Just over six weeks ahead of the application deadline, the Office of the City Auditor is seeking candidates from Latino and other minority groups interested in helping to create the city’s next City Council district map. Applications for the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission are due by Sept. 30. That group will convene next year and […]
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
Audit accuses parks department leaders of waste
The Office of the City Auditor released a report Tuesday accusing Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly McNeeley and Assistant Director Liana Kallivoka of giving another employee a “special privilege,” improperly using more than $22,000 worth of sick leave and wasting $39,000 of city funds. Both McNeeley and Kallivoka strenuously defended their actions in continuing payments to a […]
Posted inPolice
APD community engagement audit finds some improvement but data lacking
Although the Austin Police Department has put considerable effort into improving its community policing efforts over the past four years and there have been some positive impacts, an audit by the Office of the City Auditor concluded there was insufficient data to determine how effective those efforts might be. A subsequent survey found that APD […]
Posted inCity Hall
Audit: AFD employee accepted gifts from subordinate
An investigative audit by the Office of the City Auditor has found that Austin Fire Department spokesperson Michelle Tanzola violated city ethics policy by accepting gifts of photographic services from an employee who reports directly to her. Tanzola has responded to the audit report, saying, “There was nothing dishonest or nefarious here, nor was there […]
Posted inCity Hall
Audit finds temp employee misused city truck
The Office of the City Auditor has found that a temporary employee of the Planning and Zoning Department regularly misused his assigned city vehicle to drive himself home and run personal errands. His work with the city ended shortly after he responded to the allegations in the auditor’s report. According to the audit, auditors received […]
Posted inEnergy
AE, but not drivers, charging toward renewable goals
A report from the Office of the City Auditor states that Austin Energy is on track to reduce carbon emissions from utility operations so the city can meet its goal of being carbon-neutral by 2050. But auditors also found that the city may very well miss its overall goal because of Austinites’ failure to reduce […]
Posted inCity Hall
Former city employee misused computer, email
Last January, members of the city auditor’s investigative team received an allegation that Richard Anderson, a division manager in the Development Services Department, was using his city computer to help him with his other job as an instructor for what the auditors called a “professional organization.” Anderson’s job as a division manager over commercial building […]
Posted inCity Hall
Trying to get apartment, employee committed fraud
An Austin Public Health employee misused her city computer, fax machines and the department’s patient records in an attempt to rent an apartment, according to an investigative report from the Office of the City Auditor. The report states that Johnetta Lindsay, who worked as a patient representative with Austin Public Health, created fake job offer […]
Posted inAustin, Water
Audit: City water employees misused positions
Two employees of Austin Water misused their positions to generate business for a plumbing business owned by one of the employees, according to an investigative report issued Thursday by the Office of the City Auditor. That business owner/city employee, Rodney King Jr., asked his co-workers to refer business to him, even though such referrals are […]
Posted inCity Hall
Auditor finds ballot petitioners in Austin have it easier than most other cities
A statewide analysis of election regulations finds that Austin is one of the easiest cities in Texas to place a ballot measure in front of voters, with the city’s growing population making it easier every year. A report released earlier this month by the Office of the City Auditor found that every major city in […]
Posted inCity Hall
Auditors report on community policing efforts
The Austin Police Department has made considerable progress in implementing recommendations from the 2016 Matrix Consulting Group study on community policing, according to an audit update from the city auditor’s office recently provided to the mayor and City Council. The report states that APD has implemented 40 out of 60 recommendations from the Matrix report. […]
Posted inCity Hall
City moving toward greater scrutiny, and possible rent hikes, on nonprofit leases
Nonprofit organizations operating on city properties will likely be expected to put a dollar value on the services they provide to the community, and could face higher rents after years of lease agreements at far below market rate. In May, the Office of the City Auditor found that the city’s leasing practices in general lacked […]