Nov 18, 2020 Audit and Finance Committee

[00:00:03]

OKAY, GOOD.

SO THE TWO OF YOU NEED TO LEAVE.

UM, OKAY.

SO HOPEFULLY LESLIE WILL GET HERE.

UM, I SERVE ON VISIT AUSTIN WITH THE MAYOR.

I'LL BE LEAVING AS WELL.

I HAD THOUGHT I WOULD GO FOR A BIT AND THEN BACK, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT, UM, ONE OF OUR OTHER COLLEAGUES WAS ALSO LEAVING THAT WOULD LEAVE YOU WITHOUT US.

I THINK, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER BULLS HERE.

SO, UM, WE SHOULD BE FINE WITH JUST TWO.

UM, NO, BECAUSE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL AND FLANAGAN AND I ARE STAYING AND YOU AND I PLAN ON ATTENDING VISIT AUSTIN AS WELL.

ALL RIGHT, WELL THEN LET'S GET STARTED AND MAYBE WE'LL TAKE A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO VOTE ON QUICKLY.

FIRST, IF THEY'RE GOING TO GO QUICKLY.

UM, GOOD MORNING.

UM, MY NAME IS ALISON ALTER.

I'M CHAIR OF GOT IT.

AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.

IT IS 9:32 AM.

AND I'M GOING TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER WITH ALL MEMBERS ON THE VIRTUAL DIOCESE.

UM,

[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee Meeting of October 21, 2020.]

UM, I AM WONDERING IF WE SHOULD TAKE IT UP FOUR AND FIVE QUICKLY, UM, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE VOTES ON THOSE.

[4. The Audit & Finance Committee meeting schedule (City Auditor’s Office)]

MS. STOKES, SORRY.

UM, YES, THE, JUST, JUST A QUICK UPDATE.

AND I THINK IT WAS THE VERSION THAT WAS POSTED IN BACKUP REFLECTS THIS, BUT THE NOVEMBER DATE SHOWED NOVEMBER 9TH, WHICH IS A TUESDAY AND IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOVEMBER 10TH, WHICH IS WEDNESDAY, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, UM, AND THE OTHER THING IS THAT AROUND THE SUMMER, GREAT TIME, UM, WE MAY WANT TO ADJUST THOSE MEETINGS, BUT I'D LIKE TO GET SOMETHING ON THE CALENDAR NOW, UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE WE, WE HOLD SPACE FOR AUDITS THAT MAY BE COMING OUT AT THAT TIME.

GREAT.

THANK YOU.

DO YOU HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CALENDAR AS A MEMBER POOL MAKES THAT MOTION SECONDED BY MAYOR ADLER, UM, WITH NO OBJECTIONS THAT MOTION IS APPROVED, UM, AND IF THE CLERK STAFF IS AVAILABLE, UM, IF WE CAN JUMP TO ITEM FIVE ON THE BYLAWS.

HI.

YES.

UH, STEPHANIE IS ACTUALLY IN A CITY HALL RIGHT NOW, UH, IN THE CLERK'S DEPARTMENT.

SO WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET HER AND LET HER KNOW THAT HER ITEM IS COMING UP.

SO THAT WOULD BE OKAY.

SO, UM, THEIR MAINER THAT WE HAVE ON THE AGENDA,

[7. Identify items to be discussed at future meetings]

I'M NOT SURE HOW QUICKLY WE'RE GOING TO GET STEPHANIE ON HERE NOW.

OKAY.

UM, WE MAY HAVE A FUTURE UPDATE REGARDING FACILITIES, UM, AND ALSO ON THE SMALL MINORITY BUSINESS, UH, PROGRAM, UM, IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

UM, THE OTHER TWO ITEMS THAT WE HAVE ON THE AGENDA ARE THE SOFTWARE LICENSING AUDIT, WHICH WE WILL NEED TO TAKE A VOTE ON, UM, AS WELL AS THE, UM, OVERVIEW OF THE AUDIT PROCESS, WHICH WE CAN DO, UM, AFTER FOLKS LEAVE, UM, IS STEPHANIE ON YET OR, OH, SHE'S ON, SHE'S ON THE WAY SHOULD BE HERE IN JUST A COUPLE MINUTES.

OKAY.

WELL, WHY DON'T WE GO AHEAD WITH THE SOFTWARE LICENSES AUDIT AND IF FOLKS, IF ONE OF YOU AT LEAST CAN STAY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO VOTE ON THOSE BYLAWS QUICKLY AT THE END OF THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

OR WE CAN PAUSE IF SHE COMES ON, UM, TO DO THAT.

GREAT.

[2. Software Licenses Audit (City Auditor’s Office)]

UH, GOOD MORNING COMMITTEE.

UH, MY SCREEN IS BLACK HERE.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE ME OR NOT.

UH, FOR MY VIEW, IT'S BLACK.

YOU CAN'T SEE ME.

OKAY.

I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHY THAT'S HAPPENING.

UH, APOLOGIES.

I'LL JUST GO SHOW THE WORD GREEN, BUT NOT YOU.

OKAY, WELL, THAT'LL BE FINE.

UM, WELL, GOOD MORNING.

MY NAME IS KELSEY THOMPSON.

I WAS THE AUDITOR IN CHARGE FOR THE SOFTWARE LICENSES AUDIT.

OUR OBJECTIVE WAS TO REVIEW IF THE CITY IS MANAGING SOFTWARE LICENSES TO MINIMIZE COSTS AS WELL AS MAINTAIN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

UH, SO SOFTWARE IS A SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF THE CITY'S IT SPENDING WITH EVERY DEPARTMENT USING SOFTWARE LICENSES TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR MISSION.

AND THERE ARE SEVERAL PHASES TO MANAGING SOFTWARE LICENSES EFFECTIVELY FROM STRATEGICALLY PLANNING,

[00:05:01]

AND THIS, THIS IS HOW WE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT MANAGING SOFTWARE LICENSES MEANS THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

WE FOUND THAT THE CITY COULD IDENTIFY WAYS TO SAVE MONEY AND IMPROVE THE COMPLIANCE OF ITS SOFTWARE LICENSES.

IF THE CITY HAD AN INVENTORY AND CITYWIDE MANAGEMENT OF SOFTWARE LICENSES, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND SO THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, WE USE THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICES OR GAOS LEADING PRACTICES TO UNDERSTAND OR COMPARE TO HOW THE CITY IS MANAGING SOFTWARE LICENSES.

AND WE FOUND THAT THE CITY HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED THESE LEADING PRACTICES, AND I'LL GO THROUGH EACH OF THESE IN DETAIL IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDES.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THE FIRST OF THE GAO IS LEADING PRACTICES IS CENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT.

HOWEVER, THE CITY'S MANAGEMENT OF SOFTWARE LICENSES IS DE-CENTRALIZED CTM IS THE CITY'S PRIMARY IT DEPARTMENT.

AND CGM MANAGES SOME LICENSES WHILE OTHERS ARE MANAGED BY DEPARTMENTS WITH SOME DEPARTMENTS MANAGING LICENSES FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS OUTSIDE OF CGM.

ALSO THERE IS NO CENTRALIZED COMPLIANCE MONITORING FUNCTION.

SO HOW DEPARTMENTS MONITOR COMPLIANCE AND SECURITY OF SOFTWARE LICENSES.

IT DEPENDS ON WHICH DEPARTMENT IS MANAGING THE SOFTWARE LICENSE.

AND LASTLY, THERE IS NO CENTRALIZED WAY TO PREVENT EMPLOYEES FROM USING FREE AND UNMANAGED SOFTWARE, WHICH PUTS THE CITY'S DATA AT RISK.

IF IT IS NOT UNDER A FORMAL SINCE AGREEMENT, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THE NEXT OF THE GAO IS LEADING PRACTICES ARE TO HAVE A SOFTWARE LICENSE INVENTORY AND TO TRACK AND MAINTAIN THAT INVENTORY.

THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE A SOFTWARE LICENSE INVENTORY AND DOES NOT FULLY KNOW WHAT LICENSES IT HAS OR HOW MUCH THEY COST CTM IS WORKING ON AN IT ASSET MANAGEMENT PROJECT, WHICH WILL INCLUDE SOFTWARE LICENSES AND, AND STAFF PROJECT TO BE COMPLETED IN 2024, 2025.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

ANOTHER ONE OF THE GAS LEADING PRACTICES IS TO ANALYZE SOFTWARE LICENSED DATA.

THE CITY ALSO DOES NOT HAVE A CLEAR PROCESS TO ANALYZE SOFTWARE LICENSED DATA, TO KNOW WHAT SOFTWARE LICENSES IT NEEDS.

AND AS A RESULT, THE CITY MAY PAY FOR LICENSES THAT THE DEPARTMENTS DO NOT FULLY USE TAKING MICROSOFT'S OFFICE THREE 65.

AS AN EXAMPLE, THE CITY APPEARS TO HAVE SPENT $500,000 IN FISCAL YEAR 2020 ON LICENSES FOR WHICH USERS HAVE NEVER LOGGED INTO EMAIL OR HAVE NOT LOGGED IN DURING 2020 CTM STAFF.

SO THAT INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS OFTEN MAKE THE DECISION ABOUT HOW MANY OFFICE THREE 65 LICENSES THEY NEED.

AND THAT THAT DECISION IS OFTEN OUTSIDE OF CTMS CONTROL A CONSISTENT PROCESS.

ALTHOUGH TO ANALYZE LICENSE USAGE DATA WOULD ALLOW THE CITY TO BETTER ASSESS THE NEED FOR ALL SOFTWARE LICENSES, INCLUDING OFFICE THREE 65 AND POTENTIALLY IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO SAVE MONEY.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THE LAST OF THE GAOS LEADING PRACTICES IS TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT TRAINING REGARDING SOFTWARE LICENSE MANAGEMENT.

AND THERE ARE ALSO NO CITY-WIDE POLICIES, GUIDANCE, OR TRAINING SPECIFIC TO MANAGING SOFTWARE LICENSES AS A RESULT.

IT IS NOT ALWAYS CLEAR TO DEPARTMENTS WHO HAS WHAT RESPONSIBILITY FOR MANAGING SOFTWARE LICENSES.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, TO ADDRESS THAT THESE ISSUES, WE RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY'S CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER CONTINUE WORKING WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS AND CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS TO DEVELOP AN INVENTORY AND INCLUDE LICENSE COUNTS AND ASSOCIATES IN THAT INVENTORY ALSO TO WORK WITH THE CHAIR OF THE IT STEERING COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP A POLICY FOR DEPARTMENTS ON HOW TO MANAGE SOFTWARE LICENSES, CONSISTENT WITH THE GAOS LEADING PRACTICES.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

UH, THANK YOU.

AND WE ARE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU.

UM, AND BEFORE WE MOVED TO MANAGEMENT FOR THEIR RESPONSE, I JUST WANTED TO NOTE FOR THOSE WHO ARE DIPPING INTO THE, UM, FOR TODAY THAT, UM, THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE HAS DETERMINED THAT, UM, AS A CITY, WE CAN MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR IT AND OUR TECHNOLOGY AREA.

AND, UM, YOU HAVE ASKED THE AUDITOR TO DO A SERIES OF DIFFERENT REPORTS LOOKING INTO THIS AREA, AND THIS IS ONE OF SEVERAL, UM, THAT WE ARE USING TO IMPROVE OUR APPROACH TO TECHNOLOGY.

UM, AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE ASKED THE AUDITOR TO DO HER BROADER OVERVIEW, WHAT THE AUDITOR DOES IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GO IN AND WE FIND

[00:10:01]

AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, I THINK THAT BROUGHT OUR PERSPECTIVE ON HOW, UM, THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE WORKS AND WHAT THE AUDITOR'S ROLE IS, IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND, AS WE ASSESS WHEN WE HEAR THINGS BACK.

UM, MR. STEWART, WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROVIDE THE MANAGEMENT RESPONSE, PLEASE? DEFINITELY.

THANK YOU.

IT WAS GREAT WORKING WITH HOUSE IN TEAM, UM, TO GET HERE.

WE WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH, WITH THE ASSESSMENT WE CONCUR THAT WE NEED TO DO QUITE A BIT BETTER.

UM, THE GOOD THING WAS IN THE AUDIT IS THAT WE ARE ALREADY MOVING DOWN A PATH OF THE SYSTEM OF RECORD, WHERE WE WOULD KEEP OUR SOFTWARE LICENSING.

SO HOW DO WE MANAGE IT? UM, THAT REALLY CAME FROM A PREVIOUS AUDIT THAT FOCUSED MORE ON THE HARDWARE THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW WHAT HARDWARE WE HAVE.

UM, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR SECURITY TEAM CAN KNOW WHAT'S OUT THERE TO HELP PROTECT US TO, WE KNOW WHAT WE HAVE OUT THERE, SO WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE SPENDING.

UM, SO THAT SAME SYSTEM IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO UTILIZE.

UM, IT'S OUR IT ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

AND WE CAN, WE'RE GOING TO ROLL IN OUR SOFTWARE TO THAT AS WELL.

SO IT'S ALREADY PART OF OUR PROGRAM.

IT'S PROGRAMMED IN THAT AS WE GET OUR HARDWARE AND WE WANT TO GET OUR SOFTWARE INS, WE ALREADY KNOW HOW WE'RE GOING TO MANAGE IT.

UM, AND WHAT SYSTEM WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT IT'S ALREADY IN PLACE.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE ON BOARD WITH THAT.

UM, THE AUDIT DID, IT DID SPELL OUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAVE WHERE IT'S THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICERS RESPONSIBILITY TO DO THIS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT THAT PERSON DOESN'T HAVE THE ACCESS OR AUTHORITY RIGHT NOW IN THE WAY THAT WE ARE DECENTRALIZED.

SO IT DOES CALL OUT THAT DECENTRALIZED MANNER.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK WITH DEPARTMENTS ON, UM, YOU KNOW, FINDING A SOLUTION TO THAT.

SO WE CAN ALL MAKE SURE THAT, UM, EVERYBODY'S, UH, INVENTORIES FROM THE SAME PLACE AND CENTRALLY MANAGED, BUT WE THINK WE CAN GET THERE.

THANK YOU, COLLEAGUES.

DO FOLKS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THIS TIME? SO I HAVE, UH, TWO SHORT ONES, HOPEFULLY.

UM, ONE IS, UM, DO YOU ENVISION THAT THE AUTHORITY THAT'S MENTIONED IN HERE GOING TO, UM, CTM IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE, UM, THE CHALLENGE THAT HAS BEEN LAID OUT IN THIS? BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT PART OF THE PROBLEM IS THE AUTHORITY HAS TO BE CLARIFIED THROUGH VARIOUS, UM, IT COMMITTEES, UM, IS THAT SUFFICIENT OR DO WE NEED TO BE TAKING ADDITIONAL STEPS? WE DO THAT THROUGH THE CMOS, THROUGH OUR IT STEERING COMMITTEE, THAT'S HEADED BY OUR DEPUTY MANAGER AND ACM ARIANO.

UM, I THINK WE CAN GET THAT AUTHORITY AND CLARIFY REALLY IS PROBABLY THE BETTER PHRASING THERE, UM, THAT THE RESPONSIBILITY IS WELL LAID OUT, BUT THAT AUTHORITY PART WE CAN WORK ON.

UM, BUT EVEN IN THE MEANTIME, WE CAN, WE CAN GET A WHOLE LOT DONE EVEN WITHOUT ANY OF THAT BEING ANY MORE CLARIFIED THAN IT IS TODAY.

UM, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU CAN SPEAK ABOUT IT IN OPEN SESSION, CAN YOU, UM, PLEASE CLARIFY WHY THE ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS GOING TO TAKE UNTIL 20, 24, 2025 TO IMPLEMENT? SURE.

THAT'S THE ENTIRETY OF THE PROGRAM? UM, SO IT ASSETS, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS START WITH OUR HARDWARE.

WE'RE ALREADY STARTING THAT PROCESS.

UH, WE'LL HAVE SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OF HARDWARE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, THEN WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO SOFTWARE.

SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOFTWARE ASSETS INTO THE SYSTEM.

I WOULD THINK THIS NEXT CALENDAR YEAR, UM, THE MAJORITY OF, AT LEAST WHAT WE CAN FIND WE'LL HAVE IN THERE, ITS SETS ALSO INCLUDE, UM, DATA.

AND WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT DATA SETS, THAT BECOMES VERY COMPLEX.

IT'S SOMETHING NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE DO IS TO REALLY TAKE YOUR DATA AND CLASSIFY IT AS AN ASSET, AND THEN TRACK IT AS AN ASSET.

IT'S A BIT LUCKIER, BUT OUR PRIMARY GOALS OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE, WE'RE GOING TO GET THAT DONE VERY QUICKLY IN THIS NEXT YEAR OR SO.

AND WE'RE GOING TO FIND SOME MORE AND MORE SOFTWARE.

THERE'S THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF SOFTWARE.

WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE IDENTIFIED THOSE THAT ARE MEANINGFUL TO US.

SO IT'S A LOT OF EXPENDITURE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WERE MADE AT MANAGING THOSE VERY, VERY WELL.

AND WE DON'T WANT TO SPEND TOO MUCH EFFORT AND MONEY AND RESOURCES ON SOFTWARE THAT ISN'T GOING TO REALLY PROVIDE THAT VALUE.

SO IT'S THE ENTIRETY OF THE PROJECT THAT WILL TAKE SEVERAL YEARS TO GET OUR HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE WRAPPED IN IS NOT GOING TO TAKE VERY LONG.

THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION MR. FLANAGAN.

DID I SEE YOUR HAND UP? YES.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THIS, UH, RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AND THE DEPARTMENTS WERE REQUESTING THESE LICENSES.

UM, IT'S, IT'S I THINK MAYBE A LITTLE AWKWARD, UH, MR. STEWART TO HAVE YOU HERE ANSWERING FOR THINGS.

WHEN I THINK DEPARTMENTS

[00:15:01]

UM, BUT THERE IS KIND OF A MISSING VOICE HERE AT THE MANAGER LEVEL TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO NAVIGATE THAT RELATIONSHIP.

UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO GIVE CTM AUTHORITY, THEN THAT'S KIND OF A MANAGER LEVEL CONVERSATION TO SAY, WHAT DOES, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? IF, IF A DEPARTMENT IS GOING TO ASK FOR A HUNDRED LICENSES, IS CTM THEN GOING TO SAY JUSTIFY YOUR A HUNDRED LICENSES BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT'S HOW IT'S BEEN WORKING IN THE PAST.

WE'VE BEEN KIND OF SUPPORTING DEPARTMENTS INSTEAD OF KIND OF OVERSEEING THEIR REQUESTS.

SO I'M INTERESTED IN THAT AND KIND OF WANTED TO NOTE THAT FOR FOLKS WHO, ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S ANY MEDIA STORY COMING OUT OF THIS ABOUT, OH, THE IT DEPARTMENT HAS GOT ALL THIS HUGE ISSUE.

WELL, IT'S A LITTLE MORE OF A DISTRIBUTED PROBLEM, UH, THAN, THAN JUST A PROBLEM IN, IN IT AND TO THE AUDITOR.

UM, WAS THERE ANY, AS YOU DID YOUR RESEARCH ON THIS KIND OF ONE NARROW CHANNEL AND THE OFFICE THREE 65 LICENSES, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S MORE THAN THAT.

WAS THERE ANY INDICATION THAT THIS WAS KIND OF AN EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED PROBLEM ACROSS ALL OF OUR BUSINESS UNITS? OR WERE THERE ANY OUTLIERS THAT SHOWED THAT MAYBE ONE OR TWO DEPARTMENTS WERE THE LARGER OFFENDERS AND ASKING FOR MORE THAN THEY NEEDED? WELL, I WOULDN'T SAY THAT WE FOUND IT WAS AN OUTLIER.

IT, WE KIND OF LOOKED AT THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ENTIRE SYSTEM AND, AND NOTED THESE LARGER ISSUES AT THAT LEVEL AND ZEROED IN ON THE OFFICE THREE 65 LICENSES BECAUSE IT IS SO LARGE AND KEPT OUR REVIEW THERE.

SO I, I WOULDN'T, I DON'T BELIEVE WE REALLY HAVE THE INFORMATION TO ANSWER THAT AT THIS TIME, BECAUSE WE FOCUSED ON THE SYSTEMIC LEVEL ISSUES.

OKAY.

AND, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S PARTICULARLY ACTIONABLE INFORMATION BECAUSE IT IS ALREADY GOING ABOUT FIXING THIS PROBLEM.

SO I'M ENCOURAGED BY THAT.

BUT I DO THINK CHAIR, THERE'S A CONVERSATION TO BE HAD WITH CMO AT THE TABLE, WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AT THE TABLE TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE IS GOING TO NAVIGATE THE RELATIONSHIP SHIFT BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS AND SUZANNE.

UM, AND I WILL JUST KNOW, UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT I CAN IN AN OPEN SESSION THAT THIS IS THAT RELATIONSHIP AND, UM, THE, THE BROADER, UH, BROADER ISSUES BETWEEN CTM AND CSO AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, UM, ARE SHIFTING.

AND OUR, WE HAVE A, UH, A ROBUST, UM, GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE IN PLACE THAT IS MOVING FORWARD, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN A POSITION TO ADDRESS OUR, UM, TECHNOLOGY AND OUR, AND OUR, AND OUR CYBER AND OUR CYBER NEEDS, UM, FOR THE CITY.

UM, DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY WANT TO RAISE AT THIS POINT IN TIME? UM, SO THANK YOU.

UM, AUDITOR'S OFFICE MS. THOMPSON, AND THANK YOU, MR. STORE FOR, FOR BEING HERE.

UM, WE WILL BE, YOU KNOW, HAVING THESE ONGOING DISCUSSIONS, UM, ABOUT OUR TECHNOLOGY AND HOW WE CAN IMPROVE IT IS ONE OF THOSE AREAS WHERE, UM, WE ALL AGREE THAT WE CAN DRIVE FURTHER EFFECTIVENESS.

AND I THINK WE NOW HAVE, UM, SOME BETTER SYSTEMS, UM, AND LEADERSHIP IN PLACE THAT'S GOING TO HELP US, UM, TO GET THERE.

SO DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION BEFORE I ASK PERMISSION? ARE WE JUST COMING BACK ON TO MICHIGAN? OKAY.

UM, SO I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADOPT, UH, TO ACCEPT THIS AUDIT COUNCIL MEMBER TOPO MAKES THE MOTION SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FLANAGAN, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR.

RAISE YOUR HAND.

SO UNANIMOUS ON THE VIRTUAL DYESS.

THANK

[6. Bylaw Changes for Parks and Recreation Board and the Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities (City Clerk’s Office)]

I'M NOW GOING TO, UM, SKIP TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE IF THE CLERK'S OFFICE IS AVAILABLE.

YES.

HI CHAIR.

THIS IS STEPHANIE FROM THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.

SORRY.

I WAS NOT IN HERE EARLIER, BUT I WENT DOWN THE HALL.

UM, I AM HERE TO PRESENT SOME ADDITIONAL BYLAW CHANGES FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD AND FOR THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE, FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, FOR THE PARK BOARD, THEY ARE JUST SIMPLY CHANGING THE NAME OF THEIR COMMITTEE AND ON THE REVISED AGENDA.

I MEAN, I'M SORRY, THE REVISED BACKUP.

IT SHOWS THIS A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAT THEY'RE CHANGING THE LAND FACILITIES AND PROGRAM COMMITTEE TO THE FINANCIAL COMMITTEE, AND THEN UPDATING SOME OF THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES THERE.

I BELIEVE THE DIRECTOR MCNEELY IS ON THE LINE.

IF YOU HAD ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT ONE.

AND THEN FOR, EXCUSE ME, THE MAYOR'S PEOPLE FOR THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

THEY'RE ACTUALLY JUST MAKING A FEW UPDATES THAT ARE PRETTY STANDARD.

IT LOOKS LIKE THE BYLAWS JUST MAY HAVE NOT BEEN UPDATED FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

SO MOST OF THEIR UPDATES ARE VERY SIMPLE AND STANDARD CORRECTING SOME IN DETAILS ABOUT MEMBERS.

AND LET ME LOOK

[00:20:01]

AND I'M HERE.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THAT.

THANK YOU.

UM, SO THE, THE BYLAW CHANGES ARE, AS SHE OUTLINED.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? OKAY.

I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO PASS THE BYLAWS COUNCIL MEMBER POOL MADE ITS PASSAGE.

I HAVE A SECOND FROM MAYOR ADLER.

UM, ALL DOESN'T FAVOR, IT'S UNANIMOUS ON THE VIRTUAL DIOCESE.

SO THANK YOU.

[3. Overview of Audit Process (City Auditor’s Office)]

UM, WE ASKED, UM, WE REQUESTED, UH, KIND OF AN OVERVIEW FROM THE AUDIT TEAM OF SORT OF WHAT THE AUDIT FORS OFFICE DOES.

UM, AND, AND IN PARTICULAR TO SHARE SOME OF THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE, ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE AUDIT OR HIS OFFICE, UM, DOES, UM, THERE ARE A WEALTH OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR FOLKS WHO ARE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE HISTORY ON DIFFERENT PROJECTS OR CHALLENGES.

UM, AND I WANT TO REALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS WEALTH OF RESOURCES.

UM, WE OFTEN FORGET THAT WE'RE NOT THE FIRST COUNCIL, UM, OUR FIRST COUNCIL MEMBERS TO ASK THESE QUESTIONS.

AND, UM, THERE REALLY IS A LOT OF VERY USEFUL INFORMATION, UM, THAT THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE HAS PRODUCED OVER THE YEARS.

UM, AND IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE HOW RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN RENTED AND WHERE THEY'VE HAD SUCCESSES AS WELL.

UM, SO MS. STOKES, IF YOU, UM, WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN, UM, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

THANK YOU.

OKAY.

I'LL UNMUTE HERE AND I'M GONNA SHARE MY SCREEN MYSELF.

UM, JUST SO I CAN ALSO, UM, DEMO SOME OF THE, THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES, SO SHOULDN'T BE PULLING UP, BUT, UM, THE FIRST THING IS, UM, WELL, I APPRECIATE I'M COREY STOKES.

I'M THE AUSTIN CITY AUDITOR.

I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT WE DO AND HOW IT WORKS.

UM, THE VERY FIRST THING, UM, ON THIS SLIDE IS OUR MISSION.

SO THIS COMES STRAIGHT OUT OF, UM, CITY CODE AND CAN Y'ALL SEE MY SLIDES.

OKAY.

WE CAN'T SEE YOUR SLIDES YET.

I DON'T THINK OOPS.

OKAY.

UM, I CAN FIX THAT.

I JUST KNEW IT.

UH, BUT, UH, THE VERY FIRST THING COMES STRAIGHT ON CODE OUR MISSION TO PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, MS. STOKES.

UH, IT SEEMS THAT WE'RE NOT YET, UH, HAVING YOU SHARED THE PRESENTATION THROUGH WEBEX.

OKAY, AWESOME.

YEAH, IT WAS JUST A, YEAH, IT WAS GOING SLIP.

UM, SO THAT Y'ALL CAN SEE THAT.

OKAY.

NOW IT LOOKS FINE.

THANKS.

GREAT.

SO, UM, I MENTIONED TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON.

UH, MY OFFICE WAS ESTABLISHED.

THERE WE GO.

UM, IN, UM, WELL MAMA'S HAS EXISTED SINCE THE 18 HUNDREDS, BUT IT WAS ESTABLISHED AS AN INDEPENDENT OFFICE REPORTING TO COUNCIL, UM, IN THE EARLY NINETIES.

UH, AND THAT WAS DONE THROUGH CHARTER.

SO THAT'S A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE SAYS WE WANT THIS GROUP TO REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND TO PROVIDE OVERSIGHT OF CITY MANAGEMENT.

UM, OUR JOB IS TO DO PERFORMANCE AUDITS.

WE DO SOME SPECIAL REQUESTS PROJECTS FOR COUNCIL, AND WE DO INVESTIGATIONS OF FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE.

UM, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING ALL OF THOSE THINGS FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

UH, I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT EACH OF THOSE AND WHAT THAT MEANS.

UM, BUT BEFORE I THERE, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMES UP FREQUENTLY IS HOW IS OUR OFFICE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER FUNCTIONS IN THE CITY THAT MIGHT LOOK AT, UM, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OR PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.

AND CERTAINLY A IMPORTANT PART OF CITY MANAGEMENT IS DOING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.

THERE'S AN OPPOSITE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.

THEY DO, UM, WORK FOCUSED ON PROCESSES AND FOCUSED ON HOW TO IMPROVE THEM.

THERE ARE GROUPS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

UM, THERE ARE INTERNAL AUDIT FOLKS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, PARTICULARLY IN OUR ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT AND ALL OF THOSE.

UM, THEY, THEY DON'T NEGATE THE WORK THAT THEY DO.

THEY, THEY COMPLIMENT THE WORK THEY DO, OR OUR WORK COMPLIMENTS THEIRS.

THE IDEA IS THAT, UM, LOOKING AT MAYBE AN ARTWORK, WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT SPECIFIC PROCESSES, WE'RE REALLY TAKING A TOPIC AREA AND SAYING, WHAT ARE THE HIGHEST RISK AREAS AND WHAT, WHAT COULD BE ADJUSTED IN A PROCESS KIND OF MORE DETAILED PROCESS IMPROVEMENT WORK.

IT MIGHT DISSECT A SPECIFIC PROCESS, UM, WITHIN A DEPARTMENT OR WITHIN A DIVISION OF A DEPARTMENT.

SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS SUPER CLEAR, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT, UM, WE DO OUR WORK, UM, AT A HIGHER LEVEL OR A CITY-WIDE LEVEL, OR TRY TO DO THAT, UM, VERSUS THAT KIND OF A MORE DETAILED PROCESS LEVEL, WHICH CITY MANAGEMENT DOES EVERY DAY.

UM, SO, SO WITHIN MY OFFICE, I HAVE

[00:25:01]

UH, THEY ALL COME FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND EXPERIENCE.

UH, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COMING WITH A LAW BACKGROUND, A BUSINESS BACKGROUND, JOURNALISM, ACCOUNTING, UM, PRETTY MUCH YOU NAME IT, MY OWN BACKGROUND AS AN URBAN STUDIES, UM, FOLLOWED BY PUBLIC POLICY.

UH, SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND I THINK THAT HELPS US DO OUR WORK, THE, UM, ONE OF THE KEY THINGS ABOUT OUR OFFICE AND THE WAY THAT WE'RE SET UP.

AND AGAIN, THIS IS REQUIRED IN CHARTER, WE FOLLOW AUDIT STANDARDS, UM, AND INVESTIGATIVE STANDARDS.

SO THE AUDIT STANDARDS ARE ADOPTED BY THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.

UM, THAT'S BASICALLY THE FEDERAL, THE FEDERAL CITY AUDITOR.

I'M SURE THEY'D LOVE TO BE CALLED THAT.

UM, THE, THE FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR, UM, AND THOSE STANDARDS ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, ARE WE INDEPENDENT TO DO THE WORK? DO WE HAVE SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE OBJECTIVE? ARE OUR STAFF QUALIFIED? ARE THEY GETTING THE TRAINING? THEY NEED TO DO THE WORK.

DO WE HAVE GOOD EVIDENCE, UM, TO SUPPORT OUR WORK? AND, UM, DO, DO WE HAVE SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR REPORTS ARE PUBLIC? UM, AND, AND THERE'S, THERE'S ALSO THINGS IN THERE THAT I THINK IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE ABOUT HOW WE COLLABORATE WITH MANAGEMENT.

UM, WHEN WE ISSUE A REPORT, WE HAVE TO ALLOW FOR THEIR FEEDBACK, INCORPORATE THEIR FEEDBACK, UM, BOTH AS WE MAKE CHANGES TO DRAFTS.

AND THEN IN THE FINAL REPORT, WE INCORPORATE YOUR RESPONSE.

AND SO, AS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, YOU SAW ON THE SOFTWARE LICENSES AUDIT EARLIER, UM, THAT WE DID THAT AND THEN QUALITY CONTROL.

THAT'S JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE DO ALL OF THE ABOVE.

SO SPECIFIC TO AUDITS.

UM, WE RECENTLY PRESENTED OUR APPROVED AUDIT, OR WE RECENTLY GOT YOUR APPROVAL FOR OUR AUDIT PLAN, UM, FOR FISCAL YEAR 21 AND THERE, SO I WON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON THIS SINCE WE TALKED ABOUT IT, THE LAST AUDIT COMMITTEE, BUT BASICALLY THE IDEA OF THE AUDIT PLAN IS TO COME UP WITH AUDITS.

YOU LOOK AT EXTERNAL INPUT, LIKE THE CITY'S CUSTOMER SURVEY, WE GET, UM, AUDIT IDEAS, UM, THROUGH OUR WEBSITE, WE GET YOUR INPUT.

WE GET INPUT FROM CITY MANAGEMENT.

WE GET INPUT FROM OUR OWN STAFF.

UM, PAST AUDITS ARE SOMETIMES A REALLY GOOD SOURCE FOR FUTURE AUDITS.

IF WE HAVE AN AREA WHERE, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN RECURRING ISSUES OR AN AREA THAT WE IDENTIFIED, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO LOOK AT, UH, THAT MIGHT END UP ON THE AUDIT PLAN.

UM, SO ONCE WE IDENTIFY OUR AUDIT TOPICS AND WE IDENTIFY THEM, WE HAVE PRELIMINARY OBJECTIVES AND THEY'RE VERY HIGH LEVEL.

UM, YOU KNOW, THEY MIGHT, THEY MIGHT SAY, GO LOOK AT HOW THIS DEPARTMENT DOES THIS TASK, THAT WE CAN'T LOOK AT THAT ENTIRE THING IN AN EFFICIENT MANNER.

AND SO WE ZERO IN.

SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS SPEND SOME TIME IDENTIFYING WHAT'S THE BIGGEST DEAL HERE.

UM, AND, UM, THEN LOOK INTO THAT AND MAKE SURE THAT IT'S BEING HANDLED TO AS EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE.

UM, WE CONDUCT FIELD WORK.

SO AN EXAMPLE THERE, UM, AWHILE AGO WE WERE LOOKING AT STREET REPAIRS AND SO FIELD WORK WAS ACTUALLY US GOING OUT INTO THE FIELD, LOOKING AT, UM, REPAIRS THAT HAD HAPPENED IN DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT THAT REPAIR WAS COMPLETED TIMELY WAS COMPLETED TO THE STANDARDS THAT WERE REQUIRED.

AND SO, UH, THAT'S THE KIND OF THING.

SOMETIMES FIELD WORK IS DATA ANALYSIS.

SOMETIMES IT'S TALKING TO PEOPLE.

SO JUST DEPENDING ON THE AUDIT THAT FIELD WORK, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S IN QUOTES COULD MEAN A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.

UM, WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THAT WITH SUMMER WORK, THAT INCLUDES RECOMMENDATIONS.

AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.

WE DO WORK WITH, UM, MANAGEMENT OVER THE AREA TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR CONCERNS ARE REFLECTED AND TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE SAYING IS, IS ACCURATE AND THAT THEY HAVE, THEY'RE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND FORMULATE A PLAN, UM, TO ADDRESS THOSE.

SO WE ALSO DO FOLLOW-UP, UM, WE FOLLOW UP ON, ON THE MOST CRITICAL RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, UNTIL THEY HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED.

SO, UH, WE KEEP, WE KEEP CHECKING BACK AND I'LL SHOW YOU SOMETHING IN A MINUTE THAT THAT KIND OF REFLECTS THAT WORK.

UM, BUT WE DO THAT, UM, WE CONSIDER ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT GIVEN KIND OF RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS AND PRIORITY, WE ZERO IN ON THE MONEY, MOST IMPORTANT ONES.

SO SPECIAL REQUESTS IS ANOTHER KIND OF PROJECT THAT WE DO.

THESE ARE SHORT PROJECTS THAT TO HELP COUNCIL WITH DECISION-MAKING, THEY'RE DESIGNED TO QUICKLY ANSWER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

UM, USUALLY THE PROCESS IS THAT WE HAVE A SPONSOR AND A CO-SPONSOR FOR THOSE.

UM, SOMETIMES WE HAVE MORE THAN MORE THAN ONE CO-SPONSOR.

UM, SOME RECENT EXAMPLES ARE HERE, BUT, UM, USUALLY THOSE ARE LOOKING AT MAYBE, UH, A, YOU KNOW, UM, KIND OF LOOK IN MORE DEPTH OF THIS DATA OR, UM, SUMMARIZE THIS INFORMATION.

AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY ACTUALLY INVOLVE IN BOTH OF THESE INVOLVE LOOKING AT HOW OTHER CITIES DO SOMETHING.

UM, SO IN TERMS OF, SO IN TERMS OF CITIZEN INITIATED INITIATIVES THAT LOOKED AT, UM, THE PROCESSES IN PLACE TO GET THINGS ON THE BALLOT, THROUGH THE CITIZEN INITIATIVE AND OTHER TEXAS CITIES.

SO, UM, THAT'S OFTEN A WAY TO JUST GET INFORMATION ABOUT HOW OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING A SIMILAR THING.

YEAH.

INVESTIGATION.

SO, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE

[00:30:01]

UM, HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES SEALING TO THE ASSETS, USING RESOURCES, UM, FOR NON-CITY PURPOSES, UM, CIRCUMVENTING PURCHASING PROCESSES FOR PERSONAL GAIN.

SO, SO THERE ARE A BUNCH OF THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT FROM THAT PROUD WAY, STREET VIEWS ON ANGLE, WE RUN A HOTLINE, UM, THERE'S A PHONE NUMBER THERE FOR IT.

YOU CAN ALSO REPORT THINGS ONLINE AND EVERYTHING THAT WE GET.

AND LAST MONTH WE DID OUR ANNUAL REPORT, UM, ON INVESTIGATIONS.

BUT AS YOU ALL KNOW, EVERYTHING, WE GET, WE KIND OF TRIAGE THROUGH A PROCESS TO MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, IS THIS WITHIN OUR JURISDICTION? IS THIS, UM, NOT WITHIN OUR JURISDICTION, IF NOT, LET'S GET IT TO THE RIGHT PLACES THAT IS, WE'LL LOOK INTO IT.

AND IF WE HAVE A CASE, THEN WE WILL INVESTIGATE.

SO JUST IN TERMS OF OUR REPORTS, ARE PEOPLE ASKING FOR INFORMATION FROM US OR REPORTS ARE PUBLIC.

FOR THE MOST PART, THERE ARE A FEW CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IT SECURITY OR INFRASTRUCTURE REPORTS ON THOSE, UM, ARE CONFIDENTIAL UNDER STATE LAW.

SO THE REPORTS THEMSELVES ARE PUBLIC.

UM, AND GENERALLY THE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION LIKE AUDIT WORK PAPERS, UM, THERE'S AN EXCEPTION AND THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT.

AND SO WE REQUEST THAT EXEMPTION, UM, TO KEEP THAT PART CONFIDENTIAL SO THAT THE FINAL REPORT IS PUBLIC.

UH, WE PRESENT WITH REPORTS AS YOU KNOW, TO THIS COMMITTEE.

WE JUST DID THAT EARLIER.

UH, WE ALSO HAVE SPECIAL REQUESTS AND INVESTIGATION REPORTS.

THOSE ARE RELEASED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND THEN TO THE PUBLIC.

UM, SO THOSE DON'T COME THROUGH THE COMMITTEE, BUT THEY ARE, UM, CERTAINLY SHARED WITH COUNCIL.

AND THEN WE ALWAYS SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'LL DISCUSS ANY REPORT AFTER WE PUT IT.

SO IF A REPORTER OR INTERESTED PARTY FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY ASKS ME ABOUT SOMETHING BEFORE IT'S FINALIZED, UM, WE DON'T DISCUSS IT EXCEPT TO SAY THAT, YES, WE ARE DOING THAT WORK BASICALLY.

UM, SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT KIND OF THE SCOPE AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, BUT NOT THE RESULTS OF THE WORK UNTIL AFTER IT'S RELEASED.

SO THE LAST PIECE, UM, THESE ARE SOME RESOURCES, UH, RELATED TO OUR AUDITS, OUR AUDIT REPORTS, OUR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS, UM, ALL THINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.

I WANT TO SWITCH OVER THE PLATE.

I CAN DO THIS.

I'M GOING TO STOP SHARING AND SWITCH OVER.

BUT, UM, BEFORE I DO THAT, BECAUSE I PROBABLY WON'T COME BACK TO THIS SLIDE, UM, JUST THE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WE HAVE SEVERAL, UM, SEVERAL FEEDS, UH, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, UM, AND THEN ALSO THIS WEBSITE FOR THE AUTO FINANCE COMMITTEE IS, IS A KEY RESOURCE BECAUSE THERE'S BACKUP FOR ALL OF THE ITEMS THAT COME TO THE COMMITTEE THAT THEY GET POSTED WITH THE ADDRESS AGENDA.

WE'LL TRY TO STOP SHARING.

UM, THERE'S A STOP BUDDING BUTTON, SO HOPEFULLY THAT WORKS GOOD.

I CAN STILL SEE YOU ALL.

SO THAT'S GOOD.

YEAH.

GREAT.

THANK YOU, DANNY COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. STOKES? UM, I DO HAVE, OH, SORRY.

I DO WE HAVE ONE OTHER THING THAT I WANT TO SHOW YOU ALL? UM, I HAVE TO SWITCH OVER TO A DIFFERENT SCREEN.

NO, THAT'S OKAY.

BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS WHILE I DO THAT.

MS. FULL, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I DIDN'T HAVE A QUESTION.

I JUST HAD A THANK YOU TO, UM, OUR CITY AUDITOR AND THE STAFF.

UM, AND ALSO FOR PUTTING THIS PRESENTATION UP ON OUR AGENDA.

UM, I, WHEN I HAD MY, UM, UH, PRE-MEETING BRIEFING WITH COREY, I MENTIONED THAT THIS WAS HELPFUL FOR THE COMMUNITY TOO.

AND I PLAN TO AMPLIFY IT THROUGH THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT FEEDS THAT I'VE GOT, LIKE MY NEWSLETTER AND THAT SORT OF THING.

SO, UM, UH, ANY OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE TO EXPLAIN CITY PROCESSES TO FOLKS, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE REALLY FUNDAMENTAL ONES, UM, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.

AND THIS IS A REALLY GOOD PRESENTATION TO, UH, SEND OUT TO, TO THE, UH, THE COMMUNITY BROAD, FAR AND WIDE.

SO THANKS SO MUCH.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, WE, WE WANT TO GET THE WORD OUT THERE TOO.

WE WANT MORE PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT WE EXIST TO READ HER WORK, UM, AND TO BETTER UNDERSTAND CITY PROCESSES THROUGH THAT WORK.

THEY'RE SUPER LOT OF REALLY HELPFUL LINKS THAT ARE EMBEDDED IN THAT PRESENTATION TOO, THAT PEOPLE CAN JUST GEEK OUT ON.

IT'S GREAT.

THANKS SO MUCH.

THAT IS THE GOAL.

EXCELLENT.

SO, SO THE OTHER THING I JUST WANTED TO SHOW Y'ALL HERE, UM, THIS HOPEFULLY Y'ALL CAN SEE, THIS IS OUR AUDIT REPORTS PAGE.

SO, UM, THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT, SO THIS IS THE AUDIT REPORT, UM, AND BASICALLY JUST AS A LIST OF OUR AUDIT REPORTS BY MOST RECENT.

UM, SO BY TOMORROW YOU SHOULD SEE THAT THE SOFTWARE LICENSES REPORT, WE JUST PRESENTED THERE AND IN ORDER BY DATE.

AND SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPECIFIC, IT'S SOMETIMES HARD TO FIND THEM THIS WAY.

IF YOU KNOW, A REPORT EXISTS, UM, THEN YOU CAN GO HERE AND FIND IT.

BUT, UM, THERE ARE, WE HAVE SOME, SOME OTHER TOOLS TO HELP YOU FIND SOMETHING.

IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, THIS GOT RELEASED OCTOBER, OR THIS JUST HAPPENED, ET

[00:35:01]

SO ALSO HERE, OUR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS, THERE'S A LINK THERE.

UM, THEY ARE ALL AVAILABLE THERE.

WE HAVE A BRAND NEW PRACTICE OR FRAME NEW, UM, I GUESS WE'RE DEBUTING PODCASTS.

UM, SO WE HAVE PODCASTS ON SPOTIFY.

THEY'LL SOON BE ON ITUNES AS WELL.

UM, AND THOSE ARE JUST A SHORT AUDIO, OBVIOUSLY, A RECORDING OF AN INTERVIEW WITH USUALLY THE LEAD ON THE AUDIT, UM, TO PROVIDE AN AUDIT OR INVESTIGATION TO PROVIDE INFORMATION.

UM, SO, SO WE'RE CHECKING OUT IF THAT'S A FORMAT THAT YOU LIKED.

UM, AND THEN THE RECENT RECOMMENDATIONS.

SO THIS LINK ACTUALLY GOES OUT TO THE AUSTIN PORTAL.

AND SO THE AUSTIN DATA PORTAL HAS TONS OF, UM, GREAT INFORMATION THAT THE OPEN DATA PORTAL I SHOULD SAY.

UM, BUT THIS ONE GOES STRAIGHT TO OUR LISTS OF RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND SO THERE IS SOME KIND OF GENERAL INFORMATION, UM, UP AT THE TOP ABOUT WHAT'S IN HERE.

UM, BUT THESE ARE BASICALLY EVERY RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'VE ISSUED SINCE 2014 IS IN THIS DATASET.

AND SO YOU CAN, UM, LOTS OF THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH THAT.

YOU CAN, LET'S SEE, YOU CAN FILTER IT, YOU CAN EXPORT IT TO EXCEL, TO LOOK AT IT.

BUT WHAT I WANTED TO SHOW, JUST, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE IS, SO WHAT IT'LL HAVE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE RECOMMENDATION ITSELF AND THEN, UM, KIND OF A PRIORITY FOR, FOR OUR OFFICE, BUT THEN WHETHER OR NOT IT'S BEEN IMPLEMENTED OR NOT.

AND SO IF I WAS LOOKING ONLY FOR AUDITS OF AUSTIN WATER, I COULD FILTER FOR THAT.

IF I WERE LOOKING FOR RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO A CERTAIN TOPIC, I COULD DO A KEYWORD SEARCH.

SO THERE'S A LOT IN HERE AND I'M JUST SLOWLY KIND OF PAGING THROUGH, BUT YOU CAN SEE IF I, IF I PULL, YOU KNOW, AWESOME WATER IS WHAT I'M ON.

NOW I LOOK OVER AND I CAN SEE, OKAY, A LOT OF THOSE ARE VERIFIED AS INFLUENT, AND THEY'RE STILL THIS OUTSTANDING ONE AND YOU CAN DRILL DOWN AND FIND MORE INFORMATION.

SO THAT ONE ACTUALLY TIES DIRECTLY.

SO THE, THE AUDIT I WAS MENTIONING BEFORE ABOUT STREET CODE REPAIRS, UM, MOST OF THOSE HAVE BEEN FULLY IMPLEMENTED.

THERE'S A FEW THAT HAPPEN.

SO WHILE WE SUMMARIZE THAT WORK PERIODICALLY FOR YOU GUYS AS PART OF OUR FOLLOW-UP EFFORTS, UM, THIS IS A WAY TO GO AND SEE, YOU KNOW, IS THAT RECOMMENDATION I WAS WORRIED ABOUT OR THAT THAT AREA THAT I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT HASN'T BEEN ADDRESSED.

SO, UM, THAT IS ALL I HAVE.

I THINK I STOPPED SHARING.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, TAKING THE TIME TO PUT THAT TOGETHER.

UM, I THINK THE PUBLIC, UM, IT'S UNDERSTAND HOW THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE FITS INTO THE BROADER SCHEME OF, UH, THE CITY AND THAT THERE IS PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY WORK BEING DONE ON MULTIPLE LEVELS.

AND THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE IS A, UH, REPORTS TO THE COUNCIL ON, IS FOCUSING ON QUESTIONS.

UM, THAT COUNCIL HAS IDENTIFIED WHERE WE NEED TO, UM, PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT MANAGEMENT IS ALREADY, UM, DOING ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS.

UM, AND THESE REPORTS, UM, SERVE AS AN IMPORTANT RECORD, BUT ALSO, UM, REALLY HELP US TO SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, W WHAT CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE AS WELL.

AND I THINK THE DATA, UM, IS THERE, UM, WE'VE WORKED VERY HARD AS A CITY TO BE TRANSPARENT AND TO MAKE THIS INFORMATION AVAILABLE, UM, TO THE PUBLIC.

UM, SO PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE RESOURCES TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DIFFERENT PIECES OF THE CITY.

UM, BUT KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING INTO THESE REPORTS THINKING THAT THERE IS A CHALLENGE THAT WE WANT TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SO THAT WE CAN, UM, ADDRESS IT IN MOST, IN MOST CASES.

UM, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. STOKES.

UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE THAT THEY WANT TO DISCUSS FOR FUTURE BUSINESS OR ANYTHING? UM, IF NOT, THEN IT IS 10, 10:00 AM, AND I AM GOING TO ADJOURN AT A RECORD SPEED, THIS FINANCE.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

TAKE CARE.

BYE-BYE .