A Report from the City Auditor
Issued November 2025
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor
Presenters: Joe Rois, City Auditor
Alison Pauly, Supervising Auditor
Maria Valle, Program Performance Auditor II
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
Agenda Item D-1 1
Fire Inventory Controls over
Controlled Substances
Clarifying Policies and Separating Duties Would Further Improve Security Background
2 • San José Fire Department has two
controlled substances, morphine and
midazolam, to provide ALS services.
• Main supplies are kept in a central safe
before being distributed to apparatus.
• Each fire apparatus that provides ALS
services carries these two controlled
substances.
Audit Objective:
Assess the Fire Department’s
inventory controls over
controlled substances.
Finding I: Policies require securing controlled substances on fire apparatus but should be clarified to reflect current practices 3 • We found no evidence of theft or
tampering during our audits in summer
2025.
• Policies for controlled substances on fire
apparatus require regular monitoring and
physical security.
• Current practices in some areas should
be formalized.
Recommendation: To improve
controls over controlled
substances on apparatus, Fire
should:
Revise its policy to reflect
current practices for
monitoring, storage, and
handoffs.
Update policies once biometric
safes are purchased.
4 • We found no evidence of theft or
tampering during our audit in summer
2025.
• Separating the duties of the Controlled
Substances Program Manager would
improve security of the central supply.
• Inventory reports, a biometric safe, and
inventory counts would also improve
controls.
Finding 2: Separating the duties for central supply management would strengthen inventory controls
Recommendation: To improve
controls over central supply
management, Fire should:
Assign CSPM’s supply
management duties to separate
staff.
Increase management oversight
and physical controls.
Update policies to reflect current
inventory practices.
Conclusion
The report has seven recommendations to improve the Fire Department’s controls over controlled substances.
We would like to thank the Fire Department for their time and insight during the audit process.
The audit report is available at www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor Audit staff: Alison Pauly, Maria Valle
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