology Department (ITD) to pilot a new timecard system for more accurate and efficient time tracking. However, because of ongoing technical issues, the pilot has not yet begun.
Partly
Implemented
Add Community Service Officers (CSO) to address lower priority Police calls (Audit of Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload, #2101- 09) Target date: June 2025 (delayed from June 2023).
Status: As part of the FY 2024-25 budget process, the Police Department reduced CSO supervisory positions to deploy all CSOs in the field. It is also working with a consultant on a redistricting and staffing deployment analysis that may impact future CSO operations.
Implemented
Require departments to liquidate old and unnecessary encumbrances (Audit of Encumbrances, #2404-01) – New priority added.
Status: The Finance Department (Finance) worked with departments to review and liquidate unnecessary outstanding encumbrances in two phases. Finance estimates total liquidations at approximately $32.6 million, pending final verification, with about $9.4 million attributed to the General Fund.
Operational Efficiency
Partly
Implemented
Eliminate the Construction & Demolition Diversion Deposit (Audit of Development Services, #1408-18) Target Date: December 2025 (delayed from March 2017).
Status: The Environmental Services Department (ESD) is considering changes to the program to increase awareness of the refundable deposit and potentially eliminate small dollar projects from the deposit requirements.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 5 Implemented
Implement a database platform to better manage the City’s real estate assets (Audit of Real Estate Services, #2103-02) – New priority added.
Status: Real Estate worked with a vendor to provide a real estate asset and lease management software. This went live in early 2025 and is meant to give Real Estate the foundation to compile a comprehensive list of the City’s real estate assets, including department ownership and uses.
Implemented
Adopt City policies and procedures by Retirement Services (Audit of Retirement Services, #2305-01).
Status: The Retirement Boards have adopted City policies relating to information systems and technology, ethical conduct, and fair employment, among others. The Office of Retirement Services (ORS) also developed a procurement policy for professional services that was reviewed by Finance. ORS incorporated Finance’s feedback and the Boards adopted the policy in January 2025. Other goods and services not covered by this policy are expected to follow the City’s standard processes.
Improved Service Delivery
Implemented
Procure a software solution and provide sufficient supervisory staff to support wage compliance review (Audit of the Office of Equality Assurance, #1702-01).
Status: Public Works implemented a new software solution to better administer the prevailing and living wage compliance programs. It has also developed an internal tracking system and added staff to provide sufficient supervisory resources.
Not
Implemented
Increase language translations of vital documents and include translation options in the SJPermits.org website. (Audit of Residential Building Permits, #2307-15) Target date: December 2025 (delayed from December 2024).
Status: PBCE reports it is developing a process to prioritize vital documents for translation and is working with ITD to add translation options for SJPermits.org.
Not
Implemented
Update San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) manual to align with Association of Shelter Veterinarians Guidelines (Audit of Animal Care and Services, #2406-11) – New priority added – Target date: December 2025.
Status: ACS has assigned shelter veterinarians to compare sections of the Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines with the ACS Manual.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 6 Citywide Security / Risk Mitigation
Partly
Implemented
Develop Citywide administrative guidelines or procedures for managing federal grants (Audit of Citywide Grant Management, #2203-01) Target date: June 2025 (delayed from June 2023).
Status: A draft City Grant Acquisition, Management, and Compliance Policy has been developed and is currently under review.
Partly
Implemented
Update the Emergency Operations Plan to ensure segregation of duties and formalize procurement tools (Audit of COVID-19 Food Distribution Expenditures, #2206-03) – New priority added – Target date: June 2025 (delayed from June 2023).
Status: In May 2024, the Office of Emergency Management presented an updated Emergency Operations Plan for Council approval that reassigned purchasing and procurement staff to different divisions.
Finance is working with a consultant to create a cost recovery document that will incorporate procurement tools developed during the COVID-19 emergency.
Partly
Implemented
Improve the accuracy and usefulness of reporting mechanisms for encumbrances (Audit of Encumbrances, #2404-05) – New priority added – Target date: June 2025.
Status: Finance and ITD are working with departments to resolve reporting discrepancies and close old purchase orders. This will improve current reporting tools and help departments monitor encumbrances more effectively.
More detail about each of the priority recommendations is shown in our online dashboard and in Appendix B of this report.
Total of
145 Recommendations Are Still Pending
Of the 145 recommendations that are still pending, 102 (70 percent) are partly implemented and 43 (30 percent) are not implemented.
Public Works (PW) has the largest number of open audit recommendations – the majority of which were from the December 2024 Audit of Animal Care and Services.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 7 When implemented, many recommendations will improve operational efficiency of City departments. Others will improve transparency and accountability, improve service delivery, help to secure City assets, or ensure equity in service delivery.
$7.6 Million in Potential Monetary Benefits from 13 Open Recommendations
Implementing recommendations can lead to cost savings, improved efficiency, additional revenue, or better protection of City assets by reducing risk. There are $7.6 million in potential benefits in open audit recommendations. However, since these amounts were estimated during the audit, actual benefits may be higher or lower over time.
Examples include:
• Improving overtime management and reassessing Community Service Officers deployment in the Police Department (estimated $1.9 million from multiple recommendations at the time of a 2021 audit).
21 7 9
1 2 3
28 20
4 11 12 6 3 6 3 2 2 2 2 10
10 20
30 40
50 60
Open Recommendations
Partly Implemented
Not Implemented
4 4
12 8
15 9
14 22
28 29
Equity
Securing City Assets
Improved Service Delivery
Transparency and Accountability
Operational Efficiency
Open Audit Recommendations by Intended
Outcome
Not Implemented Partly Implemented
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 8 • Recovering 100 percent of the cost of the Police Department’s secondary employment program (estimated $1.2 million based on the most recent analysis by the Department).
• Creating a roster of massage businesses to identify unpermitted businesses and notifying businesses of license expirations (estimated $500,000 in initial permit application fees, and $280,000 in ongoing annual permit fees at the time of the audit in 2021).
•
Including all costs in future Animal Care and Services contracts with neighboring jurisdictions and increasing licensing rates (estimated at $460,000 from two recommendations at the time of the 2024 Animal Care and Services audit).
These and other recommendations that could result in potential savings are shown in more detail in Appendix B and in our online dashboard.
CONCLUSION
Information about all open recommendations is available online:
• The Dashboard of the Status of Open Audit Recommendations contains information about the status of all pending recommendations as of December 31, 2024 – sortable by priority, department, year published, target date, and type/benefit.
• The Dashboard of All Recommendations 2010 to Present contains all recommendations (both open and closed) made since 2010 – sortable by report, department, year published, and status. A search feature allows users to search by keyword, status, and report number.
Both dashboards are online at:
www.sanjoseca.gov/your-g
overnment/appointees/city-auditor/audit-
recommendations
The City Auditor’s Office would like to thank the City Manager’s Office and all the departments for their efforts to implement audit recommendations and for their assistance in compiling this report.
Respectfully submitted,
Joe Rois
City Auditor
Audit staff: Brittney Harvey, Michelle Mallari, Hiwad Haider, Dilnoza Khudoyberganova, Gitanjali Mandrekar, Ebelechukwu Obi, Michael O’Connell Jr., Alison Pauly, Adrian Perez, and Maria Valle Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 9 Appendix A: Summary Listing of Recommendations by Report (January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2024)
Appendix B: Detailed Listing of the Status of Open Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 10 Appendix A:
SUMMARY LISTING RECOMMENDATIONS BY REPORT
(JANUARY 1, 2015 – DECEMBER 31, 2024)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 11 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #15-01 Performance Measures Review:
Documenting Methodologies Can
Ensure More Consistent and Accurate
Re
porting
PW / HSG
Enhance the Department of Public
Works and Housing Department
performance measure calculations.
⬛⬛ 2
#15-02 Street Pavement Maintenance:
Road Condition Is Deteriorating Due to
Insufficient Funding
DOT Improve the condition of City streets
and address the maintenance backlog..
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
#15-03 Fund Balance and Reserves: San
José Should Aim to Have Higher Safety
Net Reserves Within the General Fund
FIN
Increase safety net reserves in the
General Fund and develop
comprehensive reserve policies.
⬛⬛ 2
#15-04 Employee Hiring: The City
Should Streamline Hiring and Develop a
Workforce Plan to Fill Vacancies
HR
Streamline the hiring process and
develop a plan to fill the large number of
vacant positions Citywide.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 14
#15-05 PRNS Fee Activity Program:
The Department Can Better Reflect the
City’s Goals for Tracking and
Recovering Costs, Setting Fees, and
Promoting Affordable Access
PRNS
Improve cost recovery for recreational
classes offered through the City while
expanding access for low-income
residents.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 5 ⬛ 1
#15-06 Curbside Recycling: The City
Can Enhance Its Single-Family
Residential Recycling Program to
Im
prove Waste Diversion
ESD Enhance the City's single-family
residential recycling program.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 6
#15-07 Police Disability Retirement
Scenarios PD No recommendations.
#15-08 Golf Courses: Loss of
Customers and Revenues Requires A
New Strategy
PRNS Improve the utilization and finances of
the City's golf courses.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 5
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 12 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #15-09 Police Hiring: Additional Efforts
to Recruit Qualified Candidates
Urgently Needed to Fill Vacancies
PD
Bolster recruiting efforts and increase
the efficiency of recruiting to fill the
growing vacancies in the Police
De
partment.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 14
#15-10 Cities Association of Santa
Clara County Expenditure Review,
Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2014 &
2015
OTHER No recommendations.
#15-11 Team San Jose's Performance
2014-15 OEDCA
Clarify the City and Team San Jose's
respective roles in managing fees
charged to fund facility improvements.
⬛ 1
#15-12 Personnel Investigation
Structure: Augmenting Policies and
Training Can Improve the Process
CMO Improve the structure of personnel
investigations.
⬛⬛ 2
#15-13 Annual Report on City Services
FY 2014-15 CITY No recommendations.
#16-01 Measuring San José's Financial
Condition CITY No recommendations.
#16-02 Street Sweeping: Significant
Investment and Re-Tooling Are Needed
to Achieve Cleaner Streets
DOT Improve the effectiveness of the City's
street sweeping program.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 14
#16-03 The City’s Use and
Coordination of Volunteers: Volunteer
Programs Provide Significant Benefits to
the Residents of San José
CMO
Provide tools for City staff to better
manage volunteers and allow for better
coordination across volunteer
programs.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 8
#16-04 Technology Deployments:
Additional Resources Needed to
Shorten Deployment Timelines
ITD
Improve and establish additional
resources for deploying new technology
across the City organization.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 9
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 13 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #16-05 South Bay Water Recycling:
Better Information and Renegotiation of
Contractual Obligations Will Increase
Transparency and Aid Program Success
ESD
Provide more transparency over the
accounting of South Bay Water
Recycling revenues and expenses and
help sustain revenues sufficient to cover
costs.
⬛⬛⬛ 3 ⬛ 1
#16-06 Police Response to Animal
Calls for Service PD No recommendations.
#16-07 Office of the City Clerk:
Streamlining Processes and Clarifying
Roles Can Better Ensure Compliance
with Statutory Responsibilities
CLERK
Maximize organizational efficiency and
consistency, as well as transparency and
public accountability, by streamlining
processes and clarifying roles.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 19
⬛ 1
#16-08 Police Overtime: The San José
Police Department Relies on Overtime
to Patrol the City Due to
Unprecedented Vacancies
PD
Increase efficiency of staffing, improve
tracking of hours worked by Police
Department employees, and improve
the tools for supervisors to monitor
overtime worked.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 12
#16-09 Team San Jose’s Performance
2015-16 OEDCA No recommendations.
#16-10 The Apartment Rent
Ordinance: Additional Investment,
Improved Processes, and Strategic
Resource Deployment Needed to
Better Serve Tenants and Landlords
HSG Better deploy resources, improve
processes, and recover program costs.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 19
#16-11 Mobile Devices: Improvements
Needed to Ensure Efficient, Secure, and
Strategic Deployment
ITD
Ensure efficient, secure, and strategic
deployment of mobile devices across
the organization.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛ 16
#16-12 Annual Report on City Services
FY 2015-16 CITY No recommendations.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 14 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #17-01 Audit of Our City Forest DOT
Ensure consistency and accountability
with the City's grant agreements with
Our City Forest and improve the off-
site tree replacement program.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
#17-02 Office of Equality Assurance:
Increased Workload Warrants
Reevaluation of Resource Needs
PW
Reallocate staff and update procedures
considering the growing number of
OEA responsibilities.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 8
#17-03 Audit of Residential High-Rises:
Considerations for A City with A
Growing Number of Tall Buildings
PBCE
Consistently assure health and safety
standards are met, and ensure
transparency of development reviews
for high-rise development projects.
⬛⬛⬛ 3
#17-04 Open Government: The City
Has Made Progress in Meeting
the Goals of the Sunshine Reform Task
Force
CMO
Promote government transparency and
ensure compliance with the City's
Consolidated Open Government and
Ethics Provisions.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 9 ⬛⬛⬛ 3
#17-05 Audit of Environmental Services
Department Consulting Services:
Agreements Require Additional
Oversi
ght
ESD
Protect City resources by strengthening
controls and improve contract
monitoring.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 10
#17-06 Audit of Retirement Services:
Greater Transparency Needed in the
Budgeting Process, Interactions Among
Stakeholders, Investment Policies, and
Plan Administration
ORS
Increase transparency in the budgeting
process, interactions among
stakeholders, investment policies, and
plan administration.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 25
#17-07 Preliminary Review of San José
Clean Energy: The City Is Developing
Controls to Manage Risks
CED No recommendations.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 15 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #17-08 Audit of Employee Travel
Expenses FIN
Clarify portions of the existing City
travel policy to improve compliance and
strengthen controls over the gas card
program.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
#17-09 San José’s Tier 3 Defined
Contribution Plan: The City Should
Clarify How Contributions Are
Calculated
CMO Clarify how contributions to employee
accounts are calculated.
⬛ 1
#17-10 Team San Jose's Performance
2016-17 OEDCA No recommendations.
#17-11 Airport Financial Projections AIR No recommendations. #17-12 Annual Report on City Services
2016-17 CMO No recommendations.
#18-01 Pensionable Earnings: Tighter
Controls and More Transparency Can
Ensure Retirement Contributions
Continue to be Accurate
CMO
Improve controls and transparency to
ensure retirement contributions
continue to be accurate.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
#18-02 Audit of the San José Police
Activities League PRNS
Improve the City’s oversight and
management of the San José Police
Activities League.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 23
#18-03 Department of Public Works:
Enhancing Management of Capital
Projects
PW Enhance management of capital projects.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 8 ⬛⬛ 2
#18-04 Audit of Vehicle Abatement:
The City Could Improve Customer
Service for Vehicle Abatement Requests
DOT Improve customer service for vehicle
abatement requests.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 11 ⬛ 1
#18-05 Cities Association of Santa
Clara County Expenditure Review,
Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2017 &
2018
OTHER No recommendations.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 16 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #18-06 Community Center Reuse
(now the Neighborhood Center Partner
Program): Efficient Monitoring and
Better Data Can Help Determine the
Next Phase of Reuse
PRNS
Improve program monitoring and use of
facility- and provider-level data to better
assess services delivered to residents.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 19
#18-07 Audit of the City’s Homeless
Assistance Programs: More
Coordination and Better Monitoring
Can Help Improve the Effectiveness of
Pro
grams
HSG
Improve the City’s oversight and
management of its homeless assistance
programs.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 14
#18-08 Team San Jose Performance FY
2017-18 OEDCA Establish and formalize the target for
theater occupancy.
⬛ 1
#18-09 Annual Report on City Services
2017-18 ALL No recommendations.
#18-10 Audit of Towing Services:
Changes to Contract Terms and
Consolidated Oversight Could Improve
O
perations
PBCE / PD
Address towing contract violations,
standardize towing and storage fees,
update contract terms, and improve
oversi
ght.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛ 17
#19-01 Audit of 9-1-1 and 3-1-1:
Changes to Call Handling and Increased
Hiring Efforts Could Improve Call
Answerin
g Times
PD Improve emergency call answering
times.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛ 18
⬛ 1
#19-02 Employee Benefit Fund
Administration: Opportunities Exist to
Improve Controls
HR Improve administration of employee
benefit funds.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 8
#19-03 Development Noticing:
Ensuring Outreach Policies Meet
Community Expectations
PBCE
Update outreach policies to reflect
current conditions, and improve
mechanisms for reaching neighborhood
associations and limited-English speaking
populations.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4 ⬛⬛⬛ 3 ⬛ 1
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 17 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #19-04 The Mayor’s Gang Prevention
Task Force (now the San José Youth
Empowerment Alliance): Better
Coordination and Use of Data Can
Further the Task Force’s Strategic Goals
PRNS
Support and enhance the Youth
Empowerment Alliance's continuum of
care strategy.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 13 ⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
#19-05 Employee Reimbursements:
Strengthening and Streamlining the
Reimbursement Process
FIN Streamline and better monitor the
employee reimbursement process.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
#19-06 Form 700s: Despite High
Overall Filing Rates, the City Can
Improve Timeliness and Completeness
of Filin
gs
CLERK
Streamline processes and standardize
procedures to improve the timeliness
and completeness of Form 700 filings.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 8 ⬛ 1
#19-07 Procurement Cards:
Clarification on Policies and Additional
Oversight Can Improve the P-Card
Pro
gram
FIN
Improve program controls and
oversight, as well as monitoring of
agreements.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 9
#19-08 Street and Utility In-Lieu Fees:
Transparency and Coordination Can
Improve the Administration of Fee
Pro
grams
PW
Improve the calculation, collection, and
use of in-lieu fees for street and utility-
related public improvements.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 7 ⬛ 1
#19-09 Team San Jose Performance FY
2018-19 OEDCA No recommendations.
#19-10 Technology Deployments:
Processes Can Be Improved to Ensure
Long-term Success of the City’s
Technolo
gy Vision
ITD
Strengthen the City’s technology
deployments processes across the
organization.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 10
#19-11 Annual Report on City Services
2018-19 ALL No recommendations.
#20-01 Memo - Preliminary Review of
Controls to Document COVID-19
Recovery Costs
CMO No recommendations.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 18 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #20-02 Fleet Maintenance and
Operations: Public Works Can
Continue to Improve Fleet Operations
PW
Enhance fleet operations by utilizing
data to identify fleet replacements and
monitor operations.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 7 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 5 ⬛ 1
#20-03 Audit of Fire Development
Services: Staff Resources and Process
Efficiencies Will Help to Reduce Backlog
FIRE
Improve customer service and the
efficiency of the Fire development
services program.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 14
#20-04 Park Maintenance: Improved
Data Collection and Analysis Would
Enhance Park Maintenance Operations
PRNS
Improve park maintenance operations
by reassessing data collection protocols
and using targeted data to inform
resource decisions.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 13
#20-05 Development Partners’ Work-
in-Progress Reserves: Better Monitoring
Can Ensure Reserves Align with
Resource Needs
MULTIPLE
Improve workload and resource
planning through better tracking of
development work in progress.
⬛ 1 ⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
#20-06 Memo - Preliminary Review of
Documentation for Costs Included in
the July 2020 Coronavirus Relief Fund
Interim Report
CMO No recommendations.
#20-07 Memo - Cities Association of
Santa Clara County Expenditure
Review, Fiscal Years Ending June 30,
2019 & 2020
OTHER No recommendations.
#20-08 Team San Jose Performance FY
2019-20 OEDCA No recommendations.
#20-09 Memo - Preliminary Review of
the Allocation and Monitoring of
COVID-19 Related Housing Grants
CMO No recommendations.
#20-10 Annual Report on City Services
2019-20 ALL No recommendations.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 19 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #21-01 Police Staffing, Expenditures,
and Workload: Staffing Reductions Have
Impacted Response Times and Led to
High Overtime Costs
PD
Review and compare Police staffing,
spending, and calls for service over time,
and provide recommendations about
managing overtime and staffing to meet
Council and community priorities.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
#21-02 Advocate Referrals: Further
Improvements to Processes and Data
Sharing Can Help Connect More
Survivors to Services
PD
Connect more survivors to services by
making further improvements to
advocate referral processes and data
sharin
g.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 6
#21-03 Real Estate Services: Better
Tools and Coordination Can Improve
Asset Management and Service Delivery
OEDCA Improve oversight and coordination for
managing the City's real estate assets.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4 ⬛⬛ 2
#21-04 Code Enforcement
Management Controls: Improvements
to Oversight and Coordination Needed
PBCE
Improve oversight and management
controls over code enforcement
activities.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛ 16
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
#21-05 Municipal Water Billing and
Customer Service: The City Can Take
Steps to Enhance Customer Service
During an Unprecedented Time
ESD Enhance Municipal Water customer
service and support.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 11 ⬛⬛ 2
#21-06 Team San Jose Performance FY
2020-21 OEDCA Address an error in the incentive fee
paid to Team San Jose.
⬛ 1
#21-07 Annual Report on City Services
2020-21 ALL No recommendations.
#22-01 Information Technology:
Improved Governance Would
Strengthen the City’s Cybersecurity
ITD Improve controls around the City’s
information and technology assets.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 5
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 20 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #22-02 Environmental Review for New
Developments: Better Project
Management and Reviewing Resources
Can Improve the CEQA Process
PBCE
Improve the CEQA process through
better project management and
reviewing resources.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 5 ⬛⬛⬛ 3
#22-03 Citywide Grant Management:
Improved Coordination Can Increase
Federal Grant Opportunities and
Standardize Grant Administration
FIN
Improve Citywide grant management by
developing guidelines and training
around the different phases of grant
management.
⬛⬛ 2 ⬛ 1
#22-04 Take-Home Vehicles: Improved
Controls Can Better Ensure
Compliance With City Policies
PW
Improve the efficiency of the take-home
vehicle process and compliance with
City policy.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 5
#22-05 Bill of Rights for Children and
Youth: Incorporating the Bill of Rights
into Planning Can Enhance Services
CMO
Enhance the City’s service delivery and
promote continuous improvement of
programs for children and youth in San
José.
⬛⬛ 2
#22-06 COVID-19 Food Distribution
Expenditures: The City Should Address
Gaps in Emergency Documentation and
Procedures
FIN
Ensure the City collects documentation
to support federal procurement
compliance and contract service
delivery and update policies to improve
the City’s emergency preparedness.
⬛⬛⬛ 3 ⬛⬛ 2
#22-07 Team San Jose Performance FY
2021-22 OEDCA No recommendations.
#22-08 Tree Removals and
Replacements: The City Can Improve
Processes to Protect and Grow the
Communit
y Forest
PBCE /
DOT
Improve management of the community
forest program.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 21 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #22-09 Firearm Regulations: The City
Should Update Procedures Around Gun
Violence Restraining Orders and
Firearm Business Inspections
PD Enhance firearm regulatory processes
and policies.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 6 ⬛ 1
#22-10 Annual Report on City Services
2022-23 ALL No recommendations.
#23-01 San Jose Conservation Corps:
The Corps Provides Essential Services
to Residents, However The City Can
Better Monitor Performance and
Promote Workplace Safety
PRNS
Enhance performance monitoring and
promote workplace safety for Corps
members.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4 ⬛ 1
#23-02 Employee Travel Expenses:
Additional Training Can Enhance
Compliance With the City’s Travel
Polic
y
FIN Ensure compliance with the City’s
Employee Travel Policy.
⬛ 1
#23-03 Integrated Waste Management
Enforcement Program: Clarifying Goals
and Performance Expectations Would
Improve Enforcement Coverage
ESD
Improve the team’s performance by
having clear goals and success metrics
including performance expectations for
inspectors.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 6 ⬛ 1
#23-04 Housing Performance
Measures: The City Should Focus and
Align Measures to Support Decision-
Makin
g
HSG Streamline and improve current
performance measures.
⬛ 1 ⬛⬛ 2
#23-05 Retirement Services: Interim
Report on the Alignment of Controls
Between the City and the Office of
Retirement Services
ORS
Strengthen the internal controls around
administrative functions in the Office of
Retirement Services.
⬛ 1
#23-06 Team San Jose Performance FY
2022-23 OEDCA No recommendations.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 22 key: ◼ implemented ◼ partly implemented ◼ not implemented Audit Title Dept(s) We made recommendations to: Implemented / Closed Partly Implemented Not Implemented #23-07 Residential Building Permits:
Additional Resources and Further
Process Enhancements Can Reduce
Wait Times and Improve Service
Deliver
y
PBCE
Align PBCE resources to its building
permit workload, create standard
processes for permit intake and plan
review, and improve communication
with customers.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 9 ⬛⬛⬛ 3 ⬛⬛⬛ 3
#23-08 Annual Report on City Services
2022-23 ALL No recommendations.
#24-01 Non-Management Performance
Appraisals: The Administration Should
Improve and Clarify Appraisal Processes
HR
Improve the performance appraisal
process through better tracking and
clarification of processes.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 7 ⬛ 1
#24-02 Language Accessibility: The City
Can Strengthen Efforts to Address
Language Equity Across Its Services
CMO Enhance language accessibility across
City departments and services.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 7 ⬛ 1
#24-03 Retirement Services: The Office
Has Not Consistently Followed City
Procurement Policies and Standard
Practices
ORS
Ensure appropriate controls around
procurement and contracting for the
Office of Retirement Services.
⬛ 1 ⬛⬛ 2
#24-04 Encumbrances: Departments
Should Regularly Review All
Encumbrances to Ensure Timely
Li
quidation
FIN Improve the timeliness of encumbrance
liquidation.
⬛ 1 ⬛⬛ 2 ⬛⬛ 2
#24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance:
Housing Should Refine its Fee
Calculation Process and Standardize
Procedures to Improve Program
Administration
HSG Refine the fee calculation process and
improve program administration.
⬛ 1 ⬛⬛ 2 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 9
#24-06 Animal Care and Services:
Addressing Capacity Constraints and
Updating Shelter Protocols Will Help
Im
prove Animal Outcomes
PW
Improve animal outcomes through
consistent protocols and better data
management practices.
⬛⬛⬛⬛ 4
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
15 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 20
#24-07 Team San Jose Performance FY
2023-24 OEDCA No recommendations.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 23 This page was intentionally left blank
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 24 Appendix B:
DETAILED LISTING OF THE STATUS OF PENDING
RECOMMENDATIONS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2024
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 25 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #12-04 Police Department Secondary Employment
#22 The Police Department should: (a) calculate the cost of bringing all coordination into SEU and the related impact on employers’ fees, and (b) assess the impact on the hourly rate charged to employers, as well employer fees, if coordination were brought into SEU and employees were paid at an overtime rate.
Given that information, the Department should seriously consider three options moving forward: (1) phasing into SEU the
coordination of additional pay jobs, (2) bringing all coordination into SEU, (3) bringing all coordination into SEU and also paying employees on overtime through the City.
PD Partly Implemented The Department conducted an analysis of the costs associated with the Secondary Employment Unit (SEU) and has developed an implementation proposal. The Department reports that it has proposed an amendment to Section 8.16.090 of the San José Municipal Code. This amendment would authorize administrative fees to recover costs associated with the administration of the Secondary Employment Program that are not currently recovered through the secondary employment fees.
Finally, the department has recommended bringing all coordination duties into the SEU and adding staff to the Unit. In collaboration with the Budget Office, the department intends to bring forward the Municipal Code amendment prior to the end of the FY 2024-25. Any staffing and fee increases will be considered as part of the budget process and in the context of budgetary constraints and other City Council priorities. Target Date: Jul-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2019) #12-04 Police Department Secondary Employment
#28 The Police Department should:
(a) calculate the comprehensive cost of the secondary
employment program (personnel, administrative costs, etc.), (b) compare those costs to the revenue generated by related fees, and
(c) determine the fees that would be required to make the program 100% cost recovered and present this data to the City Council.
PD Partly Implemented As discussed in recommendation #22, (12-04 #22) the Department conducted an analysis of the costs associated with the Secondary Employment Unit and has developed an implementation proposal. The Department reports that it has proposed an amendment to Section 8.16.090 of the San José Municipal Code. This amendment would authorize administrative fees to recover costs associated with the administration of the Secondary Employment Program that are not currently recovered through the secondary employment fees. In collaboration with the Budget Office, the department intends to bring forward the Municipal Code amendment prior to the end of the FY 2024-25. Target Date: Jul-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2019) Potential Monetary Benefit: The Department has estimated that the personnel costs of operating the Secondary Employment Unit (SEU) as it is currently staffed is $1.2 million. Recovery of these costs through fees would reduce the subsidy by the General Fund.
#12-04 Police Department Secondary Employment
#29 The Police Department should fully recover the cost of secondary employment liability policy either through increased employee contributions or by a fee charged to secondary employers.
PD Partly Implemented As discussed in recommendations #22 and #28 (12-04 #22 and #28), the Department will be proposing an increase in the administrative fees to cover the cost of managing the secondary employment program. The Department reports that it will review the liability insurance once the proposal has been reviewed by City Council. This proposal is currently under review by the City's Budget Office. Target Date: Jul- 2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2019)
Potential Monetary Benefit: In FY 2024-25, the General Fund subsidy of the secondary employment liability policy is estimated to be $60,637.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 26 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #12-04 Police Department Secondary Employment
#30 Assuming that the City continues to offer uniformed off-duty employment to private employers, the City should assess the public and private benefits of the current provision of uniformed security services to a broad range of private and public entities.
The Department should analyze the costs and benefits of continuing to provide this service on such a broad scale as well as the potential effects of limiting the program to certain types of jobs.
The Department should propose a plan for the future of the program to the City Council that includes the results of this analysis.
PD Partly Implemented The Department conducted an analysis of the costs associated with the Secondary Employment Unit (SEU) and has developed an implementation proposal. The Department reports that it has proposed an amendment to Section 8.16.090 of the San José Municipal Code. This amendment would authorize administrative fees to recover costs associated with the administration of the Secondary Employment Program that are not currently recovered through the secondary employment fees.
Finally, the department has recommended bringing all coordination duties into the SEU and adding staff to the Unit. The proposal is currently being reviewed by the City's Budget Office. Target Date: Jul-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2019) #12-06 Environmental Services
#13 The Administration should propose the City Council establish a City Council Policy which includes guiding principles so as not to raise rates in years in which ratepayer fund balances exceed reasonable targets.
ESD Partly Implemented At the time of our audit, the City had accumulated large ending fund balances in its utility funds – totaling more than $278 million at the end of FY 2010-11. The sources of the large balances were lower than expected capital spending, staff vacancies, and other budget savings. We recommended the Administration propose a policy to hold rates steady when fund balances exceed reasonable targets. In coordination with the City Managers’ Budget Office and the City Attorney's Office, the Environmental Services Department (ESD) is in the process of developing an amendment to City Council Policy 1-18, Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Program Policy, the goal of which will be to identify the guiding principles for developing utility rates to ensure rate increases are fair and appropriate, while also balancing key priorities such as safe and reliable services, cost efficiency, and supporting environmental outcomes. ESD reports that it is collaborating with the City Manager's Budget Office is to recommend policy changes before the end of FY 2024-25. Target Date: Jun- 2025 (Delayed From: Sep-2017)
#12-06 Environmental Services
#22 The Administration should propose the City Council adopt a City Council Policy which includes guiding principles for evaluating ratepayer costs and rate increases for fairness and
appropriateness, and balancing priorities, such as safe and reliable services, cost efficiency, ratepayer impacts, and environmental outcomes.
ESD Partly Implemented In coordination with the City Managers’ Budget Office and the City Attorney's Office, the Environmental Services Department (ESD) is in the process of developing an amendment to City Council Policy 1-18, Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Program Policy, outlining the overall guidelines for evaluating ratepayer costs and important considerations involved in establishing utility rates. The goal will be to identify the guiding principles for developing utility rates to ensure rate increases are fair and appropriate, while also balancing key priorities such as safe and reliable services, cost efficiency, and supporting environmental outcomes. ESD reports that it is collaborating with the City Manager's Budget Office is to recommend policy changes before the end of FY 2024-25. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Dec- 2016)
#12-07 Fire Department Injuries
#03 We recommend that the Administration review and update Fire Department job descriptions with more specific descriptions of the physical requirements of what employees actually do on a day- to-day basis, and make the job descriptions and physical requirements easily accessible to physicians.
FIRE / HR Partly Implemented The Fire Department issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a consultant to review the physical requirements needed to perform the essential functions of specific fire classifications. However, Fire received only one response and the proposed price exceeded the amount that had been budgeted for the project. The Department plans to repost the RFP in 2025. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2018) Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 27 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #13-11 Code Enforcement
#08 The City Administration should propose to expand the Residential Occupancy Permit program to include condominiums functioning as rental apartment complexes.
PBCE Partly Implemented In May 2024, Code Enforcement executed a contract with a vendor for a new case management system. Staff expects this new system will provide the capability to incorporate condominiums into the Residential Occupancy Permit Program. The implementation of this system is currently underway. The City's Housing Elements Strategy included a feasibility study on the cost, needed staffing, potential timeline for expansion, and other resources needed to expand the types of housing units covered by proactive code inspections which help avoid complaint-based evictions. These units include rented single-family homes, duplexes, condominiums, and/or townhomes. Per the Department, this assessment will provide information on resources needed to manage an expanded program. However, the Department reports that this study has been delayed due to other priorities. Target Date: Aug- 2026 (Delayed From: Jul-2018)
#13-11 Code Enforcement
#12 To ensure tenants are aware of deficiencies found in their place of residence, Code Enforcement should formally inform tenants of the violations found and the deadline for compliance.
PBCE Partly Implemented Code Enforcement executed a contract with a vendor for a new case management system in May 2024. Code Enforcement reports that this recommendation is pending implementation of the system and anticipates that the new system would have the appropriate capability to produce the necessary information to make tenants aware of violations in their units. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Jul-2018) #14-07 City Procurement Cards
#03 To improve transparency, accountability, and legibility, the Finance Department should create a pilot program that:
a) Begins the transition to online approvals, payment code entries, annotations and general finance coding (office supplies, travel, etc.);
b) Considers requiring monthly statements of activity be signed by cardholders and approving officials to ensure that all transactions are authorized;
c) Allows individual departments to collect, store, and submit receipts in PDF; and
d) States that sufficient documentation of p-card purchases includes line item transaction detail stored in Access Online for a list of approved vendors (e.g. Office Max).
FIN Closed The purpose of the audit recommendation was to eliminate the use of paper receipts and documentation and improve controls around the approvals process. Since the audit was published, the Finance Department has updated the p-card policy to have stronger controls around authorization and documentation. Additionally, p-card documentation is stored via PDF and uploaded, rather than kept in hard copy. The Finance Department and Information Technology Department (ITD) worked with the City's financial management system vendor and reported that integrating the systems for vendor payments would not be feasible at this time. Given the work already accomplished and the low feasibility of online integration, we recommend closing this recommendation.
#14-08 Development Services
#18 Eliminate the Construction & Demolition Diversion Deposit.
PBCE /
ESD
Partly
Implemented
-
Priority
The Environmental Services Department (ESD) reports that due to feedback received from Planning, Building and Code Enforcement and the City Attorney's Office regarding potential elimination of the Construction and Demolition Diversion Deposit (CDDD) program, they are at this time considering changes to the program to increase permittee awareness of the refundable deposit, including increased communications, and potentially eliminating deposits for small dollar projects (which are often abandoned). ESD reports it has continued outreach efforts to permit holders eligible for CDDD refunds while program enhancements, including potential changes to the Municipal Code, are developed, approved, and implemented. Target Date: Dec -
2025 (Delayed From: Mar-2017)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 28 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #14-08 Development Services
#19 To increase accessibility of online fee estimation, PBCE should update and simplify the online fee calculator.
PBCE Partly Implemented Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reports that the Information Technology Department (ITD) has completed the first two phases of the fee estimation tool for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and new residential construction.
The Department reports the current phase being developed for multifamily new construction is expected to be launched in June 2025, with the final phase for single- family additions and alterations expected to launch in December 2025. Target Date:
Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2016)
#15-05 PRNS Fee Activity Program
#01 PRNS should work with the Budget Office to:
A) Reassess the purpose of the Fee Activity Program
(including cost-recovery targets),
B) Provide reasonable justification for mid-year expenditure request,
C) More clearly link revenues and expenses to their respective programs, and
D) Determine which activities should be included in the Fee Activity Program.
PRNS /
CMO
Partly Implemented Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) reports submitting an initial set of base adjustment requests to the Budget Office to begin to realign funds that did not belong in the Fee Activity appropriation. PRNS also reports writing several base studies, intended to help the Budget Office, to help gain a cross-departmental understanding of two sampled Fee Activity budgets: R.O.C.K. and Camps. PRNS and the Budget Office plan to review these first two base studies to determine if there is sufficient information to include budget adjustments as part of the FY 2025-26 Proposed Budget cycle. Subsequently, PRNS and the Budget Office will continue discussing further Fee Activity program actions in a future budget cycle, including understanding and potentially right-sizing the budget. Future discussions would include how the Fee Activity program should be used going forward. Target Date:
Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2016)
#16-05 South Bay Water Recycling
#04 To sustain South Bay’s operational and capital cost recovery status in the future, ESD should:
A) Renegotiate the revenue sharing terms of the Integration Agreement to allow the City to access South Bay revenue to fund South Bay’s projected capital costs sooner than is projected to occur under the Agreement as currently written; and
B) Secure a recycled water wholesale cost of service study that can be used to maximize the ability to maintain cost recovery for South Bay.
ESD Partly Implemented A) South Bay Water Recycling (SBWR) staff have been in discussions with the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) regarding the terms of the Integration Agreement, implementation of the Strategic Master Plan, and other agreements between the City and the District. Additional Council direction was given in September 2021 to negotiate with Valley Water, with facilitator lead discussions occurring through Fall 2021. These discussions are continuing but have moved beyond simply renegotiating terms of existing contracts and instead have evolved into discussions about a direct potable reuse demonstration facility.
B) In 2018, SBWR participated in a statewide rate study sponsored by the WateReuse Research Foundation. SBWR reviewed the study findings to determine an optimum fee study structure that will address program needs. SBWR reports that currently wholesale rates are sufficient to cover program needs. Pending a new Comprehensive Agreement with Valley Water, final modifications to the Integration Agreement, and/or increasing maintenance costs for aging infrastructure, the wholesale rate structure will be periodically re-evaluated. Target Date: Nov-2025 (Delayed From: Jan-2017)
Potential Monetary Benefit: At the time of the audit, we estimated the City would be able to invest an additional $2.8 million annually for needed reliability projects if the City renegotiated the Integration Agreement with the Water District.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 29 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #16-07 Office of the City Clerk
#03 To ensure records of City Council proceedings are posted timely, the City Clerk should utilize existing technology to streamline the approval and posting of synopses and/or minutes.
CLERK Closed The City's updated agenda management software went live in January 2024.
According to the Office of the City Clerk, the software has not shown time savings and cannot be automated enough to assist with entering actions. For example, because the Council Chambers voting system does not link into the minutes software, there are no time savings for having motions and votes feed automatically into the software. According to the Office, staff now prepares the minutes before the meeting with placeholder language anticipating motions and votes that can then be edited as the actual actions are taken. The Office expects the minutes process to be improved even further as it has filled all three legislative secretary positions. At the time of the audit, the Office's internal goal to post action minutes was three months. Other jurisdictions' minutes were generally approved more quickly, often within two weeks.
At present, the Office is generally posting draft action minutes much sooner than what we were seeing at the time of the audit. For these reasons, we recommend closing this recommendation.
#16-07 Office of the City Clerk
#20 The City Clerk’s Office should:
A) Develop consistent methodologies to track and calculate the performance measures for its statutory responsibilities that are reported in the City’s Operating Budget,
B) Identify staff leads tasked with maintaining these
performance measures and reporting them on a frequent basis to the City Clerk, and
C) Develop action plans to address areas where results do not meet established targets or expected results.
CLERK Partly Implemented The Office of the City Clerk has documented methodologies for calculating performance measures, assigned team leads to maintain these performance measures, and has begun to document action plans where results do not meet established targets or expected results. The Office also worked with the Administration to review its performance measures as part of the City's Outcomes, Equity Indicators, and Performance Management effort. Once the action plans are completed, which addresses part (c) of the recommendation, this recommendation will be considered implemented. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Oct-2017) #16-10 The Apartment Rent Ordinance
#15 To ensure customers are provided necessary services, the Housing Department should develop a strategic plan for the Rental Rights and Referrals Program that outlines desired goals and outcomes, and establishes measures of program effectiveness.
HSG Implemented The Housing Department presented the final Rent Stabilization Program Strategic Plan to the City Council on September 17, 2024.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 30 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #17-02 Office of Equality Assurance
#01 To better administer the prevailing and living wage compliance programs, the Office of Equality Assurance should:
A) Procure a software solution to automate payroll review to free up staff time for other responsibilities (e.g., site visits, review of supplemental documentation);
B) Adopt a risk-based strategy for conducting site visits and reviewing supplemental documentation to efficiently verify the accuracy of information in submitted payrolls; and
C) Ensure the program has sufficient supervisory resources following the implementation of Recommendation #3.
OEA Implemented
-
Priority
A) In the FY 2022-23 Adopted Operating Budget, Public Works received funding for an online data system to better administer prevailing and living wage compliance programs. In June 2023, the City Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement for a software solution. The Office of Equality Assurance (OEA) reports that all public works construction projects advertised on or after August 1, 2024 are required to utilize the system, which currently has 14 projects and 19 contractors. OEA staff report that the software already helped identify two minor underpayments resulting in restitution and penalties. As the system has supported staff in collecting, sorting, file management, and wage review, OEA reports that staff have been able to conduct additional work site visits and interviews of workers to ensure actual work performed matches documentation submitted.
B) Public Works has developed a tracking system using Excel to maintain a list of compliance infractions and violations. Public Works reports that this tracking system allows staff to be consistent with enforcement, including penalties assessed, while also allowing staff to see trends with construction and make determinations on the need for additional oversight and site visits. In addition, two OEA staff review potential high- and moderate-risk projects with all OEA Specialists to aid in determining site visits.
C) OEA developed and executed minimum wage enforcement agreements with multiple local agencies. The revenue collected was allocated to fund a Senior Analyst position, which was filled in September 2021. Additionally, during the FY 2022-23 Budget Review, OEA added three management level Contract Compliance Coordinators to develop sufficient supervisory resources throughout the division. #17-04 Open Government
#02 The Office of Economic Development, in coordination with the City Attorney’s Office, should develop a policy and procedures to clarify whether and how to disclose cost-benefit information for provisions of economic benefit to private entities when:
a) The provision is a part of a larger incentive program to be issued to entities that meet specified criteria,
b) Multiple provisions may benefit a single entity within a short timeframe,
c) The City provides services on behalf of/for a private entity, and
d) The entity receiving the benefit is a non-profit or public agency.
OEDCA Partly Implemented The City Attorney’s Office (CAO), Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA), and relevant partners have met several times to discuss OEDCA’s recommended approach to the various scenarios outlined in the recommendation. A proposed policy memo was drafted by OEDCA and reviewed by the CAO. OEDCA aimed to finalize consensus among internal stakeholders, but reports that progress was impacted by staff workload and transition during the second half of 2024. OEDC A
plans to publish the policy memo as a user-friendly webpage on the OEDCA intranet page. Target Date: May-2025 (Delayed From: May 2024)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 31 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #17-04 Open Government
#09 The Administration should update City policies and guidance on the retention and disposition of electronic records and City email to reflect the current technological environment and allow for more effective management of public records. This includes the storage of records to efficiently respond to public records requests and the disposition of records per approved retention schedules.
CMO Partly Implemented The purpose of this recommendation was to address the growth of electronic records, many of which are not public records, such as preliminary draft documents or old emails that may be routine, mass, or unsolicited. The City Manager’s Office (CMO) reports that current efforts to address this recommendation include meeting with key stakeholders within the Information Technology Department (ITD) to gather information and draft a policy matrix to identify internal frameworks/file architectures, which will guide retention strategies and develop a final product. The CMO’s next phase will be to conduct outreach to additional stakeholders and incorporate outside research to see what other California cities have done to modernize their retention management programs. The CMO is prioritizing resources to ensure this recommendation is complete by end of FY 2024-25. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Dec 2024)
#17-04 Open Government
#10 To better manage electronic records on the City’s enterprise file share and email systems, the Administration should consider a combination of strategies, including but not limited to:
A) Developing procedures for department records
administrators to conduct electronic file clean outs to dispose of unnecessary electronic files as well as those saved past the City’s approved retention schedules.
B) Periodic reminders to City staff to clean out their email folders, along with guidance on what is a public record that should be saved, and what is not.
CMO Partly Implemented The City Manager's Office (CMO) reports that the Open Government Manager (OGM) continues to train PRA Coordinators and regularly monitors the GovQA Records Center platform to ensure PRAs are completed within a timely manner and communicates with and provides PRA response feedback to PRA Coordinators. In addition, the OGM oversees the City’s retention schedule, which includes creating and/or updating retention entries brought forth by Departments. Once retention strategies and policies are finalized from recommendation #09 of this audit (#17-04), the CMO plans to update Citywide guidance and procedures related to electronic file clean-outs, staff exit surveys, and checklist procedures. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2024)
#18-03 Department of Public Works
#01 To better allocate training and non-project costs to capital projects, Public Works and the City Manager’s Budget Office should appropriate a portion of capital staff time for such charges in the Public Works Program Support Fund (150), and allocate such costs to projects through the Public Works Cost Allocation Plan.
PW / CMO Implemented In coordination with the City Manager's Budget Office, Public Works initially allocated $50,000 for training costs within the Public Works Program Support Fund (150). The Department and the Budget Office will continue to work on determining the appropriate funding level to budget training costs in Fund 150 on an ongoing basis.
Public Works revised their training and guidance to direct staff to distribute training and other non-project costs across appropriate projects. #18-03 Department of Public Works
#06 To ensure consistent project delivery, Public Works should:
a) Update its project management manual using existing
project management guidelines and checklists as well as current practices,
b) Expand the manual to include guidance for each project phase and include duties of all divisions that are responsible for project delivery, and
c) Establish a process to regularly review and update the manual as needed.
PW Partly Implemented Public Works reports that Training and Development staff in the Department are working on standardizing project management forms and templates. The Department also reports that additional resources may be needed to continue to make updates to its project management manual. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Mar-2019) Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 32 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #18-03 Department of Public Works
#07 Public Works should review and update its Standard Details and Specifications, in coordination with the City Attorney’s Office and other departments, to ensure it contains up-to-date specifications, and establish a process to regularly review and update the manual as needed.
PW / CAO
/ DOT /
ESD
Partly Implemented Public Works reports that several technical construction specifications and details have been updated, but that the effort is on hold. The Department reports that a retire rehire employee will return to continue updating the special provisions. Target Date:
Jun-2026 (Delayed From: Dec-2020)
#18-04 Audit of Vehicle Abatement
#12 The Police Department should:
a) revisit the calculation of impound costs and recommend that the City Council approve an adjustment to the vehicle release fee accordingly, and
b) bring forward to the City Council a recommendation for the City to institute a subsidized vehicle release fee for low-income vehicle owners.
PD Partly Implemented After reviewing the vehicle release fee, the Police Department adjusted the fee to $122 per vehicle; the Council adopted the revised fee, effective February 2019. The Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement has executed a new agreement with a vendor for tow administrator services. The responsibility of administering the program has shifted to the Police Department. The new software system went live in February 2025. The Police Department advises that further work on evaluating a subsidized vehicle release fee is on hold pending the full implementation of this program. At that point, the Administration plans to use data gathered through the new platform to review costs and evaluate a subsidized vehicle release fee. Target Date: Jul-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2019) #18-06 Community Center Reuse (now the Neighborhood Center Partner Program)
#03 To provide policy makers with information about the Reuse Program in all districts, PRNS should include information on contracted and actual reported services by program activity across all service providers and facilities in their annual reuse updates.
PRNS Implemented Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) developed reporting and monitoring requirements for the Neighborhood Center Partner Program (NCPP), which were included in a 2021 Request for Qualifications and incorporated into service providers' executed contracts. To address concerns from NCPP service providers, PRNS consolidated and standardized its reporting tools for service hours.
In Fall 2023, PRNS presented the total NCPP program hours provided during 2022 to the Neighborhood Services & Education Committee (NSE). PRNS then presented the actual service hours by individual agency for the 2023-24 reporting period to NSE on December 12, 2024.
#18-10 Audit of Towing Services
#15 For improved oversight over the towing services agreements, the administration of the contract should be consolidated in the Police Department with an evaluation of the resources needed to perform this responsibility.
PD Implemented The City executed an agreement for software services for City-generated tow services. The Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement was the lead on implementation in partnership with the Police Department. The Police Department has now fully taken over responsibility for implementation of the new platform for consolidating towing services agreements. The Department hired a full-time tow program manager in January 2025. The system went live in February 2025. #19-01 Audit of 9-1-1 and 3-1-1
#05 To increase focus on outreach and recruiting for Communications staff, Police Communications and Fire
Communications should each develop a recruiting plan for their respective divisions, and explore opportunities for collaboration and joint recruitment opportunities.
FIRE / PD Implemented The Police Department has implemented a recruiting plan for Communication staff.
The plan includes online and social media advertising, and attending job fairs, symposiums, and recruiting events. The Police Department reports that they will advise the Fire Communications Manager if there is an excess of Police dispatch applicants. The Fire Department recently completed their own recruiting plan. The Departments have been advised by Human Resources that joint hiring processes are not feasible since Fire Department and Police Department dispatcher classifications are separate classifications and are represented by different bargaining units.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 33 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #19-01 Audit of 9-1-1 and 3-1-1
#07 The Police and Fire Departments should work with the Public Works Department to make closer parking options available to Communications staff that work night shifts.
FIRE / PD Partly Implemented Police and Fire Communications personnel continue to have parking options across the street in a county lot. The N. San Pedro Street and Mission Street parking lot is also available and secured by Department card readers. The Police Department offers interior parking spots for Police Communications personnel working on swing and night shifts. The Fire Department purchased a vehicle for escorting personnel during hours of darkness in March 2023. The Fire Department reports that efforts to achieve security guard services through a vendor were unsuccessful due to the requirement that the security guard personnel undergo background checks through the Police Department. Due to security guard turnover, lack of responsiveness of security guard personnel during the background process, and failure to pass the background process, the Fire Department has determined that this concept is not feasible. The Fire Department intends to explore an alternative route to hire a temporary City position for this pilot project. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From:
Dec-2020)
#19-01 Audit of 9-1-1 and 3-1-1
#09 To retain qualified staff that are more inclined to call taking versus dispatch, the Administration should explore the creation of a call taker position in the Fire Department.
FIRE Implemented Through City Council and the Civil Service Commission approval, the Public Safety Communication Specialist classification was reinstated, effective December 7, 2023.
Due to budget constraints new positions in this classification have not had been added to the Fire Department. Additions of this classification will continue to be evaluated in the context of other City Council priorities and budgetary constraints. #19-03 Development Noticing
#01 Planning should propose updates to Council Policy 6-30 that set realistic goals for the timing of on-site notices, and require evidence of on-site posting prior to setting a hearing date.
PBCE Partly Implemented Planning Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reports staff are in the process of updating Council Policy 6-30, with a target of taking the update for City Council consideration in December 2025. According to PBCE, the comprehensive update is intended to encompass the remaining recommendations from this audit and fulfill obligations to update the Policy that were included in the City's 6th Cycle Housing Element. Significant staff time and resources are anticipated to fulfill this request along with substantial community outreach. Additionally, in June 2024, the Department reported having developed guidelines for staff to provide applicants with the initial City comment letter to ensure the public receives accurate information.
Lastly, the Department reported staff do not accept any future submittals from an applicant until they provide confirmation of the required on-site notice is posted.
Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2021)
#19-03 Development Noticing
#03 Planning should propose updates to Council Policy 6-30 and develop and implement procedures to:
A. Proactively identify projects and dominant neighborhood languages to ensure hearing notices are properly translated, B. Include guidance on when interpretation services for hearings should be provided, and
C. Remove the requirement that requesting parties pay for the translation of hearing notices, and determine an appropriate funding source.
PBCE Partly Implemented In January 2020, a language map was incorporated into the AMANDA integrated permitting system to help staff identify predominant languages in project areas. The Department reports staff are in the process of updating Council Policy 6-30, with a target of taking the update for City Council consideration in December 2025. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2021)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 34 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #19-03 Development Noticing
#04 To clarify expectations on noticing practices, Planning should propose changes to Council Policy 6-30 to provide additional guidance on mailing radii and permit types.
PBCE Not Implemented According to Planning Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) , implementation of this recommendation would be included in a full review of Policy 6-30. PBCE reports staff are in the process of updating the policy, with a target of taking the update for City Council consideration in December 2025. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2021)
#19-03 Development Noticing
#05 Planning should propose changes to Council Policy 6-30 to set goals to increase the availability of online information prior to a public hearing.
PBCE Partly Implemented In September 2021, the Development Services Partners and the Information Technology Department completed the technical requirements that enhances the availability of information online. According to Planning Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE), full implementation of this recommendation would be included in a full review of Policy 6-30. PBCE reports staff are in the process of updating the policy, with a target of taking the update for City Council consideration in December 2025. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2021)
#19-04 The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (now the San José Youth Empowerment Alliance)
#04 The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should ensure participant needs are consistently assessed by developing processes to:
a) Assess youth participants through the adoption of a standardized assessment tool to be used for all Task Force programming,
b) Create corresponding service plans based on those risk levels, and
c) Track and report enrollment by risk level including pre and post results for all Task Force services.
PRNS Partly Implemented A consultant created and piloted a screening tool with two agencies and four programs within the San José Youth Empowerment Alliance. The consultant adjusted the tool to align risk categories with risk levels identified by the screener. Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) reports implementing the risk assessment tool to screen participants for all Youth Intervention Services (YIS) programs starting in July 2023. In FY 2023-24, the tool was implemented by YIS programs and Bringing Everyone's Strengths Together (BEST) grant programs for high school age youth. Feedback was received on the tool's language and length.
BEST worked with the consultant on suggested edits and the revised tool was implemented in September 2024. PRNS reports that this updated tool will be used across BEST and all applicable youth intervention programs. BEST and YIS plan to report the findings to NSE in May 2026. Target Date: May-2026 (Delayed From: Jun- 2021)
#19-04 The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (now the San José Youth Empowerment Alliance)
#08 The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should work with the City Attorney’s Office to update the current Memoranda of Agreement with school districts to include:
a) All services provided by City staff on school campuses, b) Roles and responsibilities for City staff and school administrators, including criteria for Safe School Campus Initiative activations, and
c) Key documents that would be required to enroll
participants, including parental consent forms.
PRNS Partly Implemented The San José Youth Empowerment Alliance serves 18 school districts. Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) has updated and executed agreements for 11 school districts: Alum Rock Union Elementary, Berryessa Union, Cambrian, Campbell Union High School, Campbell Union School (TK-8th grade), East Side Union High School, Franklin-McKinley, Fremont Union High School, Moreland, Santa Clara County Office of Education (alternative schools), and San José Unified.
PRNS staff report negotiating an agreement with the Evergreen School District which is now undergoing contract review. Meetings have been held with superintendents and draft agreements have been provided for the six remaining school districts:
Cupertino Union, Morgan Hill Unified, Oak Grove, Orchard, Piedmont, and Union.
PRNS reports following up with superintendents to determine if the current template agreement is acceptable or if changes are needed. Once accepted, PRNS plans to submit those draft agreements to the City's contract review process for finalization and execution. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jul-2020) Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 35 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #19-04 The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (now the San José Youth Empowerment Alliance)
#14 The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should:
a) Reassess reported program outcomes and units of
service for all Task Force programs, and
b) Re-define and annually report key program outcome
measures.
PRNS Partly Implemented Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) hired a consultant to develop a performance measurement framework for Bringing Everyone's Strength Together (BEST) and Youth Intervention Services (YIS) to reassess program outcomes and units of service. Staff reports implementing the new performance outcome measure framework for 2023-24 program evaluations for BEST grantees to guide activities, address local priorities, ensure appropriate data is collected, and assess the BEST program's effectiveness and impact. Staff also reports that a consultant was selected to complete the YIS evaluation. PRNS reports developing the contract and the evaluation project is scheduled to begin May 2025. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Jul-2021)
#19-04 The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (now the San José Youth Empowerment Alliance)
#15 To evaluate the satisfaction of services provided to youth participants and their families, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should establish a formal mechanism for youth to provide feedback through the annual administration of participant surveys. The results of the surveys should be included in the annual report to Council on Task Force activities.
PRNS Partly Implemented Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) reports that all Bringing Everyone's Strengths Together (BEST) grantees have been conducting youth surveys. PRNS presented youth satisfaction survey results for BEST participants in their annual report to the Neighborhood Services and Education (NSE) Committee in May 2023, and the Department presented BEST survey results for the 2022-23 grant cycle to NSE in March 2024. For Youth Intervention Services (YIS), PRNS piloted a consultant-developed survey for two programs and decided that a single survey may not be appropriate for all YIS programs due to differences in service intensity. PRNS plans to request that a second qualified evaluation consultant develop a survey or program-specific surveys that incorporate participant satisfaction and outcome questions and are appropriate for all seven YIS programs. A list of program evaluation consultants was completed in July 2024 and PRNS is expected to begin the evaluation project May 2025. PRNS anticipates that the YIS survey results will be the first key deliverable for FY 2025-26. Results of the survey will be included in the annual report to NSE in May 2027. Target Date: May-2027 (Delayed From: Jul-2020) #19-06 Form 700s
#02 The City Clerk’s Office should establish standard procedures surrounding the assessment of late fines and referral of non-filers to the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).
The procedures should include using its e-filing system to track follow up activities, such as assessing late fines and sending non- filing notices.
CLERK Partly Implemented The City Clerk's Office has made updates to its Form 700 procedures for handling non-filers and is working on additional updates. Per the procedure, department liaisons are expected to run more frequent non-filer reports using the e-filing system.
The procedures also provide that the City Clerk's Office will send a monthly non-filer report to each department head and liaison. Liaisons will be responsible for updating the e-filing system including adding alternative contact information. The City Clerk's Office will follow-up with liaisons regarding the status of both employee and consultant non-filers. The City Clerk's Office will also be responsible for referring non- responsive filers to the FPPC for enforcement. Once the procedures address the standard process for assessing late fines for non-filers and the referral to the FPPC, this recommendation will be considered implemented. Lastly, the Office of the City Clerk reports that changes to Form 700 laws occurred on January 1, 2025, and thus staff are working with the FPPC to understand the new rules and how it impacts our procedures. Staff expect to update the procedures after these meetings. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2020)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 36 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #19-07 Procurement Cards
#05 We recommend Finance work with Office Depot to review past pricing and purchasing data to determine and ensure the City received:
a) Discounts on non-contracted items;
b) Appropriate rebates, including those based on the sales of “piggybacked” cities; and
c) Appropriate pricing under the terms of the agreement.
FIN Implemented The Finance Department has reviewed, with Office Depot, past City pricing and purchasing data for contracted items and has reached a settlement with Office Depot to account for missed discounts and unpaid rebates on these items. This totaled over $63,000 across multiple rounds of review. Additionally, Finance has reviewed past check rebate history and confirmed the rebate amounts track with the terms of the purchase orders. Finance has also reviewed and reports that there were no other cities that “piggybacked” the City’s purchase order with Office Depot. #19-08 Street and Utility In-Lieu Fees
#05 To ensure that the City’s utility undergrounding fee is a fair estimate of the cost of utility undergrounding projects, Public Works should reassess the utility undergrounding in-lieu fee.
PW Partly Implemented Based on the projected costs of a project that was underway at the time of the audit there was concern that the undergrounding fee was not a fair estimate of the costs of utility undergrounding projects. While Public Works had anticipated updating the undergrounding fee based on recent project costs, two projects were delayed because of COVID-19, unforeseen utility congestion, and design issues. Staff anticipates one current project to be completed in Spring 2025 and another in late 2026, and intends to use the costs in these projects to assess the undergrounding fee. The first project experienced numerous procurement delays, and the second project is currently delayed due to easement needs for utility substructures.
Meanwhile, Public Works intends to continue to update the underground fee per the Construction Cost Index, as has been done annually. Target Date: Jun-2027 (Delayed From: Jun-2021)
#20-02 Fleet Maintenance and Operations
#02 To help manage fleet asset levels and the allocation of fleet assets, Public Works should update the City Policy Manual 1.8.1 to:
a) Adjust or establish minimum utilization standards for all fleet assets,
b) Require annual utilization reviews to identify underutilized assets, and
c) Include procedures on coordinating utilization reviews with City departments and the use of underutilized assets, such as transferring underutilized assets to the Citywide motor pool, disposing them, or reallocating them as appropriate.
PW Partly Implemented Public Works is currently working with a vendor to analyze fleet utilization, right sizing, and fleet electrification. The Department reports that the Fleet Division has been focused on backlogged maintenance and acquisition projects, and staff are in the process of updating the policy. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Mar- 2022)
Potential Monetary Benefit: At the time of the audit, we identified $160,000 in work orders generated in FY 2018-19 from fleet assets identified as potentially underutilized.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 37 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #20-02 Fleet Maintenance and Operations
#04 To improve Citywide preventive maintenance (PM) compliance, Public Works’ Fleet Division should:
a) Work with departments to confirm point of contacts for PM notifications and complete implementation of the automated PM notifications,
b) Establish a Citywide PM compliance target, as well as internal PM compliance targets for departments/asset classes, and
c) Implement a PM compliance incentive program, that could include expansion of the fuel shut-off program for noncompliant assets that meet criteria identified by the Fleet Division, or including departmental PM compliance performance into the fleet replacement prioritization process.
PW Partly Implemented Public Works has implemented automated emails for preventative maintenance notifications, and its Technology Services team has developed dashboards that will help the Division and customer departments monitor preventive maintenance (PM) compliance. Public Works began proactively informing customers in Fall 2024.
According to the Department, the current PM compliance target is 80 percent completion within 10 days of notice, although there are ongoing vehicle availability issues. The Department also reports that because of vehicle and equipment shortages, users have a higher workload and bring in vehicles late. Target Date: Jun -
2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2021)
#20-02 Fleet Maintenance and Operations
#07 To enhance performance monitoring and inform resource allocation decisions, Public Works’ Fleet Division should develop internal performance measures and reports to monitor availability of specific assets at the department level.
PW Partly Implemented Fleet continues to work with Technology Services to develop additional internal reports to monitor the availability of specific assets. Currently, Fleet Management has reports for Airport Shuttle Bus availability, Animal Care & Service Kennel Truck availability, and Electric Vehicle charging stations. Fleet plans to create future internal reports to enhance performance monitoring. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From:
Jan-2023)
#20-02 Fleet Maintenance and Operations
#08 To enhance accountability and transparency, Public Works’ Fleet Division should develop and report on performance measures on work order timeliness.
PW Partly Implemented Public Works reports that it has shifted to having an analytics module created by its Technology Services team due to vendor delays. Fleet Management has created internal downtime reports that can run via Access and plans to work with Technology Services to automate the report. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: March 2023)
#20-02 Fleet Maintenance and Operations
#09 To support consistent data entry and reporting, Public Works’ Fleet Division should create procedures around:
a) Classification of repair reason IDs in AssetWorks,
b) Data entry of work orders and contracted services work orders, an
c) Pulling reports on active assets, preventive maintenance compliance, vehicle utilization, work orders, and/or others as necessary.
PW Partly Implemented Public Works has finalized the classification of repair reason IDs in its fleet management software and has begun pulling reports, and that staff are making progress on the standardization of data entry. However, the Department reports the Division is currently facing staffing resource challenges, delaying the creation of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Target Date: May-2025 (Delayed From:
Dec-2021)
#20-02 Fleet Maintenance and Operations
#12 Public Work’s Fleet Division should develop performance targets related to the timeliness of fleet asset purchases and actual costs of acquisitions against budgeted funds. Performance against those targets should be reported in the department’s Fleet Management Annual Report.
PW Not Implemented Public Works reports that it has been unable to start working on this recommendation because of global supply chain issues, although market conditions have slightly improved. Target Date: Jan-2026 (Delayed From: Jun-2022) Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 38 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #20-04 Park Maintenance
#05 To ensure that data collection efforts adequately meet its needs, PRNS should:
a) Refocus data collection priorities, determine short-term and long-term data collection and data analytics goals, and set clear objectives on achieving those goals,
b) Reassess the use of Infor EAM to determine if it meets those needs, and
c) Develop an ongoing training program for staff to ensure that data entry is consistent and accurate and meets its business goals.
PRNS Implemented Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) reports that, over the course of 2024, several changes were made to park maintenance work orders. Process improvements include requiring comments on work order requests, assigning repair and strike work orders to specified crews, automated notifications on assigned work and status updates of strike and repair work orders, and creating check boxes for safety concerns and incidents. The Department's Business Intelligence (BI) Manager supervised a temporary employee who assessed the work order system and conducted interviews with staff on strengths and areas of improvement for the system. As a result, automated notifications on assigned work and status updates were implemented to reduce administrative time and keep communication within the system. PRNS initially had a one-year extension on its park asset management system, until the Finance Department determined all departments using the existing system can continue for the next five years. In five years, another evaluation will be made whether to stay with the current system or initiate a Request for Proposal, but until then PRNS will continue using its current system. The Department continues to hold BI training as part of the park maintenance training series, and new staff are oriented to the system upon request.
#20-04 Park Maintenance
#13 PRNS should assess language access needs for parks in areas with higher concentrations of limited English speaking households and provide information and resources in multiple languages in those areas.
PRNS Implemented Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) updated its standard operating procedure (SOP) for translations to improve language access of park signage. Templates for standard signs such as closures and regular maintenance operations will be translated into San José’s top five spoken languages: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Tagalog. For projects that require specialized signs such as renovations and long-term issue or repair needs, PRNS will use the City’s Language Access Map to identify all languages spoken by at least 5% of residents in the Census Tract where the park or facility is located. PRNS will follow this SOP for all new signs, including any sign replacements. PRNS worked with the City’s Language Access Manager to update this SOP. While the work to improve language access at parks will be ongoing and gradual throughout the City, we recommend calling this recommendation as being implemented due to the new process for assessing the language needs of each area.
#20-05 Development Partners’ Work-in-Progress Reserves
#01 To better assess workload and resources, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement’s Planning Division should develop and implement procedures to track the work in progress on current development projects, based on staff hours worked, milestones, or some other metric.
PBCE Partly Implemented Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reports that the Planning Division has created a draft work in progress report structure which is currently under review before being formally integrated into the work-in-progress reporting tool. The Division expects to submit the report requirements to the Information Technology Department (ITD) in Spring 2025 to be created before the end of the calendar year. Target Date:
Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Sep-2021)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 39 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #20-05 Development Partners’ Work-in-Progress Reserves
#02 To better assess workload and resources, Public Works Development Services Division should develop and implement procedures to track the work in progress on current development projects, based on staff hours worked, milestones, or some other metric.
PW Partly Implemented Public Works has developed procedures for time tracking in AMANDA for engineering and inspection staff; time tracking and data collection is ongoing. The Department reports staff are focused on correlating tracked time with funds spent to provide more meaningful insight into workload management. Public Works intends to continue to coordinate between departments to develop a consistent methodology for all departments to ensure milestones align with project timelines to estimate current work in progress. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2020) #20-05 Development Partners’ Work-in-Progress Reserves
#04 To ensure that the Development Partners have adequate funding to support their development work, Public Works, the Fire Department, and Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should work with the Budget Office and the City Attorney’s Office to develop reserve policies or guidelines around the appropriate uses of funds, including work-in-progress reserves.
CMO / PW
/ PBCE /
FIRE /
CAO
Partly Implemented The Administration reports the City Manager’s Budget Office, Finance Department, City Attorney’s Office, and the Development Services partners coordinating to develop reserve policies and guidelines following the development of work-in- progress reports from different departments. The Administration expect implementation to be integrated into the FY 2025-26 Budget Process. Target Date:
Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Sep-2021)
#20-05 Development Partners’ Work-in-Progress Reserves
#05 To properly account for development fee revenues, the Finance Department should work with the City’s external financial auditor to determine the proper accounting treatment of development fee revenues that have been collected for projects still in progress.
FIN Partly Implemented In January 2024, the Finance Department (Finance) established a cross-department team comprising Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE), Public Works, Fire, Finance, and the City's external financial auditor to determine the proper accounting treatment of development fee revenues. Finance reports they are working with the City Manager's Budget Office to mitigate the impact of accounting adjustments on various permit fee funds, and developing a phased implementation approach for proper accounting and treatment of development fee revenues collected from projects still in progress. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2021) #21-01 Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload
#02 To optimize police staffing, the Police Department should include an analysis of alternative schedules either in its current redistricting work or in a separate study, and report to the City Council on the results of the studies.
PD Partly Implemented The Department entered into an agreement with a consultant to work on a redistricting and staffing deployment analysis. The consultant provided the draft results of their work to the Department which is currently under review by the City Manager's Office. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2023) #21-01 Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload
#03 To determine the most suitable approaches for responding to certain types of calls, the Police Department should:
a. Begin tracking calls that may benefit from an alternative response, such as incidents involving individuals experiencing homelessness or individuals with disabilities.
b. Determine whether some of the responses can be
diverted to non-sworn staff or coordinated with other City departments or agencies.
PD Implemented In FY 2023-24, the City Council directed the Administration to identify types of 9-1-1 calls that may benefit from an alternative response such as calls involving unhoused individuals, mental health, and youth. In February 2024, the Department reported back on nine types of calls including calls involving unhoused individuals and individuals with disabilities. In the FY 2024-25 March Budget Message, City Council directed staff to continue working with the County to develop a shared framework for exploring alternative response models. Additionally, the Department was also directed to develop cost estimates for funding an additional Trusted Response Urgent Support Team (TRUST) through the County, specifically focused on responses within San José city limits. In February 2025, the Department provided updates on this direction and reports that it will continue to engage with the County on alternative responses as well as to collect 9-1-1 data related to disability and/or homelessness.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 40 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #21-01 Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload
#04 To ensure that targets for community policing address Council and community priorities, the Police Department should develop a long-term community policing strategy that describes how performance targets address those priorities and work with the City Administration to identify consistent sources of funding for priority policing positions, such as foot patrol.
PD Partly Implemented The Department reports that it continues to evaluate community policing opportunities through a consultant. The Department reports that its Community Engagement Plan is in its final phase with the expectation that the consultant will provide a final report that includes actionable recommendations. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From:
Jun-2023)
#21-01 Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload
#05 To limit the risk of fatigue and more evenly distribute overtime hours across the department, the Police Department should:
a. Enforce existing limits on total overtime hours worked in a day, week, and year, including which types of overtime can be worked beyond these limits.
b. Update eResource to ensure all prescheduled and
biddable overtime assignments are captured in the system. c. Develop a policy to address frequent violations of Duty Manual specified overtime weekly limits.
PD Implemented a) On May 19, 2021, the Department issued Memorandum #2021-015 titled “Overtime Controls.” This memorandum limited overtime to that which is absolutely mandatory and unavoidable. The memorandum further clarified that no discretionary overtime would be allowed and that all overtime is subject to management review. All Captains and Division Managers are required to submit a memorandum quarterly to the Chief Executive Officer justifying the use of overtime.
b) The Department has updated its scheduling software to include most biddable and prescheduled overtime and intends to continue to update it on an ongoing basis. c) The Department reports that any Department Initiated Investigation (DII) is initiated by the Chief of Police on referral to the Division of Internal Affairs. While there is no separate process to specifically investigate allegations of working overtime more than the current Department weekly limitations, these investigations would occur through the DII process. There are no "frequent violation" thresholds for a DII to be initiated for allegations for overtime worked over the weekly limits. The Internal Affairs Division sent out a reminder to sworn staff regarding the Duty Manual maximum authorized hours allowed in its newsletter in October 2024. In addition to reducing overtime expenditures that have continued to grow, addressing violations of overtime limits will help in addressing staff fatigue and burnout.
We should note that overtime costs continue to grow--the costs increased from $47 million at the time of the audit to over $65 million for FY 2023-24. As of January 2025, the Department had a significant number of sworn staffing vacancies. This is important to note as meeting mandatory minimum staffing requirements was a significant driver of overtime costs in FY 2023-24.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 41 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #21-01 Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload
#06 To ensure that supervisory staff can better assess the purpose and appropriateness of overtime use, the Police Department should:
a. Clearly define types of overtime considered mandatory and discretionary, including when follow up and report writing should be conducted on overtime.
b. Develop guidelines for documenting Captain approval of discretionary overtime.
c. Update internal procedures and train staff on how to log discretionary, mandatory, or voluntary overtime type codes in their timecards.
PD Partly
Implemented
-
Priority
The Police Department issued a memo, Memo #2023-23, which outlined overtime controls for the Department, described when follow up and report writing can be conducted on overtime, limited discretionary overtime, and provided that Captains and Division Managers are to report out on the use of overtime in their division on a quarterly basis. The Department also has created a new overtime dashboard which is to be updated each pay period. Supervisors can look at the dashboard and drill down to specifics by employee, unit, overtime code or other data inputs. Managers can now review overtime, including how it is being used, and review its overtime policies in consideration of the current staffing issues. Finally, the Department has been working to pilot a new timecard system to assess whether it can increase the accuracy and efficiency of time reporting. However, they report that the pilot encountered problems related to MOA and overtime rules and that they are continuing to engage with the vendor to resolve these issues. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2022) Potential Monetary Benefit: With greater controls and approval over overtime for discretionary time (e.g., admin, report writing, training, and follow up), we estimated savings of $1,147,350 if such overtime was reduced by 7.5 percent at the time of the audit.
#21-01 Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload
#09 To supplement sworn police services and manage overall workload challenges in the department, the Police Department should:
a. In the context of the overall budget, add more Community Service Officers (CSOs) to address Priority 3 and 4 incidents, and b. Develop guidelines to ensure more equitable distribution of CSOs across districts, such that districts with higher workloads receive appropriate coverage. This may include redistributing workload and assignments as vacancies occur.
PD Partly
Implemented
-
Priority
The 2024-25 Proposed Budget eliminated 6.0 Senior Community Service Officer (CSO) positions and 1.0 Supervising CSO position to realign the CSO program.
According to the Police Department, eliminating positions dedicated to strict supervision allowed all CSOs to be deployed in the field. In order to increase its community presence in the Downtown San José area, the Department has assigned six Community Service Officers to Downtown to help serve in an "ambassador" role with their presence and visibility. According to the Department, staff assignments of CSOs are reviewed every six months and are based on previous call data. Finally, the redistricting study that the Department is working on potentially includes suggested realignment and redistribution of CSO work. This project is anticipated to be completed in Spring 2025. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2023) Potential Monetary Benefit: At the time of the audit, we estimated savings of $751,500 if CSOs responded to additional calls rather than sworn officers using overtime. This is dependent on future hiring of additional CSOs.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 42 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #21-01 Police Staffing, Expenditures, and Workload
#10 To better align Department call priorities with CSO work, the Police Department should update its Duty Manual to:
a. Reassess its priority list of CSO-dispatchable calls and determine how to better utilize CSOs to address those priorities. b. Include common types of calls not currently listed in the Duty Manual, such as “Suspicious Vehicles” and “Expired Registration”.
c. Develop a strategy for CSO involvement in community policing, as described in the SJPD Duty Manual.
PD Implemented During the audit we had observed that Community Service Officers (CSOs) were responding to calls that were outside what was specified as CSO dispatchable calls in the Duty Manual. Additionally, while the Duty Manual provided a priority order for the CSO calls, this priority order was not always followed. Finally, we observed that CSOs participated in less than 1 percent of community policing hours indicating an opportunity for CSOs to further engage in outreach and community education. a) and b) The Police Department reports that it reviewed the list of CSO-dispatchable calls and determined that the current responsibilities were effective. In 2024, staff analyzed six months' worth of CSO dispatched calls, to determine the frequency of response to these type of calls. The Department concluded that staff was in fact incorrectly categorizing the "suspicious vehicle" calls. To address this, the Department's Communication Manager sent an informational memorandum to communication staff clarifying department expectations and providing the correct category of calls. c) The Department has assigned four full-time CSOs to walking beats in the downtown areas of San José as well as including CSO staff for community policing projects such as Coffee with a Cop and backpack giveaways. #21-03 Real Estate Services
#01 To better manage the City’s real estate assets, the Real Estate Services Division should work with City departments to compile a comprehensive list of real estate assets that includes department ownership and intended or actual use of the property.
OEDCA Implemented Real Estate Services (Real Estate) entered into an agreement with a vendor to provide a real estate asset and lease management software. The software went live in early 2025. The software gives Real Estate the foundation to compile a comprehensive list of the City's real estate assets, including department ownership and uses.
#21-03 Real Estate Services
#02 The Real Estate Services Division should work with the Information Technology Department, the Finance Department, and other City departments to implement a database platform to better manage the City’s real estate assets that includes:
a) Property management information such as lease terms, payments, and related information,
b) Property-related agreements or other relevant information to identify ownership or management responsibilities, and c) Any other information that the Real Estate Services Division deems necessary.
OEDCA Implemented
-
Priority
Real Estate Services (Real Estate) entered into an agreement with a vendor to provide a real estate asset and lease management software. The software went live in early 2025. The software is gives Real Estate the foundation to compile a comprehensive list of the City's real estate assets, including department ownership and uses.
#21-03 Real Estate Services
#03 The Real Estate Services Division should work with other City departments to identify all vacant lands within the City’s real estate portfolio, and report on that land and their intended uses to the City Council on an annual basis.
OEDCA Partly Implemented Real Estate reports that the database software platform referenced in recommendations #1 and #2 from this audit (#21-03) is being developed in a way that stores the information needed for annual reporting on the City's vacant land inventory.
Real Estate plans to report on the vacant lands inventory annually at the Community and Economic Development Committee starting in January 2026. Target Date: Jan- 2026 (Delayed From: Jan-2024)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 43 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #21-03 Real Estate Services
#04 The Real Estate Services Division should work with the multiple departments involved in maintenance of City properties and the Information Technology Department to:
a) Identify business process and service integration to ensure the data in its asset management software can be cross- referenced with other departments’ databases, and
b) Coordinate with other departments to ensure the City’s vacant properties are provided with ongoing maintenance.
OEDCA Partly Implemented Real Estate reports that the buildout of the database referenced in recommendation #2 from this audit (#21-03) will allow for optimal standardization of data across City departments. Once Real Estate’s software database is established, Real Estate plans to work with other departments to standardize data and facilitate cross- referencing between departments. Target Date: Apr-2025 (Delayed From: Jan-2024) #21-04 Code Enforcement Management Controls
#03 To enforce the Massage Ordinance permitting
requirements, the Administration should:
a) Create a roster of massage businesses based on active Business Tax Certificates and/or the list of certified massage therapists under the California Massage Therapy Council, and procedures to regularly update the roster, and
b) Based on the roster of businesses, implement an
outreach program to inform and educate massage businesses on the Massage Ordinance.
PD / PBCE Partly Implemented (a) Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reports that in quarter 2 of FY 2024-25, they completed the review of the Business Tax Certificates and Massage Therapy Council lists to create a roster of potentially eligible businesses. From this review, they added 338 businesses to the outreach program. (b) PBCE plans to implement their new outreach model starting in quarter 4 of FY 2024-25. The outreach model includes the following phases: Phase1 - Outreach Strategy, Procedures, and Materials Development (in progress); Phase 2 - Outreach and Education to businesses including an Informational and Program Enrollment Notification Letter sent in batches requiring they submit an application within 60 days or contact SJPD if requesting exemption from the program; and Phase 3- Follow up and enforcement including investigation and enforcement if no application or response is received after 60 days. Target Date: Apr-2025 (Delayed From: Dec- 2024)
Potential Monetary Benefit: During the audit, we found over 200 businesses with business tax certificates without massage permits. We estimated initial applications for unpermitted massage businesses would generate $500,000 in permit fees and $280,000 in ongoing renewal fees.
#21-04 Code Enforcement Management Controls
#05 To ensure massage businesses renew their massage permits timely, the Police Department should establish a procedure for ensuring permitted businesses are notified when they need to renew their massage permit and the consequences of not renewing their permit.
PD Partly Implemented The Police Department (SJPD) reports working with a permit software company to develop and implement a new permitting software. The system is being designed to send "notifications" when a permit needs renewal. SJPD plans to go "live" with the new software in spring 2025. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2024) Potential Monetary Benefit: At the time of this audit, we estimated initial applications for unpermitted massage businesses would generate $500,000 in permit fees and $280,000 in ongoing renewal fees.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 44 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #21-04 Code Enforcement Management Controls
#12 To better set expectations for staff and address potential risks in its programs, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should:
a) Create and update Code Enforcement policies using a risk-based approach to identify where programs may not meet objectives, for example, incorporating policies or guidance for elements of supervisory review, documentation for deviating from policies, and for special programs,
b) Combine the policies into a comprehensive digital
manual, and
c) Set a schedule for periodic review of policies and
procedures to update as needed.
PBCE Implemented (a) Code Enforcement developed an overarching deviations policy, which will be added to its digital manual and distributed the policy to staff. To meet (b) and (c), Code Enforcement developed a comprehensive digital policy manual and a schedule for periodic review of policies and procedures. Code has created a priority matrix and work plan to update Code policies and procedures in the digital policy manual accordingly.
#21-04 Code Enforcement Management Controls
#13 To promote consistent case review practices, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should develop training for new Code Enforcement supervisors.
PBCE Implemented In addition to a periodic case review policy, Code Enforcement has developed two reports - an Action Management Report and a Case Pipeline Report. These reports are new tools for supervisors to gather insights, analyze, understand, and review cases and manage inspector workloads. Code Enforcement management discussed the reports with the supervisor team in December and provided a more in-depth training/overview with the General Code supervisors on December 18, 2024. In January 2025, Code implemented a pilot with the General Code Program Supervisors to put the reports into practice as a tool for caseload management. The Code Enforcement Senior Analyst meets regularly with the General Code Supervisors to provide assistance and get feedback in anticipation of rolling out the reports as a case review/management tool to all Supervisors.
#21-04 Code Enforcement Management Controls
#17 Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should develop targets and track Code Enforcement program performance to:
a) Establish expectations for inspector activity and
performance and incorporate into regular performance evaluations (e.g., time to case closure based on type of violation and number of open cases).
b) Rebalance workloads or add resources, as needed.
PBCE Partly Implemented a) Code Enforcement reports that revised performance metrics have been established in FY 2024-25 to monitor inspector activity workload. Metrics include monitoring the number of violations identified and resolved, the number of inspections, and the types of inspections conducted (business application, complaint-driven, re-inspections, etc.). Code Enforcement also has a 2006 policy for on-time extensions based on target days to closure. Code Enforcement intends to analyze case closure timelines, recent case data history, and prior policy targets to establish revised expectations for inspector activity and performance and incorporate them into regular FY 2025-26 performance evaluations.
b) Code Enforcement has changed program staffing and reassigned inspector areas and cases to balance workloads. Target Date: Jul-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2022) #21-04 Code Enforcement Management Controls
#18 The Code Enforcement Division within the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should complete all outstanding performance evaluations and set a schedule for regular evaluations going forward.
PBCE Implemented Code Enforcement has completed all outstanding performance evaluations that were outstanding at the time of the audit. Staff has continued to complete performance evaluations with a goal of 90% being submitted timely.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 45 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #21-04 Code Enforcement Management Controls
#19 To align performance evaluations with Division goals, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should review and revise its employee expectations and incorporate into Code Enforcement performance evaluations based on objective criteria and measurement (e.g., inspector use of photos, consistency in case notes; supervisor quality of supervisory case review).
PBCE Partly Implemented Code Enforcement has worked on balancing and monitoring workloads. Code Enforcement plans to revise performance expectations and incorporate them into the FY 2025-26 performance evaluations. This recommendation is tied to the completion of audit recommendation #17 of this audit (21-04). Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2024)
#21-05 Municipal Water Billing and Customer Service
#04 To streamline the service order process, the Environmental Services Department, in coordination with the Information Technology Department, should update the process to enable staf f
to coordinate service orders electronically.
ESD / ITD Not Implemented According to the Department, staff investigated using the Business Process Automation system to manage service orders with online forms. However, according to the Department, there is not a current method to automatically sync data between the City's utility billing system and an online form without significant investment. Staff report that they have explored options but it cannot be done due to current system constraints. The Department intends to address this with an update to the City's utility billing system expected to be completed in 2026, and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) that may include a mobile work order module, anticipated to be completed in 2027. Target Date: Jun-2027 (Delayed From: Jun-2022) #21-05 Municipal Water Billing and Customer Service
#05 To better assess performance, the Environmental Services Department should revise the performance measure methodology for “% of customer service requests handled within 24 hours” to use operational data instead of customer survey data.
ESD Not Implemented The purpose of this recommendation was to accurately measure the timeliness of responses to customer service requests. The Department reports that an update to the City’s utility billing system anticipated for completion in 2026, and implementation of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system anticipated for completion in 2027, may result in further work order and response tracking. Target Date: Jun-2027 (Delayed From: Dec-2023)
#22-02 Environmental Review for New Developments
#01 To improve the coordination of reviews, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should:
a. Develop a training plan that includes both formal and informal training options on project management, environmental review, and entitlement review, and
b. Expand the model in which planners handle both the
entitlement and environmental reviews, with a division dedicated to projects with more complex environmental review.
PBCE Partly Implemented a) Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) has developed a training plan that includes topics such as a high-level overview of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review process in San José, developing project descriptions, project and time management best practices, and others. PBCE updated the Environmental Resources Intranet page to include updated information on the CEQA process for public projects, including the process for obtaining CEQA references for City Council memos, links to helpful resources. PBCE reports that it continued to host bi-monthly training for staff.
b) According to PBCE, budget and staffing constraints have prevented starting the model of joint environmental and entitlement project manager reviews. PBCE reports that the focus is currently on developing the Environmental Guidelines and Thresholds Guide and standardized templates, which PBCE expects will facilitate easier joint review after completion. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Dec- 2023)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 46 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #22-02 Environmental Review for New Developments
#04 To promote consistency of environmental review data entry, the Department of Planning, Building and Code
Enforcement should:
a. Update and expand AMANDA guidelines and related
expectations around data entry for areas such as recording of staff hours, use of entry codes, and use of comments, and
b. Develop training for staff about the AMANDA guidelines.
PBCE Not Implemented a) Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reports that the Environmental Review Team has been focusing on improving time tracking in AMANDA. Per PBCE, planners are now expected to enter their AMANDA hours every week and submit a printout of their hour reports to the Principal Planner at the end of the week, and that this has resulted in an improvement in the number of hours captured. PBCE reports that AMANDA 7 guidelines will be updated after updates are made to the ENV folder in AMANDA.
b) AMANDA 7 training was held for the Environmental Review Team in March 2022 regarding closing out folders for projects. PBCE reports that in-person training on AMANDA data entry occurred in July 2024, and a refresher training on AMANDA was held in August 2024. Per PBCE, this was an interim AMANDA training until there are future updates to the AMANDA 7 ENV folder. PBCE reports its current goal is to improve time tracking in AMANDA within the current system until the AMANDA 7 ENV folder is updated. According to PBCE, due to competing priorities with the Environmental Guidelines and Thresholds Guide, budget considerations, and the current workload for Information Technology Department staff, work on updates to the ENV folder is not anticipated to start until the end of 2025 at the earliest. Target Date:
Jun-2026 (Delayed From: Dec-2023)
#22-02 Environmental Review for New Developments
#06 To make the environmental review process more
standardized and consistent, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should update and expand relevant tools and templates for the environmental review team, as well as develop related procedures on the expected usage, including:
a. Establish a standard project schedule tracker that staff are expected to use for projects, and
b. Create additional tools and templates to support project management, such as agenda templates for meetings with
different stakeholders, a consolidated list of the City’s thresholds of significance, and City resolution templates for adoption for the different types of environmental reviews.
PBCE Partly Implemented a) Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) developed templates in Excel to use for project schedule planning by staff and environmental consultants. These have been posted on the Environmental Review Team SharePoint site and include City target review times for environmental impact reports (EIRs), negative declarations/mitigated negative declarations, and initial study/addendums. Templates are expected to be shared with consultants during the scope of work review or the project kick-off meeting.
b) PBCE executed a service order with a consultant in May 2024 for preparation of an Environmental Guidelines and Thresholds Guide. The service order also includes the preparation of a set of standardized templates for common environmental review documents to update the City’s templates. Per PBCE, the consultant had begun the work, but work on the Environmental Guidelines and Thresholds Guide paused in September. According to PBCE, this was due to other Council priorities such an in-fill housing development ministerial ordinance. PBCE expects that the work for the ministerial ordinance will inform parts of the Environmental Guidelines and Thresholds Guide. For example, the ordinance includes standard environmental project conditions that will be used as templates for the standardized conditions of approval included with the Environmental Guidelines. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2023)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 47 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #22-02 Environmental Review for New Developments
#08 To better manage the work done by environmental consultants, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should:
a. Establish project management requirements for the
relationship with consultants, including regular check-ins, expectations for communication with the consultant, and guidelines for dealing with delays, and
b. Consider instituting a list of required consultants.
PBCE Partly Implemented a) Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for environmental impact reports (EIRs), negative declarations/mitigated negative declarations, and addendums. The SOPs include check-in expectations and recommendations at certain milestones, such as after public comments are received from the circulation of the draft EIR. Additionally, staff have drafted interim Environmental Consultant Guidelines that provide expectations for consultants to maintain and update project schedules. Per PBCE, staff also reviewed guidelines for other jurisdictions that have expectations for quality of work and timeliness. PBCE executed a service agreement with an environmental consultant in May 2024 to assist in creating final Environmental Consultant Guidelines. PBCE reports that it will be working on a separate policy on expectations for the relationship between environmental consultants and staff, including protocols for addressing conflicts and delays. Per PBCE, the policy is separated from the Environmental Consultant Guidelines so that it can be reviewed by consultants on the updated approved environmental consultant list before implementation. b) Per a memorandum from the Director of PBCE in October 2022, all applications for private development that require California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis must use a consultant on the City's Approved Environmental Consultants list starting 1/1/2023. At the time of the audit, use of a City approved consultant was optional. The audit found that, since 2019, negative declaration/mitigated negative declaration projects with an approved consultant were completed about three months faster than projects with other consultants. PBCE reports that a Notice of Intent to Award for consultants qualifying for the updated City List of Approved Environmental Consultants was sent in January 2025. Per PBCE, with the establishment of a new list, PBCE will be re-starting the Environmental Consultants Roundtable. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2023)
#22-02 Environmental Review for New Developments
#09 The Department of Planning, Building and Code
Enforcement should finalize and publish guidelines about the City’s CEQA requirements and process for environmental
consultants to help them prepare environmental documents according to the City’s standards.
PBCE Not Implemented In FY 2021-22, staff drafted interim Environmental Consultant Guidelines to help consultants develop their scope of work and schedule. Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reports that staff also reviewed guidelines for other jurisdictions that have thresholds of significance and expectations for quality of work and timeliness. PBCE has engaged an environmental consultant to assist with drafting and finalizing Environmental Consultant Guidelines with thresholds of significance and updated templates. Per PBCE, work on the Environmental Guidelines and Thresholds Guide was paused in September 2024 in order to focus on other Council priorities (see recommendation 22-02 #06.b). Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2023)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 48 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #22-02 Environmental Review for New Developments
#10 To ensure costs are appropriately recovered, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should:
a. Review and update guidelines for how to track time spent on environmental reviews and what activities should be billed, and b. Review the cost recovery calculation for environmental review fees.
PBCE Partly Implemented a) Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for environmental impact reports (EIRs), negative declarations/mitigated negative declarations, and addendums. The SOPs include guidelines for tracking time spent on environmental reviews and includes references of what activities should be billed. Per PBCE, reporting of AMANDA hours increased from bi-weekly to weekly reporting to improve time tracking. PBCE also reports that staff have started implementing simple house-keeping practices that will help with cost recovery, such as requesting vis-codes before attending meetings on upcoming projects, requiring payment of invoices prior to scheduling projects for hearings, and ensuring that staff regularly input their hours in AMANDA. b) PBCE is seeking to update the fee schedule as part of the budget approval process and have the changes reflected in FY 2025-26. The changes would be to increase the base fee for certain types of exemptions and environmental impact reports (EIRs).
Per PBCE, forms to change fees & charges for EIRs were submitted to administrative staff in fall 2024 to increase the base fee for an EIR from 70 to 120 hours. According to PBCE, this is based on AMANDA hours from the last four fiscal years. PBCE expects that collecting higher base fees will improve revenue and reduce the number of invoices for additional hours worked above the base fee. PBCE is also seeking to formalize the base fee for In-Fill Exemptions to be the same as the base fee for Addendums and Mitigated Negative Declarations/Negative Declarations (21 hours) to reflect the additional review of technical reports needed to support a Class 32 exemption. Target Date: Jun-2026
Potential Monetary Benefit: At the time of the audit, we determined that if the City was able to identify additional billable tasks (accounting for about 5 percent of planners' time), the City could save about $63,000.
#22-02 Environmental Review for New Developments
#11 To reduce workload on environmental review planners, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should re-assign invoicing and other administrative duties to support staff, to the extent possible. This could include filling the administrative position assigned to the environmental review team.
PBCE Not Implemented Planning, Building and Code Enforcement reports that recruitment for a Principal Office Specialist has been put on hold because of budget considerations. Target Date: Jun-2026 (Delayed From: Dec-2022)
Potential Monetary Benefit: We estimate the cost of invoicing and other administrative duties would be $49,000 less if conducted by administrative staff rather than planners.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 49 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #22-02 Environmental Review for New Developments
#12 To enable the City Council to make informed decisions about strategic planning, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should develop a process to regularly present to Council options for analyses that could streamline
environmental reviews as part of the City’s comprehensive planning efforts. This should include resources and tentative timelines needed to complete the work.
PBCE Partly Implemented Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reports that the Environmental Review Team is working with the Citywide Team to include program-level environmental clearance in the scope of long-range planning efforts. The City has selected consultant firms to prepare program-level environmental clearance for the Five-Wounds Urban Village and the Monterey Corridor in Coyote Valley. A service order for the Five-Wounds Urban Village has been executed. Per PBCE, the administrative draft environmental impact report (EIR) is still being prepared. The Monterey Corridor and Saratoga Urban Villages EIRs are paused as PBCE reassess strategies to complete these projects in the current budget environment. PBCE presented a report to the Community and Economic Development Committee in February 2025 on CEQA streamlining with a focus on exemptions and downtown projects. The report outlined strategies to further streamline CEQA review for downtown projects, particularly those that do not impact historic resources. It also described how these options would support implementation of a ministerial ordinance for downtown projects. PBCE reports that Planning continues to pursue drafting a policy outlining the criteria for when a program-level CEQA analysis is appropriate, standard operating procedures for determining budget and schedule early in the planning process, and a process for estimating consultant costs and City staff time to review and manage the environmental clearance and prepare and execute service orders. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2022) #22-03 Citywide Grant Management
#01 To assist departments that manage grants awards Citywide, the Administration should identify staffing resources to develop and maintain Citywide administrative guidelines or procedures, and training materials around the different phases of grant management, including:
i. Applying for grants,
ii. Accounting, tracking, and monitoring of expenditures, including subrecipient and contractor management,
iii. Grant closeout responsibilities, and
iv. Preparing for federal audits and reviews, including notifying the Finance Department when the award is selected for an audit or review by a federal agency.
FIN Partly
Implemented
-
Priority
The Finance Department has drafted a City Grants Acquisition, Management, and Compliance Policy which is currently under review with Finance Senior Staff. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2023)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 50 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #22-04 Take-Home Vehicles
#01 The Administration should clarify and update guidelines for take-home vehicles in City Policy Manual 1.8.1 Use of City and Personal Vehicles to:
a) Better define roles and responsibilities of department liaisons, Public Works, and the City Manager’s Office,
b) Provide acceptable mechanisms to calculate call-backs, such as required documentation of reported numbers, and
c) Require exemption requests, in instances where employees do not meet all the policy guidelines, to include justification and reasoning for the request, including cost/benefit analyses as appropriate.
PW Partly Implemented Public Works reports that staff has drafted proposed edits for City Policy Manual 1.8.1 and plans to send it to senior management for review. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Nov-2022)
#22-04 Take-Home Vehicles
#02 To streamline the authorization process, Public Works should work with the Information Technology Department to simplify and develop an electronic approval process. This should include standard processes to:
a) Identify take-home vehicles, which should include
departments providing updates to Public Works and the City Manager’s Office on a periodic basis to account for changes to the roster of employees approved for take-home vehicles, and b) Submit exemption requests for employees that do not meet all the policy requirements.
PW Partly Implemented Public Works established a new electronic request and approval form through SmartSheets. The Department sends quarterly reminder emails to departments to update the list of individuals assigned take-home vehicles. The emails also ask for records relating to the actual number of call-backs, position and unit data associated with individuals with take-home vehicles, one-way commute mileage data, and assessments of the cost-benefits of providing mileage reimbursements or auto allowances rather than a take-home vehicle (where possible). According to staff, the expectations for these periodic department updates have been added to the draft CPM 1.8.1 Policy revision for review by the Public Works senior management and other stakeholders for review. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jan-2023) #22-04 Take-Home Vehicles
#03 To monitor for potential personal use:
a) Public Works should ensure take-home vehicles are
equipped with telematics, as appropriate, and relevant department staff have access to telematics.
b) The Administration should update the policy to require departments to monitor for personal use, such as through random audits to identify off-hour, evening, or weekend use, or requiring department directors to attest that controls are in place to prevent personal use of take-home vehicles.
PW Partly Implemented Public Works reports that staff will conduct the final rollout of telematics migration by June 2025 that will allow all take-home assets, with the exception of certain units, to have remote visibility. Public Works reports that it is in the process of updating the City Policy Manual (CPM 1.8.1) requiring departments to self-monitor take-home vehicle usage. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Apr-2023) #22-04 Take-Home Vehicles
#04 To ensure clear expectations for employees who may be subject to taxable fringe benefits, the Administration should update City Policy Manual 1.8.1 Use of City and Personal Vehicles the Take-Home Policy C.P.M 1.8.1 to include IRS guidelines around what vehicles are exempt from fringe benefit calculations.
PW / FIN Partly Implemented Public Works and Finance staff drafted an update of CPM 1.8.1 and plans to send it to the senior staff for review. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Nov-2022) Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 51 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #22-04 Take-Home Vehicles
#05 To ensure accuracy of IRS reporting of taxable fringe benefits, the Finance Department should:
a) Work with Public Works to annually review the roster of take- home vehicles against IRS guidelines to identify vehicles subject to taxable fringe benefit reporting, and
b) Revise the calculation of taxable fringe benefits to remove call- back events from the commute mileage.
FIN / PW Partly Implemented The Finance Department revised the calculation of taxable fringe benefits (removed the call back events from commute milage) and plans to work with Public Works (Fleet Division) to establish a mechanism for identifying which take-home vehicles are subject to taxable fringe benefit reporting per IRS guidelines. Fleet identified a location in the asset management system and needs to update each vehicle manually to identify and automate the report. The task has been assigned to a retire rehire.
Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2022)
#22-05 Bill of Rights for Children and Youth
#01 To enhance the impact of children and youth programing, as part of the City’s Children and Youth Services Master Plan development process, the City Administration should:
A. Identify a process and resources to develop and maintain an inventory of the City’s children and youth programs and use the inventory to document gaps in services as it relates to the Bill of Rights for Children and Youth.
B. Continue to enhance equity in service delivery by developing Citywide procedures and monitoring mechanisms to increase accessibility to children and youth programs in underserved areas.
C. Implement a process for children and youth to access the spectrum of City programs and services, regardless of their entry point.
CMO Implemented A. In collaboration with the Library and Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS), the Administration created and maintains a centralized portfolio to record and track programs and services that was cross-referenced with the Bill of Rights for Children and Youth. The Administration reports that, as an ongoing standard practice, City staff meet with potential partners to address identified gaps, and to leverage the resources and expertise of other organizations (e.g., Santa Clara County Office of Education, community-based organizations, etc.).
B. The Library and PRNS report they integrated equity practices as a standard practice in their service delivery. PRNS developed and implemented internal procedures and practices to conduct targeted outreach to underserved and under- resourced communities to provide them priority registration. In FY 2024-25, PRNS designated $1.2 million dollars annually for scholarships to enhance equity and increase accessibility of public recreation opportunities. Furthermore, PRNS staff conduct annual quality standards assessments of children/youth programs that includes an equity domain to ensure inclusive and equitable programs. The Library conducts an annual assessment of flagship programs to ensure alignment with program quality standards centered around equity. Annual quality standard assessment findings from both Library and PRNS are reported to City Council in the annual Education Strategy Report. The Youth Commission works with Library staff to evaluate College and Career pathway programs, provides youth perspective on San José's literacy initiatives, and amplifies voices from underserved communities through its annual priorities survey. The Administration reports that while the Children and Youth Services Master Plan, which was approved by City Council in April 2024, has a citywide focus, it has a particular focus on underserved communities to remove barriers and increase access to City and partner programs and services.
C. As a part of the Children and Youth Services Master plan, the Administration reports that it has convened over 300 community stakeholders (e.g., parents, youth, County of Santa Clara/City staff, community-based organizations) to develop a process and strategy to provide a seamless approach for children, youth, and their families to access the spectrum of City programs and services, regardless of entry point. The City has designed and plans to institute a self-sufficiency matrix, looking at factors such as housing access and security, learning and empowerment, and childcare and family supports; as well as a universal intake form which assesses the needs and strengths of children and adolescents entering into City programs.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 52 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #22-05 Bill of Rights for Children and Youth
#02 To promote continuous improvement of City’s children and youth programs and services, and as part of the Children and Youth Services Master Plan development process, the City Administration should:
A. Define metrics to assess overall progress towards desired outcomes identified in the Bill of Rights for Children and Youth.
B. Develop a reporting schedule to the appropriate City Council committee on these metrics.
This may require establishing data sharing agreements with partners, potentially including school districts and the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
CMO Implemented a) As mentioned in the status update for recommendation #1 from this audit (2205- 01), the Administration created and annually updates an inventory of programs and services and identified gaps. As part of the Children and Youth Services Master Plan development, the Administration identified current metrics and progress towards desired outcomes that departments plan to regularly report to City Council as they relate to the Bill of Rights for Children and Young Adults. This evaluation is ongoing and now considered a permanent assessment for continuous improvement. The Administration reports City staff across departments and external partners review their respective outcomes and identify strategies to align shared outcomes with the Children and Youth Services Master Plan. In addition, City staff worked with external partners to refine program performance measures in alignment with the Children and Youth Services Master Plan priority areas.
b) The completed Children and Youth Services Master Plan for the City of San José was presented to the Neighborhood Services and Education (NSE) Committee in February 2024 and was approved by the City Council on April 9, 2024. The Administration reported that in addition, City departments, particularly Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, the Library, and Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs present to NSE and City Council annually to provide updates and continuous improvement strategies of the City’s children and youth programs and services. The Children and Youth Services Master Plan update is scheduled for April 2025, as an annual reporting cadence. #22-06 COVID-19 Food Distribution Expenditures
#02 To verify service delivery and reduce the potential for questioned costs from grant agencies, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services in coordination with the Finance Recovery Group should:
• Using a risk-based approach, collect sample documentation from food vendors to support reported service levels and eligibility of contracted populations where the City does not currently have detailed data on service delivery. Documentation should support that grant funds met contract terms.
• As needed, collect documentation to supplement or clarify invoices that do not tie to service reports.
PRNS /
FIN
Implemented Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) and the Finance Recovery Group continue to retroactively monitor food distribution contracts by requesting invoices, intake forms or participant data, and performance reports from contracted vendors. The Finance Recovery Group identified 14 agreements with a high need for documentation. Of the 14 agreements, Finance collected full documentation for nine contracts, and reports submitting the documentation to grant agencies. Finance either removed or reduced the claim amounts for the five contracts without full documentation. Finance and PRNS plan to collect and submit documentation to the appropriate grant agencies for the remaining food distribution contracts. #22-06 COVID-19 Food Distribution Expenditures
#03 To prepare for the next emergency, the Administration should update the Emergency Operations Plan to reassign the Purchasing Division’s roles and responsibilities to ensure segregation of duties and formalize procurement tools as developed by staff during the COVID-19 emergency.
CMO Partly
Implemented
-
Priority
The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) presented an updated Emergency Operations Plan and support annexes to City Council, which were approved in May 2024. Purchasing and Procurement staff are reassigned to different functions, which separates staff making purchases from staff requesting purchases in the Logistics Section. The Finance Department has executed a master agreement with an outside contractor and are developing a service order to create a Cost Recovery Document, which will incorporate the procurement tools developed by staff during the COVID-19 emergency. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2023) Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 53 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #22-06 COVID-19 Food Distribution Expenditures
#04 To increase emergency preparedness, the Administration should establish processes in accordance with Uniform Guidance for City staff to review submitted documentation and verify information through site visits and desk reviews, and reference such guidance within the Emergency Operations Plan.
FIN / CMO Partly Implemented The Finance Department (Finance) has created a draft Citywide Grant Acquisition, Management, and Compliance Policy, which is being reviewed by Finance senior staff. The draft policy aims to limit the City’s exposure to grant-related liability and refers to Uniform Guidance as a key resource for federal grants management. Under the draft policy, awarded departments must regularly monitor grant-funded activities to ensure compliance with grant requirements. Monitoring activities may include reviewing grantees' financial reports, relevant documentation, and conducting site visits. Additionally, the draft policy would require grantees to maintain and submit accurate programmatic reports. These reports should include detailed information on grant-related activities and data, including project status and participant information.
Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2024)
#22-08 Tree Removals and Replacements
#05 To verify that trees are planted according to replacement requirements for development permits, the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should develop a process for staff to collect a certification of substantial completion of landscape and irrigation installation prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, as described in the Municipal Code.
PBCE Partly Implemented According to Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE), Planning has updated its submittal guidelines to include requirements for landscape and irrigation plan sets to be submitted as part of the Development Review Entitlement process.
PBCE reports Planning has created a Certificate of Compliance form which will need to be submitted prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy. According to staff, additional coordination between Planning and the Building Division is needed to update the City's permitting system processes. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jan-2025)
#22-08 Tree Removals and Replacements
#06 To sufficiently recuperate lost canopy due to tree removals, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, in coordination with the Department of Transportation, should:
a. Review the tree replacement ratio to determine if it is appropriately meeting the goals of the community forest program, b. Revise the tree replacement policy to include considerations for canopy size and optimal species of replacement trees, and c. Provide permit applicants with guidance for appropriate tree selection to meet the replacement policy requirements and to best ensure tree survival.
PBCE /
DOT
Partly Implemented Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reports they are coordinating with Department of Transportation Forestry team to review the current tree removal replacement ratio, taking canopy size into consideration, to determine if the current replacement ratios and fees are appropriate to meet the goals of the community forestry program. Additionally, PBCE reports they have drafted guidelines for species selection and tree planting to promote the survival of trees in various urban environments throughout San José. Staff report these guides will be continuously updated, as necessary, based on the best current practices to ensure the survival of these trees planted in San José. Target Date: Jun-2026 #22-08 Tree Removals and Replacements
#08 The Department of Transportation should create metrics to measure progress towards the City’s tree planting objectives, such as the number of tree removals, tree replacements, planting efforts, and cost-effectiveness of different planting approaches.
DOT Partly Implemented The Department of Transportation (DOT) reports the development of new metrics to measure progress towards City planting objectives is still ongoing. According to the Department, the Transportation and Aviation City Service Area will be evaluated in FY 2024-25 with new measures to be adopted by FY 2025-26 in coordination with the City Manager’s Office. The Department reports Forestry Division staff is waiting to adopt new community forest metrics to align efforts with that work. Additionally, the Department reports between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, 1,939 trees were planted within the public right of way and within parks. Target Date: Jun-2026 (Delayed From: Dec-2023)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 54 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #22-08 Tree Removals and Replacements
#10 To ensure the City is able to increase the scale of tree planting and grow the canopy effectively, the Department of Transportation should work with the Community Forest Advisory Committee to develop an outreach plan, including metrics to determine success of the outreach program.
DOT Partly Implemented Through a federal grant with the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Transportation (DOT) developed a multi-year outreach campaign to encourage residents to request new street trees to be planted in the public right of way. The campaign is intended to be a multi-year effort, developing translated outreach materials, messaging, and methods in year one, with the goals of contacting around 5,600 property owners in year two, and an additional 5,600 property owners in year three to facilitate the planting goal of 2,800 new street trees. However, in January 2025, DOT was notified that the grant funding had been frozen. Despite the funding challenges, DOT reports the first year of the project timeline affords a buffer and they anticipate they may be able to complete all requisite work in order to start the outreach campaign in year two of the project timeline. Target Date: Jun-2026 (Delayed From: Dec-2023)
#22-09 Firearm Regulations
#01 To ensure that the San José Municipal Code better aligns with the California Penal Code, the City Administration should update sections 10.32.020, 6.90.320, and 6.90.330 of the Municipal Code.
CAO /
CMO
Implemented In December 2024, the City Council approved changes to the San José Municipal Code sections 10.32.020, 6.90.320, and 6.90.330 to better align with the California Penal Code.
#22-09 Firearm Regulations
#02 To provide consistency and clarify responsibilities, the Police Department should update the Duty Manual to reflect the different types of gun violence restraining orders, and develop procedures on the current process for each, including staff responsibilities on disseminating communications on applicable administrative or law updates in a timely manner.
PD Partly Implemented The Police Department reports that it is in the process of reviewing and updating relevant Duty Manual sections. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun-2024) #23-01 San Jose Conservation Corps
#01 To better assess program effectiveness, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should include performance metrics related to timeliness or effectiveness of work in its next agreement with the Conservation Corps for the BeautifySJ program.
PRNS Partly Implemented Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) reports that BeautifySJ established a performance measure for 80 percent of clean-ups to be completed on- time and met with the San Jose Conservation Corps (SJCC) in August 2023 to discuss the new measure. BeautifySJ also reports that in October 2023, staff met with SJCC leads to review training and reporting requirements for their staff, and outlined how to properly file reports, request equipment, perform billing, report on tonnage, and sort through collected items. The Department reports that an agreement was executed and an amendment being negotiated to include the new performance metric requirements. Target Date: Apr-2025 (Delayed From: Jul-2024) #23-01 San Jose Conservation Corps
#03 The Finance Department should work with Parks,
Recreation and Neighborhood Services and the City Attorney’s Office to determine the breakdown of indirect costs in the agreements with the San Jose Conservation Corps and take the necessary steps to ensure compliance with federal Uniform Guidance.
PRNS /
CAO
Implemented In coordination with the City Attorney's Office and Finance Department, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) executed an amended Resilience Corps agreement to limit indirect costs with the San Jose Conservation Corps (SJCC) per Federal Uniform Guidance. No other current or upcoming agreements with SJCC are federally funded.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 55 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #23-01 San Jose Conservation Corps
#04 To promote safety for Conservation Corps members, the City Administration should:
a) Work with the San Jose Conservation Corps to finalize safety operating procedures for handling biowaste and hazards and provide the necessary tools to properly dispose of these hazards. b) Develop training requirements and guidance based on OSHA standards, and memorialize these requirements in future BeautifySJ agreements with the Conservation Corps.
PRNS /
CMO
Implemented BeautifySJ staff met with San Jose Conservation Corps (SJCC) supervisors in June 2023 to discuss required trainings for handling bloodborne pathogens and general first aid. Current SJCC staff have completed CPR and bloodborne pathogen trainings, and these were incorporated into their onboarding process prior to new staff beginning fieldwork. SJCC also incorporated a biowaste and sharps handling training into their onboarding process. PRNS received proof of all completed trainings by SJCC, and created a training log to track current and future SJCC employees.
BeautifySJ and SJCC developed standard operating procedures for handling and reporting hazards in September 2023. The most recent San Jose Conservation Corps (SJCC) Direct Discharge contract was executed in September 2024 and aligns with the new requirements.
#23-01 San Jose Conservation Corps
#05 To streamline the hazard notification process, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services should establish a process, such as a work order or other system, to timely notify and follow up with the appropriate parties of hazards in the field for proper disposal.
PRNS Closed Previously, vendors such as the San Jose Conservation Corps provided encampment management services without City supervision or in-field direction from a BeautifySJ staff member. This meant that technology was needed for vendors to easily report when they encountered hazards. However, BeautifySJ staff now lead encampment management services in the field, and directly coordinate hazard response with on- site vendor teams. Due to the changes in the service environment, we recommend closing this recommendation.
#23-03 Integrated Waste Management Enforcement Program
#05 To identify potentially unreported violations, the Environmental Services Department should update the Integrated Waste Management Enforcement procedures for proactive
inspections to focus inspector attention on areas that have fewer complaints based on factors such as multi-family housing and commercial density, and tailor proactive work based on the needs of identified communities.
ESD Implemented The Environmental Services Department has created a GIS map using the Integrated Waste Management (IWM) Enforcement team's inspection data, multi-family dwelling density, and commercial business density to identify areas of the City with high drivers of solid waste issues but low enforcement activity. Additionally, they have updated standard operating procedures to reflect that inspectors will be assigned to areas with low enforcement activity and provide educational outreach to the public, as workloads allow. To assist in outreach and education efforts, the IWM Enforcement Team has also developed trilingual outreach to improve communicating solid waste requirements with the public.
#23-03 Integrated Waste Management Enforcement Program
#06 The Environmental Services Department should procure a new software solution for the Integrated Waste Management team that allows for streamlined data entry and management to free up time for inspectors to spend more time in the field.
ESD Not Implemented The Environmental Services Department reports that procuring a new database for the Integrated Waste Management (IWM) and Watershed Protection's (WSP) enforcement teams is in progress. Stakeholders in IWM and WSP met throughout 2021 and 2022 to create a list of features and improvements needed in the current database. The procurement request has been assigned to a purchaser and is awaiting the next steps in the RFP process. Target Date: Jun-2026 Potential Monetary Benefit: We estimate that reducing the time required for data entry and administration would free up one hour of inspector time per day. The annual savings of four inspectors having one more hour per day would be $77,000.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 56 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #23-04 Housing Performance Measures
#01 In conjunction with the Administration’s initiative to revise performance measures in the Operating Budget, and implement the City Focus Areas, the Administration and Housing Department should, using logic models or some other means:
a) Revise the Housing Department’s performance measures in the City’s Operating Budget to reflect better indicators of performance for the Department, and
b) Reduce and align the number of performance measures
across the City’s Operating Budget and other Housing-related performance reports or dashboards (to the extent allowable based on funding sources).
HSG Partly Implemented The Housing Department (Housing) reviewed the performance metrics from the: FY 2024-25 Operating Budget, the findings from this audit report, the City Manager's Office Community Services Areas Scorecard, Council Directives, and those metrics formerly listed on Housing's website data dashboard. To streamline, improve, and clarify the Housing's performance metrics, Housing is consolidating the homeless response and interim housing management goals for the Homeless Dashboard and the housing production and preservation goals for the Housing Production Dashboard. The dashboards are in development and are expected to go live in 2025.
Updated measures will also be included in the FY 2025-26 Operating Budget. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Oct-2024)
#23-04 Housing Performance Measures
#02 To ensure consistency and reliability of performance measures, the Housing Department should document
methodology for measures in the Operating Budget and other year -
over-year reports and dashboards.
HSG Partly Implemented The new dashboards (see recommendation 23-04 #01) include the source behind the reported performance metrics. Similarly, under the City's efforts to update and modernize performance measures in the City's Operating Budget, all performance measures also contain the data source for reported measures. Target Date: Jun- 2025 (Delayed From: Oct-2024)
#23-05 Retirement Services
#01 To ensure that the Office of Retirement Services has efficient operations and strong internal controls around administrative functions, the Office of Retirement Services and the Retirement Boards, in coordination with the City Administration and the City Attorney’s Office, should either:
a) Adopt the City’s policies and procedures related to
information systems and technology, and support services such as procurement, invoice processing, and other relevant administrative functions, or
b) Develop a set of internal policies and procedures that are in alignment with the City’s policies and procedures.
ORS Implemented
-
Priority
The Retirement Boards have adopted City policies relating to information systems and technology, ethical conduct, and fair employment, among others. The Office of Retirement Services developed a procurement policy for professional services that are chosen by the Boards. This policy was reviewed by the City's Finance Department and staff incorporated their feedback. The Boards Governance Committee approved this policy in December 2024. The Boards adopted this policy at their January 2025 Board meetings. Other goods and services not covered by the policy will be procured following City policies and the San José Municipal Code. #23-07 Residential Building Permits
#02 In conjunction with the long-term staffing strategy, to ensure that the Building Division has the resources needed to accommodate ongoing workload, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should reassess the assumptions in its permit fee model and update and document current staffing assumptions related to the expected time necessary for staff to complete work, vacancy rates, dedicated ADU staffing, use of consultants for residential plan review, estimated workload volume, and use of reserves.
PBCE /
CMO
Not Implemented Planning, Building and Code Enforcement is currently analyzing the workload and capacity for residential building permits, specifically for new Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) construction to accurately document staffing assumptions. Following this step, the department reports it will address the remaining parts of the recommendation, including analyzing the permit fee model, and updating the staffing assumptions related to vacancy, workload, and the use of reserves. Target Date: Dec-2025 (Delayed From: Sep-2024)
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 57 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #23-07 Residential Building Permits
#03 In order to ensure consistency of plan review fees, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should:
a. Provide ongoing training to Plan Reviewers on charging actual time, even when hours spent exceed the initial estimates.
Further, the training should include whether Senior Engineers may charge time to customers for oversight and coordination when plan reviews are completed by consultants.
b. Work with the Information Technology Department to adjust plan check fees in AMANDA to the current fiscal year adopted fee rates.
PBCE /
ITD
Partly Implemented Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) implemented a policy clarifying billable and non-billable time for plan review staff, including Senior Engineers. PBCE reports that the ITD team has completed the programming updates in the AMANDA system to assess the current fee rate when additional plan review fees are billed.
The changes are currently being tested to ensure the updates are complete and will then be deployed into production. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Sep-2024) #23-07 Residential Building Permits
#09 In order to make current appointments more efficient and reduce the likelihood of customer no-shows, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should:
a. Enforce its appointment cancelation policy for applications submitted without required documents that have been
unresponsive to contact by Permit Center staff;
b. Formalize a queuing process to make canceled
appointments available to future appointment holders who have uploaded application materials early; and
c. Educate customers on having a successful permit and plan review experience through outreach, recorded webinars, and training brochures on required steps, forms, fees, and
communication methods.
PBCE Partly Implemented a. and b. With the launch of self-start applications and a new project management software in October 2023, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) removed the requirement for most intake appointments with a Permit Specialist.
Projects submitted through expedited review lines, such as residential express, continue to require an appointment to conduct plan review for qualified projects at the time of intake. Residential express appointments are scheduled by the applicant through a link on the website. PBCE is still formalizing a process for canceling appointments when applicants had not uploaded required documents. c. To help ensure a successful permit intake, plan review, and issuance experience for customers, the Department added written instructions and tutorial videos on SJePlans, such as how to upload application materials and respond to plan review comments. Building held its annual open house event in May 2024, where staff were available for questions from the public and presented on various topics, such as tips for accessory dwelling unit projects. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Jun- 2024)
#23-07 Residential Building Permits
#10 To standardize current permit processes, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should develop standard
operating policies for the Permit Center on assigning projects for permit issuance, follow-up on outstanding fees, and guidance on forwarding projects to the appropriate Development Partners.
PBCE Not Implemented Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) reports that it is in the process of creating procedural documents for the Permit Center team for assigning projects for issuance, following-up on outstanding fees, and forwarding projects to appropriate Development Partners. The procedures would apply to standard projects that go through SJePlans, as well as select projects that do not use SJePlans. Once developed, PBCE plans to train staff to adhere to these standards and place these documents in its Policy and Procedure Hub to ensure up-to-date access by all team members. Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Sep-2024) #23-07 Residential Building Permits
#11 In order to reduce reliance on customers informing staff on final payment of permit fees and to speed up the permit issuance, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should work with the Information Technology Department (ITD) to create a trigger in AMANDA to notify Permit Specialists once a customer has paid final fees instead of having to check manually.
PBCE /
ITD
Implemented The Information Technology Department programmed AMANDA to automatically email the assigned permit specialist when an intake or final issuance fee is paid, thereby streamlining the permit issuance process. Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) developed a written procedure to ensure permit center staff follow the necessary steps to ensure the notification is processed as intended.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 58 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #23-07 Residential Building Permits
#13 To improve communication and outreach to Permit Center customers, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should update the website to remove redundancies, clearly differentiate service lines by clarifying expectations for each Permit Center line or reducing the number of “lines”, and providing clear instructions on the permit process.
PBCE Partly Implemented Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) restructured its website to display residential permit services, the application process, and qualifying projects on a single webpage. Additionally, PBCE updated information about project intake and service lines due to the implementation of SJePlans and self-start applications. PBCE also posted instructional videos on SJePlans, including how customers can respond to plan review comments and resubmit plans through the new platform. Lastly, PBCE plans to further refine online information, including reducing redundancies around Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). Target Date: Jun-2025 (Delayed From: Sep- 2024)
#23-07 Residential Building Permits
#15 To maximize language accessibility and comply with the City’s Language Equity Policy & Guidelines, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement should:
a. Include language translation options for the sjpermits.org website and phone lines, and
b. Develop a process to identify and prioritize vital documents for translation related to the residential permit process in accordance with the policy.
PBCE Not Implemented
-
Priority
a. Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE) plans to work with the Information Technology Department to add translation options to SJPermits.org and its phone lines. PBCE reports that the SJPermits.org portal is being updated, with a translation option included as a requirement for the new portal. b. The Department developed a draft policy on steps PBCE staff should take when requesting translation and interpretation services for project outreach and communication. PBCE reports that staff are creating a process to identify and prioritize vital documents for translation to include in this policy. Target Date: Dec- 2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2024)
#24-01 Non-Management Performance Appraisals
#05 To streamline the non-management employee performance appraisal process, the Human Resources Department should work with the Information Technology Department to implement automated workflows, which could include routing of appraisals for signatures within departments, routing of appraisals to the Human Resources Department for data entry and filing, and notifications for upcoming appraisals.
HR Partly Implemented The Human Resources Department (HR) started the automation work with the Management Performance Program (MPP) process. This was because those appraisals occur only once a year and less employees are affected. Per HR, they are working with the Information Technology Department (ITD) on a Management single appraisal process, in which a department can initiate the form. This would apply for times when a single appraisal needs to be completed (e.g., for probation). According to HR, once this process is completed, ITD will be able to start adding the Non- Management Performance Program appraisal form through the same process. Due to staffing impacts, HR reports the timeline for this work may need to be revised.
Target Date: Jun-2025
#24-01 Non-Management Performance Appraisals
#07 To accurately report performance related to non- management employee performance appraisals, the
Administration should:
a) Adjust the current HRMS report to accurately measure whether non-management performance appraisals were provided on schedule,
b) Rename the current City Service Area dashboard measure to reflect the percentage of nonmanagement employees who received an appraisal to align with the calculation in the current HRMS report, or
c) Establish separate performance measures that capture both the completion percentage and on schedule timeliness of non- management performance appraisals.
HR / CMO Closed As part of the City's Strategic Support City Service Area Performance Modernization effort, the timeliness of non-management performance appraisal performance measure was removed as a performance measure from the City Service Area dashboard and from the department budget. As such, we recommend closing this recommendation.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 59 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-01 Non-Management Performance Appraisals
#08 To ensure consistency and reliability of its performance measures around non-management appraisals completion and/or timeliness, the Human Resources Department should document the methodology for the measures reported in the Adopted Operating Budget and other year-over-year reports and
dashboards.
HR Closed As part of the City's Strategic Support City Service Area Performance Modernization effort, the timeliness of non-management performance appraisal performance measure was removed as a performance measure from the City Service Area dashboard and from the department budget. As such, we recommend closing this recommendation.
#24-02 Language Accessibility
#01 To ensure continued progress in meeting the City’s Customer Service Vision and Standards, the Administration should develop mechanisms and procedures to monitor language accessibility of common points of customer contact across departments, including phone trees, translations of vital documents, and signage posted at City facilities.
CMO Partly Implemented In 2023, the Office of Communication's Language Access Manager conducted site visits at City facilities to offer language accessibility support. In partnership with the Disability Affairs Officer from the Office of Racial and Social Equity, the Office of Communications began the next round of site visits in August 2024 to ensure compliance with the City’s Language Equity Policy and Guidelines and the Americans with Disabilities Act. There were 26 site visits to City facilities in 2024. Site visits are expected to continue in 2025. Site visits are expected to occur every 18 months. The City Manager’s Office is developing a three-phased plan for departments to interpret phone trees and guidance for translating vital documents. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-02 Language Accessibility
#02 The Administration should require departments that regularly provide direct customer service to residents or businesses designate Language Access Coordinator(s) who fulfill the responsibilities outlined in the Language Equity Policy and Guidelines. This may require an update to the policy.
CMO Implemented The Office of Communications, in collaboration with the Office of Racial and Social Equity, launched an Accessibility Liaison Plan. The plan asks departments to appoint at least one representative as their Accessibility Liaison. All departments have appointed at least one representative as their Accessibility Liaison. The goal is to ensure education, problem-solving, information sharing, best practices, and lessons learned to enhance accessibility. The Office of Communications plans to update the Language Equity Policy & Guidelines to align with the Accessibility Liaison Plan. #24-02 Language Accessibility
#03 To effectively support staff in fulfilling their roles, the Office of Communications should develop a Language Access
Coordinator training and resources to share with coordinators.
CMO Partly Implemented The City Manager’s Office developed an online Language Access and Customer Service Training Module, available for all City employees, to support the City’s Customer Service and Vision Standards and equity initiatives. Staff report they are currently working with the Information Technology Department to include this training in the City's internal Human Resource Information System, along with other mandatory City trainings. The Office of Communications reports that it is developing a liaison-specific training to support liaisons in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities outlined in the Language Equity Policy & Guidelines. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-02 Language Accessibility
#04 To ensure departments incorporate language
considerations into their services, the Administration should require departmental Language Access Plans for either customer facing departments or all departments, as appropriate. This may require an update to the Language Equity Policy and Guidelines.
CMO Partly Implemented The Office of Communications is exploring opportunities to streamline equity efforts in the City. In collaboration with the Office of Racial and Social Equity, they have incorporated language access into Racial and Social Equity Action Plan monitoring.
Target Date: Dec-2025
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 60 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-02 Language Accessibility
#05 The Office of Communications should develop and distribute a template for Language Access Plans which at a minimum asks departments to address:
• Procedures for addressing language accessibility in verbal, written, and visual communication,
• Identifying customer-facing positions for requiring language access training, and
• Procedures for identifying necessary resources for language services.
CMO Partly Implemented The Office of Communications is exploring opportunities to streamline equity efforts in the City. In collaboration with the Office of Racial and Social Equity, they have incorporated language access into Racial and Social Equity Action Plan monitoring.
Target Date: Dec-2025
#24-02 Language Accessibility
#06 To ensure vital documents are accessible to residents and businesses, the Office of Communications should:
A. Develop guidance on identifying, prioritizing, and translating vital documents and distribute this guidance to City departments.
B. Explore expanding the City’s use of translation technologies where culturally appropriate translations could be achieved.
This may require consultation with the City Attorney’s Office.
CMO Partly Implemented In July 2024, the Office of Communications acquired an Instant Language Assistant (ILA) device, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to translate and interpret over 125 languages/dialects. Staff report that the pilot test of the program showed positive results from residents and translations were generally accurate. The Office of Communications reports that it is exploring potential next steps. Additionally, the Office is in the process of updating guidance for vital document translation. Target Date: Dec-2025
#24-02 Language Accessibility
#07 To ensure City vendors and consultants provide language services to San José residents and customers, the Administration and the City Attorney’s Office should develop standard contract terms that align with the Language Equity Policy and Guidelines.
CMO /
CAO
Not Implemented The City Attorney’s Office, in coordination with the City Manager's Office, is drafting contract terms that align with the Language Equity Policy & Guidelines for departments to implement when relevant. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-02 Language Accessibility
#09 To ensure continued progress towards equitable language access for City services, the Administration should better define its language equity goals, and develop performance metrics and a system to monitor performance.
CMO Partly Implemented In 2023, the Office of Communication's Language Access Manager conducted site visits at City facilities to offer language accessibility support. In partnership with the Disability Affairs Officer from the Office of Racial and Social Equity, the Office of Communications began the next round of site visits in August 2024 to ensure compliance with the City’s Language Equity Policy and Guidelines and the Americans with Disabilities Act. There were 26 site visits to City facilities in 2024. Site visits are expected to continue in 2025. Site visits are expected to occur every 18 months. The City Manager’s Office is developing a three-phased plan for departments to interpret phone trees and guidance for translating vital documents. Target Date: Dec-2025 Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 61 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-02 Language Accessibility
#10 To better balance the workload of bilingual staff, the Administration should clarify the purpose of the bilingual staff lists and develop guidelines for contacting bilingual staff or when to use external vendors.
CMO Implemented In January 2025, the Office of Employee Relations updated the Bilingual Pay Policy to clarify the bilingual employee lists and which instances bilingual staff or vendors should be used. The primary list has been modified to only include certified bilingual staff who are currently receiving pay, or have received pay within the past three months. According to the policy, City certified bilingual employees are expected to provide direct services in language, reviewing professionally translated documents which have been translated by City contracted vendors, and translating short text.
The additions also refers back to the Language Equity Policy and Guidelines, as well as the City's intranet for additional information. This includes guidelines of when City employees should be contacted for bilingual services. Additionally, the Bilingual Pay Policy now provides guidance on the use of bilingual staff for the purposes of responding to an emergency event. According to the policy, the emergency operations center/department operations center will identify certified bilingual staff who qualify for specific language needs in the event of an emergency. #24-02 Language Accessibility
#11 To provide clarity regarding how interpretation services are provided, the Administration should:
A. Update the Language Equity Policy and Guidelines to clarify expectations of bilingual staff regarding interpretation.
B. Develop a service model for providing professional
interpretation services, including guidance for use of external vendors and assessing the potential for in-house interpreters, where appropriate.
CMO Partly Implemented The Office of Communications updated the City’s Interpretation Standard Operating Procedure which includes guidance for determining when to provide professional interpretation. The Office of Communications reports that it will analyze the potential for in-house interpreters. Budgeted resources may need to be identified for parts of this scope and would be addressed in the City’s budget process within the context of other City Council priorities and budgetary constraints. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-03 Retirement Services
#01 To ensure appropriate controls over procurement and contracting, the Office of Retirement Services should develop internal processes and procedures for key areas, including:
a. Following the Municipal Code and City procedures regarding use of competitive bidding and unique services/sole source procurements.
b. Establishing master agreements with service orders for consultants where specific scopes of services are not established at the time of the contract execution.
c. Ensuring purchase orders or contract agreements are in place with service providers.
d. Executing contracts prior to the start of the contract term. e. Using the City’s standard terms and conditions for contracts as applicable.
f. Working with City support staff, such as Finance Purchasing, Risk Management, and the Information Technology Department on procurements and contracts when required by City policy.
ORS Implemented The Office of Retirement Services developed a procurement policy for professional services that are chosen by the Retirement Boards. This policy was reviewed by the City's Finance Department and staff incorporated their feedback. The Boards Governance Committee approved this policy in December 2024. The Boards adopted this policy at their January 2025 Board meetings. Other goods and services not covered by the policy will be procured following City policies and the San José Municipal Code.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 62 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-03 Retirement Services
#02 To clarify responsibilities around the contracting process, the Office of Retirement Services should train its staff on internal and City procurement and contracting procedures. This should include instructions on when procurements or contracts should be coordinated with the Information Technology Department, Finance Purchasing, Finance Risk Management, and the City Clerk.
ORS Partly Implemented The Office of Retirement Services (ORS) created training resources on procurement, a centralized location for current contracts, and a database that tracks all the steps of the procurement process. In October 2024, ORS attended a training provided by the Finance Department's Purchasing & Risk Management team on procurement and contracting policies and procedures. A full training schedule is under development, and ORS plans to have staff enroll in City procurement training when classes are offered. Staff will also be trained on the finalized internal procurement and contracting procedures. Target Date: Apr-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2024) #24-03 Retirement Services
#03 To ensure all invoice payments can be made through Finance Accounts Payable and avoid the use of wire transfers, the Office of Retirement Services should work with the City’s Finance Department to create purchase orders or establish contracts to be filed with the City Clerk. This should be done for all current service providers and subscription services.
ORS Partly Implemented The Office of Retirement Services (ORS) reports that staff have worked with the City’s Finance Department (Finance) to process all invoice payments through Finance Accounts Payable, and that wire transfers are not currently used to make payments to providers. Staff continues to work with Finance to establish purchase orders with the providers, with one new purchase order already established. Target Date: Apr-2025 (Delayed From: Dec-2024)
#24-04 Encumbrances
#01 To address outdated encumbrances currently held by departments, the City Administration should immediately require all departments to liquidate any encumbrances that are no longer necessary and close any fully liquidated purchase orders and contracts.
FIN Implemented
-
Priority
On August 29, 2024, the Finance Department sent an email out to all departments highlighting the urgent outstanding encumbrance items that needed to be reviewed, assessed, and liquidated. Departments were required to utilize the FY 2024-25 Period 1 close Remaining Balance Report (RBR) to identify items that were expired or unused. All departments were to liquidate any unnecessary encumbrances and close out fully liquidated purchase orders and contracts accordingly. The first batch of cleanup was completed in September 2024. Because some departments had a larger volume of encumbrances to address, a second round of cleanup was required. The second batch was completed in January 2025. Finance estimates total liquidations at approximately $32.6 million, pending final verification, with about $9.4 million attributed to the General Fund. The Finance Department and Budget Office will disclose the final amount of one-time budgetary savings prior to the end of the fiscal year.
#24-04 Encumbrances
#02 To further encourage regular review of encumbrances going forward, the Finance Department should update the City’s Encumbrance Policy to require that, at the end of each fiscal year, departments review any encumbrance that has not had activity recorded in the fiscal year. The stated goal should be to liquidate any unneeded encumbrances and correct any inaccuracies.
FIN Not Implemented The Finance Department reports that the Encumbrance Policy (CPM 5.1.12) will be updated to include a requirement for departments to review encumbrances with no recorded activity by the end of each fiscal year and liquidate or correct them as needed. Target Date: May-2025
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 63 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-04 Encumbrances
#03 To ensure staff have sufficient guidance in the liquidation of encumbrances, the Finance Department should:
a.Remind fiscal staff of the City’s Encumbrance Policy in year-end trainings, including any new requirements regarding year-end review of encumbrances; and
b.Provide a Finance staff point of contact or general email address for department staff to ask questions about liquidations of encumbrances for purchase orders and awards of contracts.
FIN Partly Implemented The Finance Department (Finance) reports that staff will incorporate reminders about the City’s Encumbrance Policy and new requirements in year-end training sessions for fiscal staff. In fall 2024 during the first round of encumbrance liquidations, Finance developed a list of persons in charge of encumbrance liquidations across all City departments. During year-end trainings, Finance plans to inform department staff of appropriate contacts within Finance for questions relating to encumbrances. Target Date: Jun-2025
#24-04 Encumbrances
#04 To ensure City staff are processing activity on encumbrances appropriately, the Finance Department should:
a.Update year-end trainings to remind staff that all encumbrance adjustments, whether for purchase orders or contracts, should follow standard procedures through use of the purchasing module; and
b.Require department staff to enter contract end dates into the appropriate field in the financial management system for use in monitoring reports.
FIN Not Implemented The Finance Department reports that staff will update year-end training materials to emphasize that all encumbrance adjustments should be processed through the purchasing module following standard procedures. Additionally, Finance is considering mandating the entry of an encumbrance expiration date as a required field. Staff report that a comprehensive study involving the Information Technology Department, the City’s outside vendor, and department users will be necessary before determining whether having such a field would be feasible. Target Date: Jun-2025 #24-04 Encumbrances
#05 To improve the accuracy and usefulness of reporting on encumbrances, the Finance Department should work with the City’s outside vendor and the Information Technology Department to:
a. Develop a separate report from the financial management system that more accurately reflects encumbrance balances, or b. Update the current Remaining Balance Report by:
i. Reviewing and correcting encumbrances that have
inaccurate balances,
ii. Resolving errors in how the report is pulling information on encumbrance balances,
iii. Updating the report to include term ending dates of contracts and purchase orders, and
iv. Determining an appropriate date range for the report to minimize unnecessary data processing.
FIN / ITD Partly
Implemented
-
Priority
a. The Finance Department (Finance) worked with the vendor and determined that using the Remaining Balance Report (RBR) along with another report on purchase orders would best meet the City's needs.
b. Finance has worked with the vendor to confirm that errors in the RBR were not due to the report's underlying logic. Finance reports that to date, all discrepancies were caused by bugs in prior system versions (which have since been resolved), or user errors in updating entries. The Information Technology Department (ITD) is working with department staff on an ongoing basis to resolve tickets relating to discrepancies between the RBR and the data in the financial management system. ITD is also working with Finance and department staff on the mass closure of POs with zero outstanding amounts. This will streamline the RBR by eliminating redundant data and enhancing performance. Additionally, to help with departments' review of open encumbrances, the RBR now includes term ending dates for contracts and purchase orders. Target Date: Jun-2025
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 64 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#01 To improve the efficiency and consistency of the Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO) fee calculation, the Housing Department should:
a.Document the methodology for how units are identified as covered by the TPO, if using data from the City’s integrated permitting system, or
b.Develop a database or roster of TPO units based on data from the integrated permitting system or a landlord registry.
HSG Not Implemented a. the Housing Department (Housing) plans to refine and document the calculation process as part of the FY 2025-26 fee calculation process. Staff underwent training on process improvements and documentation in January 2025. b. Code Enforcement is currently implementing a new code enforcement system (see recommendation 2405-02). Housing plans to develop a Tenant Protection Ordinance- only roster of units or database in coordination with that work and as part of the fee calculation process. In addition, according to Housing, the revised regulations for the Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO), Apartment Rent Ordinance (ARO), Ellis Act, and Mobilehome Rent Ordinance (MRO) are in development and intended for release at the end of the 2025 calendar year. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#02 To better identify properties subject to the Tenant Protection Ordinance and ensure accurate billings, the Housing Department should work with Planning, Building and Code Enforcement to:
a.Create a process to correct and validate unit counts in the integrated permitting system as necessary based upon landlord feedback, and
b.Ensure the exemption field in the City’s integrated permitting system is properly filled in.
HSG /
PBCE
Not Implemented Housing reports that the process to correct and validate unit counts will begin as part of the FY 2025-26 fee calculation process. Housing staff reports that they are working with Code Enforcement to ensure that Code's new case management system includes fields to support what is needed to meet this audit recommendation. Target Date: Dec-2025
#24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#03 The Housing Department and the City Attorney’s Office should clarify the Tenant Protection Ordinance exemptions in the San José Municipal Code and update communications to
landlords accordingly.
HSG /
CAO
Not Implemented Housing plans to revise the Tenant Protection Ordinance regulations, which will clarify what units are exempt and detail the process for owners to apply for exemptions. As part of this work, forms and instructions will also be updated to provide more clarity before the annual exemption process begins in late summer. Target Date: Aug-2025 #24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#04 To ensure a proper count of Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO) units and properly exempt hotels and motels from the TPO fee, Housing should remove hotels and motels from their unit count and coordinate with Planning, Building and Code
Enforcement to ensure hotels and motels are not billed for the TPO fee.
HSG /
PBCE
Implemented Housing removed all properties designated as hotels and motels from the Tenant Protection Ordinance Roster before the FY 2024-25 billing. The revised Tenant Protection Ordinance regulations will also clarify the process for establishing hotel/motel exemptions and validating use periodically (Recommendation 24-05 #03). #24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#05 To better allocate staff time across the Rent Stabilization Program areas, the Housing Department should assess the most appropriate way to track and estimate staff time spent on different fee programs and formalize related procedures, including supervisory review.
HSG Partly Implemented To ensure that all staff enter allocations in their timecard and to better track and estimate the time spent on the different fee programs, Housing held timecard trainings in the fall of 2024. Furthermore, Housing plans to explore alternative methods to account for time spent on the Rent Stabilization programs (including the Tenant Protection Ordinance) beyond the City’s employee timekeeping system, such as through a centralized Interaction Log database. These measures aim to enhance their ability to properly allocate staff time and improve overall program accountability.
Target Date: Jun-2025
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 65 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#06 To standardize service delivery, the Housing Department should update its Rent Stabilization Program Manual to include procedures to guide day-to-day interactions with stakeholders and establish an enforcement process for addressing Tenant
Protection Ordinance non-compliance. Additionally, the Department should create a review schedule to ensure
procedures continue to align with program needs and practices.
HSG Not Implemented Housing plans to work on substantial revisions to its program manual and incorporate any revisions to the Tenant Protection Ordinance regulations into the manual.
Target Date: Jun-2025
#24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#07 To better track interactions with tenants and landlords, the Housing Department should refine their interaction data collection to label which ordinances are being inquired about, clarify when staff are enforcing ordinances, and eliminate unnecessary data fields.
HSG Not Implemented Housing plans to work with its department information technology staff to update and enhance its methods of collecting data and tracking cases. Housing also plans to undergo process improvement training through consultants to refine the process and methods of tracking interactions, and other processes across the rental ordinance programs. Housing aims to have a new tracking/data collection system for the next fiscal year. Target Date: July-2025
#24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#08 To better assess performance of Tenant Protection Ordinance activities, the Housing Department should develop individual performance measures for the Tenant Protection Ordinance that are aligned with the overall goals and measures highlighted in the Rent Stabilization Program Strategic Plan.
HSG Not Implemented According to Housing, the Department is currently reviewing and improving the Tenant Protection Ordinance performance measures alongside all other performance measures for its programs. Target Date: Jun-2025
#24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#09 To better reach tenants and landlords in areas where there is a high risk of evictions, the Housing Department should update the Rent Stabilization Program Community Outreach Plan to detail how staff will identify designated high-risk areas or neighborhoods and develop goals and targets for outreach and education events in such areas. This should also include addressing any language accessibility needs within these communities.
HSG Not Implemented According to Housing, the Department is updating the outreach plan to address the elements of this recommendation. Target Date: Jul-2025 #24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#10 To better communicate responsibilities under the Tenant Protection Ordinance, the Housing Department should update the Rent Stabilization Program Community Outreach Plan to detail how staff will proactively communicate ordinance information and requirements to landlords.
HSG Not Implemented According to Housing, the Department is updating the outreach plan with a communication strategy for providing the information out to housing providers and tenants. Target Date: Jul-2025 (Delayed From: Mar-2025) Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 66 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#11 To ensure landlord compliance with the Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO), the Housing Department should:
a. Coordinate with the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement’s Multiple Housing Inspection Program to check whether TPO information is posted during routine
inspections of multiple housing properties, and
b. Develop a process to follow up with landlords to determine whether information had been distributed to tenants in accordance with the Municipal Code.
HSG /
PBCE
Not Implemented According to Housing, the Department is developing a process to follow up with landlords in coordination with Code Enforcement, Finance, and the Information Technology Department in the spring of 2025 through ongoing work with a process improvement consultant. Target Date: Sep-2025
#24-05 Tenant Protection Ordinance
#12 To increase landlord and resident awareness regarding relocation assistance, the Housing Department should work with the Fire Department to develop or update informational materials provided to residents following an incident.
HSG /
FIRE
Partly Implemented The Housing Department (Housing) has begun meeting with the Fire Department (Fire) and the Red Cross to develop targeted information materials, incorporating feedback from Housing, Fire, and Code Enforcement staff, to ensure comprehensive and relevant information is provided to impacted residents following fires or other natural disasters. Target Date: Jun-2025
#24-06 Animal Care and Services
#01 San José Animal Care and Services should assess its shelter capacity and determine the number of animals the shelter can adequately care for using holding capacity by species and staff’s capacity for care.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services Animal Care and Services (ACS) staff report evaluating enclosure sizes to determine the number of acceptable housing units that align with the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines on housing. ACS diagramed the number of acceptable enclosures for cats and dogs. Depending on litter sizes and appropriate co-housing situations, the number of animals that the shelter can care for varies. ACS also reports identifying holding capacities for neonate kittens, rabbits, and other small animals. In addition to assessing the shelter's holding capacity, ACS plans to review staff’s capacity for care. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#02 San José Animal Care and Services, using data such as trends in intake requests and animal inventory, should assess San José’s shelter needs to determine whether additional kennel space is required and create a long-term strategy to fund kennel improvements or expansion.
PW Partly Implemented Using average daily intake and length of stay data from 2024, Animal Care and Services (ACS) estimated housing 250 dogs and 290 cats daily. According to staff, the current shelter space (see recommendation 2406-01) is not sufficient to house this number of animals on a daily basis. Staff reported turning away animals due to space limitations at the shelter, and that ACS would need to create a long-term strategy to expand its current space or purchase a second building to meet the community’s needs. Target Date: Dec-2025
#24-06 Animal Care and Services
#03 San José Animal Care and Services should review the shelter’s facility condition assessment once completed, and identify priority needs and funding requirements for these improvements.
PW Partly Implemented The San José Animal Care Center facility condition report was completed in Fall 2024. The report estimated $10.2 million in corrections to be addressed in the next ten years. The assessment also identified projects to prioritize within the next two years, such as replacing water circulation pumps, retrofitting lighting, and recoating floors. These immediate projects would cost $2.6 million. The Facilities Division in Public Works plans to request capital funding during the Capital Budget process to address these immediate corrections, which will be considered in the context of other City Council priorities and budgetary constraints. Target Date: Jun-2025 Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 67 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#04 San José Animal Care and Services should develop a plan to transition away from or reduce intake of newborn kittens. The plan should address:
a. The shelter’s capacity to care for kittens in-house, including a comparison of the kitten nursery costs and related live outcomes,
b. Guidelines for when diversion or overnight care of newborn kittens at the shelter is appropriate, and
c. Pathways when the volume or condition of kittens exceeds the capacity for in-house care, including potential foster care, rescue, or euthanasia.
PW Partly Implemented a) San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) reported identifying the holding capacity for neonate kittens in the kitten hut (see recommendation 2406-01). b) ACS created a flowchart to educate the community on leaving newborn kittens with their mothers (see recommendation 2406-05). The flowchart is posted on the ACS website and social media. ACS plans to continue messaging during kitten season to help decrease the number of kittens brought into the shelter. Additionally, staff report that they will create a kitten intake policy.
c) ACS plans to use various pathways, such as rescue groups, fosters, and return-to- field, to divert kitten intake. ACS’ updated euthanasia protocol (see recommendation 2406-07) indicates that newborn kittens with certain medical conditions and without a willing caretaker may be considered for euthanasia. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#05 San José Animal Care and Services should update the shelter’s outreach strategy to educate the community through social media and other channels on what to expect before and during kitten season and when intervention with community cats is appropriate.
PW Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) prepared an outreach calendar with scheduled social media posts on kitten season from February to August 2025.
Scheduled posts include announcing kitten season and encouraging the community to leave healthy kittens with their mothers. Per staff, ACS’ Public Information Representative (and the Public Information Manager, once the position is filled) is responsible for ensuring information is posted according to the outreach calendar, as well as for updating the outreach calendar in the future. ACS also created a flow chart providing guidance on when to leave kittens alone, intervene and provide care, schedule a spay or neuter appointment, or notify ACS through a kitten observation form. ACS shared the flow chart flyers with Library and Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services to distribute the information at library branches and community centers.
#24-06 Animal Care and Services
#06 To ensure that each animal has an identified path out of the shelter and to reduce its length of stay, San José Animal Care and Services should formalize pathway planning protocols that include:
a. Identifying potential pathways (e.g., adoption, rescue, or euthanasia) for animals entering the shelter and their pathway changes and document that in the Chameleon case management system,
b. Formalizing steps that staff should take for an animal to achieve its intended pathways (e.g., schedule a spay or neuter surgery, network with rescue groups, promote as an adoption candidate), and
c. Assigning supervisory or management staff to conduct regular (e.g., daily) assessments of animals’ progress towards their pathway.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) aims to document an intake checklist, decision flowchart, and appropriate oversight responsibilities to assess animals’ progress towards their pathways. ACS created a new intake form for stray cats.
Among other questions, the form asks the reporting party if they are interested in adopting, or if they would be willing to pick up the cat to return to field. Staff report that the form will be used to immediately identify stray cats’ pathways for return-to- field or as a potential adoption candidate. ACS’ euthanasia policy also provides criteria for when feral cats may be considered for euthanasia (see recommendation 2406-04). Target Date: Jun-2025
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 68 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#07 San José Animal Care and Services should finalize the shelter’s draft euthanasia protocol to:
a. Provide clear criteria on when euthanasia may be
considered, and
b. Formalize the process for granting requests to delay euthanasia decisions.
PW Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) approved an updated euthanasia protocol, effective February 2025. The protocol lists criteria for considering an animal for euthanasia, including medical conditions, aggression, bite history, and inability to locate safe and ethical placements back into the community. To request a delay in a euthanasia decision, rescue partners must email the ACS Rescue email and the ACS Division Manager or Deputy Director by the morning of an animal’s “final date.” The request must include information on care arrangements or other time-based factors that warrant an extension. Per the protocol, ACS may grant a one-time extension of up to 72 hours.
#24-06 Animal Care and Services
#08 To ensure the welfare of animals in foster care, San José Animal Care and Services should develop policies to:
a. Track the status and location of all fostered animals in a uniform report,
b. Establish pathway plans for animals in foster,
c. Accurately track the number of days animals stay in foster care and create limits for how long they can be in foster homes without being adopted, and
d. Document timelines and expectations for when foster
caretakers must return to the shelter for medical appointments.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) staff are currently recording fostered animals and their caretakers’ contact information in a spreadsheet. ACS aims to move away from the spreadsheet and transition towards tracking all foster animal information in Chameleon, the database for recording the status and location of animals. Per staff, the shelter is using Chameleon’s foster module to reduce errors in impound information. The module can also set an expected date for when a fostered animal should return to the shelter or resolve as an adoption. Staff reported contacting the City Attorney’s Office for information on creating time limits and automatic ownership for caretakers of fostered animals. Target Date: Jun-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#09 To increase the level of spay and neuter services for community cats and shelter animals, San José Animal Care and Services should work with the Finance Department and the City Attorney’s Office to contract with outside service providers for spay and neuter services.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) has purchase orders with two vendors for spay and neuter services. Staff report working with Finance to establish a purchase order with a third vendor. According to staff, once the third purchase order is in place, ACS will begin a formal bidding process for spay and neuter services. Target Date:
Dec-2025
#24-06 Animal Care and Services
#10 To provide accurate information to the public, update the San José Animal Care and Services website with the current process for a community member to book trap, neuter, and release appointments for community cats.
PW Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) created a trap, neuter, and release (TNR) interest form, which is posted on the ACS website. According to ACS, a staff member then receives the form responses through email. Per ACS, the staff member uses the form responses to schedule TNR appointments, verifying that a resident does not take more than one appointment and that the clinic has the capacity to address all bookings. Staff anticipate a new booking software system in 2026, at which point, ACS may revisit the booking process for the public.
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 69 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#11 San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) should:
a. Update the ACS Manual to align with the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines as they relate to disease detection and isolation, cleaning, vaccines and treatments, nutrition, and exercise and enrichment. San José Animal Care and Services should review the ACS Manual on a recurring basis to incorporate changes to operations and industry standards as appropriate.
b. Alternatively, adopt the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines as its primary manual and develop systems to ensure compliance with the Guidelines in the areas listed in (a). San José Animal Care and Services should review these systems on a recurring basis to incorporate changes to operations and industry standards as appropriate.
PW Not Implemented
-
Priority
San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) plans to update existing policies in the ACS Manual, and create new policies that align with the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines where applicable. Staff reported that they have assigned the shelter veterinarians to compare sections of the Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines with the ACS Manual. Target Date: Dec-2025
#24-06 Animal Care and Services
#12 San José Animal Care and Services should develop policies to require supervisory staff to perform regular observations and provide feedback to personnel in each area of shelter and medical operations, including proper cleaning, feeding, and handling animals with personal protective equipment.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) updated its organizational chart for shelter operations so that each Animal Care Attendant is assigned to a Shelter Coordinator as their supervisor. According to ACS, Shelter Coordinators are now expected to hold one-on-ones with Animal Care Attendants every other week, as well as regular group briefings by shelter function (e.g., intake, dogs, cats). Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#13 To keep personnel informed of their responsibilities in disease management at the shelter, San José Animal Care and Services should provide recurring trainings in high-risk operational areas identified by shelter management. Areas should include using and changing personal protective equipment, identifying infectious disease symptoms in animals, and the steps and responsible parties for communicating and responding to infectious disease concerns.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) identified training videos from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on personal protective equipment, parvovirus, and feline panleukopenia. ACS also has training slides for feline upper respiratory infection. ACS also aims to identify or create trainings for canine infectious respiratory diseases, ectoparasites, and ringworm. According to ACS, all new staff will be required to review the trainings during onboarding, and existing staff are to rewatch trainings annually. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#14 For staff to have access to up-to-date protocols, San José Animal Care and Services should create a repository of all policies and protocols and make them easily accessible to all staff.
Supervisors should also review protocols relevant to staff’s daily tasks with new staff during onboarding and when assigned to new job responsibilities.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) is now using SharePoint as a repository for its policies and protocols. ACS reports that they are in the process of organizing the policies and protocols, and making the SharePoint repository accessible to all staff. Target Date: Dec-2025
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 70 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#15 To keep personnel informed of protocol changes, San José Animal Care and Services should formalize a standard operating procedure to communicate protocol changes to relevant personnel through emails, staff meetings, and other means.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) reports that once a policy has been signed by ACS management, the policy is emailed to all staff and uploaded into ACS’ SharePoint. Per ACS, supervisors also communicate new policies to staff at meetings. However, at the time of the audit, ACS staff mentioned they were not initially provided copies of the ACS Manual, did not have access to information on some shelter procedures, or learned of operational changes through word-of-mouth.
ACS plans to create a standard operating procedure to communicate protocol updates to relevant staff Target Date: Dec-2025
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#16 To ensure feeding, providing water, cleaning, enrichment, and kennel location information is properly recorded, San José Animal Care and Services should improve recordkeeping by developing protocols and training staff around timely data entry.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services plans to include expectations on data entry timeliness in its procedures. Target Date: Dec-2025
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#17 San José Animal Care and Services should formalize and document shelter coordinators and supervisors’ areas of responsibilities in oversight and monitoring daily animal care activity. This should include reviewing relevant reports to ensure daily care is provided to all animals and following up if animal care has not occurred.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) updated its organizational chart for shelter operations. According to the organizational chart, Shelter Coordinators are responsible for specific shelter functions, including intake, dogs, cats, foster/rescue, and volunteers. ACS plans to create a matrix with details on supervisory responsibilities. Target Date: Dec-2025
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#18 To ensure better inventory and recordkeeping
management, San José Animal Care and Services should:
a. Develop procedures and train staff around tracking inventory for shelter operations, and
b. Update the Controlled Substances Policy to align with current practice and in accordance with state and other applicable laws, clarify staff access levels, and train staff on the policy.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) plans to develop procedures on tracking supplies for shelter operations. ACS updated its Controlled Substance Policy, which includes expectations on which staff may access and administer controlled substances. The policy also includes the shelter’s current use of keypad codes.
Target Date: Dec-2025
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#19 To provide context and information about shelter operations, San José Animal Care and Services should:
a. Provide additional data on length of stay in public and/or internal reports, which may include median as well as average stay, and broken down by age or other factors, and
b. Include other considerations that can be presented in public and internal reports, such as information on shelter capacity, the impact of unhealthy or untreatable animal intakes on live release rate, or other considerations.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) plans to include additional data points on the public dashboards on the ACS website (part a) and in the ACS Annual Report to the Neighborhood Services and Education Committee each December (part b).
Target Date: Dec-2025
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 71 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#20 To improve data reliability, better manage reports, and further ensure animals are appropriately accounted for, San José Animal Care and Services should assign an individual or individuals to oversee data management. The responsibilities should include:
a. Updating and training staff on procedures around data entry protocols, and implementing a process for Chameleon data to be regularly reviewed and data issues to be addressed,
b. Working with the Chameleon vendor to assess whether
there are standard controls to reduce data entry errors, c.Identifying the most relevant Chameleon reports to inform data reporting and operations, and ensuring data queries are accurate, and
d. Establishing a process to track changes made to Chameleon reports and the public dashboards.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) has filled its Senior System Applications Programmer position. This role is intended to be the lead on setting up data procedures for ACS. ACS has begun implementing other data practice improvements, such as enabling a feature to better track foster animals in its case management system, using a daily report that captures animals that died or were euthanized to guide efforts to check for data entry errors, and working towards updating data reports that help to capture data entry issues per staff. Target Date:
Dec-2025
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#21 To ensure appropriate data controls, San José Animal Care and Services should establish Chameleon access permissions, document who should have access to what in Chameleon, and establish default password protocols in alignment with the City’s Information and Systems Security Policy.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) communicated to all staff to update their log-in credentials. ACS reports that Public Works Information Technology staff is deciding on a password deployment process that complies with the City’s Information and Systems Security Policy. Target Date: Jun-2025
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#22 To improve rescue engagement and communication, San José Animal Care and Services should develop a communication protocol that includes an assigned point of contact(s) from the shelter and timeframes for responding to inquiries. The protocol should be shared with rescue groups.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) recently filled an overstrength position for a Rescue and Foster Coordinator and plans to work on a communication protocol for rescue groups. Target Date: Dec-2025
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#23 To ensure the rescue group roster is current, San José Animal Care and Services should assign staff to regularly update rescue group contacts.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) recently filled an overstrength position for a Rescue and Foster Coordinator. ACS reports that the coordinator plans to update the rescue group contacts. Target Date: Dec-2025
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 72 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#24 To ensure appropriate information about rescue animals is provided to relevant groups, San José Animal Care and Services should update its current process to notify rescue groups on available animals by:
a. Tailoring the “needs rescue” list to relevant recipients (e.g., dogs/puppies vs. cats/kittens) or providing self-service options to rescue groups, and
b. Including complete and accurate information about animals, such as age, weight, and medical and behavioral assessments.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) reports working with the Public Works information technology team to update the current process for notifying rescue groups on available animals. Target Date: Dec-2025
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#25 To ensure consistency and transparency, San José Animal Care and Services should develop guidelines on the use of gift and Guardian Angel Program funds to include the following:
a. Maximum funds allowable per award,
b. Purposes for the use of these funds,
c. Method and timeline for making payments to providers, d. A process to track expenditures, and
e. Require recipients of funds to report annually on animal outcomes.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) has begun informing fund recipients about the maximum allowable funds per award, along with an updated method and timeline for making payments. ACS has also begun tracking fund expenditures and report that they are working on creating internal guidelines on the use of the funds. Target Date:
Dec-2025
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#26 San José Animal Care and Services should revise its agreement with rescue groups to include availability of gift funds and standard City terms, such as indemnification. Once the agreement is updated, ensure that all rescue groups have current signed agreements on file.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) has drafted an updated rescue agreement, which is currently under review by the City Attorney's Office. Target Date: Jun-2025
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#27 To make the volunteer onboarding and application process more efficient, San José Animal Care and Services should:
a. Develop timeliness targets to process volunteer applications, and
b. Simplify the process for minor applicants by combining the minor and guardian applications.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) plans to work on developing timeliness targets around processing applications and simplifying the process for minor applicants. Target Date: Dec-2025
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 73 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#28 To ensure a complete and efficient training experience for volunteers, San José Animal Care and Services should:
a. Revise the training materials to include essential trainings only for tasks performed by volunteers based on the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines,
b. Make overlapping content (e.g., Fear Free Shelter training) optional,
c. Add dog and kitten specific zoonotic and infectious disease protocols in the existing training, and
d. Create and display “how-to” posters around the shelter to explain what steps should be taken for each volunteer-related task.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) reports that it is working on adding dog and kitten zoonotic disease protocols to the existing training. ACS is also in the process of creating "how-to" posters for volunteers. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#29 To ensure that volunteers are provided key shelter protocols on an ongoing basis, San José Animal Care and Services should formalize communication protocols to inform volunteers about updated shelter practices and protocols, and provide informal feedback to volunteers on services provided.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) reports that it is working on improving the communication protocols for volunteers. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#30 To provide a better volunteer experience and improve management of the volunteer program at the shelter, San José Animal Care and Services should assess alternate volunteer management software solutions to better log and track volunteer hours and schedule shifts.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) reports that it is in the process of assessing alternative software solutions. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#31 To comply with the San José Municipal Code and state law, San José Animal Care and Services should align license terms with the expiration of the rabies vaccine.
PW Implemented In February 2025, San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) adjusted license terms not to exceed the validity of the rabies vaccinations on a go forward basis and has updated its process to align terms of the licenses with that of the rabies vaccinations. #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#32 To improve compliance around rabies vaccine
submissions, San José Animal Care and Services should increase outreach to veterinarians to submit these certificates.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) contacted veterinarians and obtained rabies vaccine certificates. ACS reports that it plans to incorporate regular outreach to veterinarians into its internal guidelines. Target Date: Jun-2025 Potential Monetary Benefit: Increasing outreach can potentially increase the number of residents getting animal licenses. An increase in licenses by 10 percent could increase license revenues by at least $185,000.
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#33 To allow administrative staff to refocus on other shelter activities and tasks, San José Animal Care and Services should consider options to contract for outside licensing administration.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) is working with the Finance Department to consider options for contracting outside licensing administration. Target Date: Jun- 2026
Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 74 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#34 To allow the City to begin its follow-up process for delinquent accounts related to licensing, San José Animal Care and Services should issue outstanding administrative citations in a timely manner.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) reports that it plans to process two months' worth of citations every month until the department catches up with outstanding administrative citations. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#35 To increase language accessibility for all (including seniors for purposes of requesting exemptions), San José Animal Care and Services should translate the licensing form and incorporate the senior exemptions into the online form.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) has translated the licensing form into Spanish and Vietnamese and is in the process of making the forms available online.
ACS also reports that it plans to incorporate senior exemptions online into the payment portal. Target Date: Jun-2025
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#36 To increase access to underserved communities and align with other jurisdictions, San José Animal Care and Services should:
a. Consider additional license fee exemptions for veterans or disabled veterans in addition to senior exemptions, and b. Review options to provide free or low-cost veterinarian services for owned pets through either grant opportunities and/or working with Humane Society Silicon Valley to determine a regular schedule to provide these services.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) reports that it is working on drafting license fee exemptions for veterans. ACS also reached out to the Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) about resuming the Vets for Health Pets Program to provide low-cost vaccines and spay and neuter services. However, HSSV experienced a fire at their facility in December 2024, and there is no timeline for when HSSV will be able to resume collaboration with ACS. Meanwhile, ACS reports that it will research other grants for low-cost veterinarian services. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#37 To assist in the implementation of any remaining recommendations from the Maddie’s Fund Shelter Consult, San José Animal Care and Services should:
a. Prioritize the relevant recommendations that align with Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ Guidelines and shelter operations and develop target dates for implementation of those recommendations, and
b. Designate an individual to monitor and track implementation status, including identifying any roadblocks or next steps to completion.
PW Not Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) plans to identify open recommendations from the Maddie's Fund Consult that comply with the ASV Guidelines. ACS reports they will schedule relevant recommendations for implementation and assign staff to each recommendation or guideline. ACS plans to report out at the December 2025 Neighborhood Services and Education Committee meeting the status of this recommendation. Per ACS, resources may need to be identified for parts of this scope and would be addressed in the City’s budget process within the context of other City Council priorities and budgetary constraints. Target Date: Dec-2025 #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#38 To ensure fairness of service delivery provided to residents, San José Animal Care and Services should consider aligning performance services and metrics with what is provided to the contract jurisdictions or revisit what is offered to other jurisdictions.
PW Partly Implemented San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) assessed response times by beat in San José, and determined that additional animal control officers would be needed to achieve similar response times as contract cities. Target Date: Dec-2025 Status of Open Audit Recommendations as of December 31, 2024 75 Report and Recommendations Dept (s) Current Status Comments #24-06 Animal Care and Services
#39 To ensure that San José’s cost analysis for services provided to neighboring jurisdictions is appropriate and consistent across the jurisdictions, San José Animal Care and Services should:
a. Formalize and track activity and costs to determine whether agreements accurately reflect the level of service, and b. Improve documentation for the cost analysis for the
agreements, such that all costs and activity levels are included.
PW Not Implemented To address this recommendation, San José Animal Care and Services (ACS) plans to work with the City Manager’s Budget Office and City Attorney’s Office to evaluate cost tracking for services provided to all jurisdictions and the terms included in the agreements with other jurisdictions. ACS expects to include a section of its annual report each year to detail the costs and activity level for each jurisdiction. ACS plans to report out at the December 2025 Neighborhood Services and Education Committee. Target Date: Dec-2025
Potential Monetary Benefit: If all costs were calculated equally across each of the contracts with neighboring jurisdictions, we estimate additional revenues of $277,000 at the time of the audit.
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