Report highlights need for future airport audits

The city’s Aviation Department faces a variety of risks, particularly related to insufficient staffing, according to a report from the Office of the City Auditor.

Auditor-in-charge Kathie Harrison told the Council Audit & Finance Committee on Wednesday that the three top risk areas facing Aviation include contract and vendor management, asset management and maintenance and emergency management and safety. It will be up to Council, particularly the Audit and Finance Committee, to determine what areas to audit in 2025.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, now known as AUS, opened in 1999 with the capacity to accommodate 11 million travelers each year. That number has risen each year, with a dip during the Covid-19 pandemic, and is now more than 22 million passengers per year, the report notes.

As a result of the growth, the Aviation Department has started a $4 billion expansion project as part of its 20-year master plan. That plan includes enlarging the main terminal building, building a new concourse and adding more gates and checkpoints, as well as other projects. ABIA CEO Ghizlane Badawi said Aviation is participating in 55 airport contracts, plus numerous citywide contracts.

One area of special concern is insufficient staffing levels. Harrison reported that the Aviation Department’s vacancy rate more than doubled between 2020 and 2023, rising to more than 36 percent. That number was at 20 percent earlier this year when auditors were doing their investigation, but has now fallen to 17 percent, according to Badawi. She said maintenance section of the airport is the area that has the highest level of vacancies.

The report noted, “Aviation has had significant challenges with their staffing levels over the past few years, as have peer airports. Staff reported issues with a lengthy hiring process and non-competitive compensation. Many key employees are nearing or past retirement eligibility, and there appears to be a lack of clear succession planning. Current staff reported taking on additional duties and working overtime to fill gaps. Due to these challenges, Aviation has become increasingly reliant on third-party contractors to deliver airport services. However, Aviation has limited control in this area since they follow the rules and processes defined by the City’s Human Resources Department.”

Council Member Alison Alter, who chairs the committee, said, “We have the market data,” showing that the airport is paying only 50 percent of market wages in some cases. Many companies calculate pay based on the market median, also known as the 50th percentile, with half of employers paying more and half paying less. But that is clearly not acceptable to Alter, who noted that Austin is not an inexpensive place to live.

Referring to the salaries, she said, “It’s something we just can’t let linger,” adding, “I’m not sure that the City Council is in agreement that we should have our benchmark at 50 percent. We’ve raised the issue multiple times (but) … we continue to see vacancies.”

Council Member Leslie Pool, vice chair of the committee, noted that Council had allocated extra funds for Austin Water and Austin Energy salaries, but had not done so for the airport.

Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who serves District 2 where the airport is located, said she is keenly aware of emergency situations at the airport. She noted that there have been two tragic worker fatalities and two near misses at the airport. The two deaths occurred in 2023. However, she noted with some satisfaction that EMS now has personnel at the airport.

The auditor’s office is proposing an audit next year on Aviation’s emergency preparedness and safety. They wrote in their report, “Aviation’s emergency responses call for a high degree of communication and hierarchy. Given Aviation’s staffing challenges, some staff reported frequently working outside their regular duties. After-action reports show opportunities for improvement in both coordination and clarity of roles. Aviation has limited staff dedicated solely to emergency management and planning. Also, staff said it can be difficult to coordinate with all of Aviation’s partners due to the number of stakeholders involved.”

Auditors are also proposing a number of other audits, including contract development and award processes and built asset management. Auditors reported that Austin is the only airport among 10 studied that does not have a staffed internal audit function. However, auditors said AUS is planning to reclassify two Aviation positions to staff the internal audit function.

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Posted In: Transportation, District 2