Although Austin has fewer overall automobile crashes than other major Texas cities, the percentage of crashes involving serious injury or death of a pedestrian is still at the same rate — 27.9 percent– as other large Texas cities. That is one conclusion of the special report from the Austin City Auditor’s Office. Council members Zo […]
Office of the City Auditor
This city department is created by the city’s charter in order to establish and ensure “accountability transparency, and a culture of continuous improvement in city operations.”
Posted inCity Hall
City auditors see number of ethics complaints increasing
The number of complaints of fraud, misuse of resources and abuse by city employees continues to increase each year, according to Brian Molloy, chief of investigations for the Austin City Auditor’s Office. Molloy told the Council Audit and Finance Committee Wednesday that auditors received 404 complaints during fiscal year 2025, compared to 380 complaints in […]
Posted inCity Hall
Complaint against former manager Garza fails at ethics commission
After a lengthy hearing which ended shortly after midnight last Thursday, the city’s Ethics Review Commission dismissed a complaint against former Interim City Manager Jesús Garza. A motion aimed at dismissing the complaint failed, as did a motion to move forward to a final hearing. As a result, the complaint was dismissed. Adam Materne, the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Audit: Economic official granted arts, music funding against city code
The former director of the Economic Development Department authorized a handful of grant awards that violated city code restrictions, according to a new investigative report from the Office of the City Auditor. The report concludes that Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, who retired in December, allowed four arts organizations to receive Live Music Fund grants for projects that […]
Posted inCity Hall
Audit cites city failures to address discrimination, harassment
The city has made some progress in handling discrimination, harassment and retaliation complaints by city employees, but some investigations still fail to follow basic rules for conducting such inquiries, according to an audit conducted by the City Auditor’s Office. Members of the City Council Audit & Finance Committee heard about the audit, which followed up […]
Posted inPublic Health
Audit throws shade at city’s efforts to mitigate extreme heat
A new report from the Office of the City Auditor concludes that, while the city has made notable progress in preparing for extreme heat, challenges in coordination, funding and measurable planning continue to undermine long-term resilience. The audit, released this week, evaluates whether the city is adequately planning for heat-related risks to public infrastructure. The […]
Posted inCity Hall
Audit shows former Austin Water employee directed search of boss’ inbox
The former chief information officer for Austin Water misused the city’s resources in an effort to find out the identity of the person who lodged a complaint against him, according to an audit report released this week by the Office of the City Auditor. The employee, David Johnson, resigned during the investigation in January 2025. […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ryan Alter and colleagues propose revision of boards and commissions
Austin may be known as the Live Music Capital of the World, but it could also be known as the boards and commissions capital. In fact, our city has more than 90 commissions, boards, task forces and other advisory bodies, some of which are very active and others of which are dormant. City Council Member […]
Posted inParks
Audit finds golf course employees violated city rules
Employees in the Austin Parks and Recreation Department’s golf division misused city resources in providing golf lessons to people for pay while on city time, according to an investigation conducted by the Office of the City Auditor. One employee also received payment for repairing golf clubs while on city time. Their supervisor approved the practices […]
Posted inCity Hall
Jesús Garza disputes allegation that he violated city ethics rule
Consultants hired to investigate an ethics complaint against former interim City Manager Jesús Garza have concluded that he violated a city ethics regulation when engaging the services of former city employees Joe Canales and Laura Huffman without consulting City Council. Garza adamantly disputes that allegation, citing the multiple crises the city was facing and the […]
Posted inTransportation
Auditor identifies safety, contract management among areas of risk for airport
A special report from the Office of the City Auditor has identified three areas of risk at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport as the facility moved forward with a $4 billion expansion. The three risk areas – contract and vendor management, asset management and maintenance, and emergency management and safety – will be examined beginning in 2025 […]
Posted inHousing
Report shows more ways for city to help residents become homeowners
Although the city of Austin offers help for low-income residents who wish to become homeowners, that assistance is limited to buyers who earn at or below 80 percent of the local Median Family Income, or MFI, which is currently $97,800 for a family of four. At the request of City Council members Vanessa Fuentes and […]