Oct 25, 2023 Audit and Finance Committee

[00:00:07]

YES.

OKAY.

[CALL TO ORDER]

I'M ALLISON AL ALTER, AND IT'S 9:34 AM ON OCTOBER 25TH, AND I WILL CONVENE THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.

UM, THIS MORNING, I AM HERE IN THE CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL, AND I'M JOINED VIRTUALLY BY COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER.

AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES WILL BE ABSENT.

UM, AND, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE, I DON'T THINK IS GONNA BE ABLE TO, TO JOIN US.

UM,

[Public Communication: General]

OKAY.

GREG NAZER.

MORNING, MR. NAZER.

YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.

HELLO, MY NAME IS CRAIG NASER.

I SERVED AS A COMMISSIONER ON THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION FOR EIGHT YEARS THROUGH FEBRUARY OF 2023.

I WAS CHAIR FOR MY FINAL TWO YEARS.

I'M NOT SPEAKING FOR THE COMMISSION.

I'M SPEAKING ABOUT MY PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS OF BEING ON THE COMMISSION, PARTICULARLY AS IT PERTAINS TO THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT'S ANIMAL SERVICES AUDIT PRESENTATION IN SEPTEMBER.

THERE ARE TWO THINGS SAID DURING THAT PRESENTATION I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS.

THE FIRST IS THE STATEMENT THAT THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION TOOK A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN THE LEADERSHIP OF THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER.

THIS IS NOT QUITE ACCURATE.

PLEASE CONSULT OUR RECOMMENDATION, 2 0 2 2 6 1 3 0 0 4 FROM THE COMMISSION'S JUNE 13TH, 2022 MEETING FOR THE COMMISSION'S EXACT WORDING, WHICH WAS A RESULT OF CAREFUL DISCUSSION AT THE COMMISSION MEETING, WHICH CAN BE REVIEWED ON THE ONLINE VIDEO.

MY SECOND COMMENT IS THIS, IN ILLUSTRATING THE CURRENT DISSONANCE BETWEEN THE SHELTER AND THE ASSOCIATED ORGANIZATIONS THAT NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE NO KILL A FINANCIAL VIABLE OPTION, UH, THE AUDIT FEATURED A QUOTE OF AN OPINION FROM AN ANONYMOUS SOURCE.

THE QUOTE IS, THE COMMISSION MEETINGS I'VE WITNESSED RECENTLY HAVE BEEN UPSETTING, AND I DON'T BELIEVE ALL OF THE REPRESENTATIVES HAVE THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE AUSTIN ANIMAL CENTER IN MIND.

THE FIRST PART OF THE STATEMENT, I AGREE WITH ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETINGS CAN SOMETIMES BE UPSETTING AS A COMMISSION AIRS THE GRIEVANCES OF THE ANIMAL COMMUNITY AND TRIES TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS WITH NOTHING MORE THAN THE ABILITY TO OFFER ADVICE OR MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL.

THIS CAN MAKE THE WORK UPSETTING.

THE SECOND PART OF THE STATEMENT IS SOMETHING WITH WHICH I STRONGLY DISAGREE.

IN MY EIGHT YEARS ON THE COMMISSION, I NEVER KNEW ANY COMMISSIONER, EVEN THE ONES WITH WHOM I MAY HAVE STRONGLY DISAGREED, WHO DID NOT HAVE THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE ANIMAL SHELTER IN MIND.

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN CIRCULATED ONLINE AS A FINDING OF THE AUDIT AND NOT JUST AS EVIDENCE OF THE DISTANCE AND THE ANIMAL COMMUNITY AS I THINK IT WAS INTENDED.

THIS IS IMPORTANT.

I HAVE NEVER BEEN FINANCIALLY COMPENSATED FOR COMING DOWN TO OUR WONDERFUL CITY HALL.

I HAVE VOLUNTEERED AND CONTINUE TO VOLUNTEER HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF SERVICE ON CITY COMMISSIONS.

AUSTIN HAS OVER 70 COMMISSIONS AND CLOSE TO 1000 INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS ALL WORKING COUNTLESS HOURS GRATIS FOR A BETTER AUSTIN.

THIS SENSE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF AUSTIN'S STRONGEST ASSETS, AND I THINK WE SHOULD ALL TAKE CARE TO AVOID IMPUGNING THE MOTIVES OF ALL THESE VOLUNTEERS.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY COMMENTS.

THANK YOU, MR. NASER, APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.

[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee meeting of September 27, 2023]

UM, OUR NEXT ITEM IS ITEM ONE, WHICH IS APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THAT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 27TH.

DO I HAVE A MOTION? COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY MAKES THE MOTION, UH, SECONDED.

OKAY.

I THINK WE MIGHT NEED TO SEE YOU IF THAT'S AT ALL POSSIBLE, IF IT'S OPEN.

OH, SURE, SURE.

HOLD ON.

I'M, I'M MOVING AROUND .

THAT'S OKAY.

WE JUST NEED TO VISIBLE.

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PRETTY .

OH, HERE.

I'M, NOPE, NOPE.

IT'S, UH, THERE WE GO.

HELLO.

THANK YOU.

THANK AGAIN.

THANK YOU.

SO COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER SECONDS THAT WITH NO OBJECTIONS, WE ADOPT THE MINUTES.

THANK YOU.

UM, SO I AM GOING,

[2. Discussion and possible action on the Audit and Finance Committee meeting schedule for calendar year 2024]

[00:05:01]

SO, SO WE CONSULTED THE, UM, THE AGENDA OFFICE AND PROPOSED DATES.

UM, THOSE HAVE BEEN CIRCULATED AND I BELIEVE WERE IN THE BACKUP.

UM, JUST TO RUN THROUGH THEM REAL QUICK.

JANUARY, AND THE, THE CONCEPT AT LEAST WAS TO FIND, UH, FOR THE MOST PART WEDNESDAYS THAT ARE NOT DURING A COUNCIL WEEK TO HAVE THIS COMMITTEE MEETING.

AND MOST OF THE MEETINGS WOULD BE AT NINE 30 IN THE MORNING.

SO, UM, THAT'S JANUARY 24TH, 2024, FEBRUARY 21ST, MARCH 27TH, APRIL 24TH, MAY 22ND, JULY 23RD.

THAT WOULD MEAN WE WOULDN'T HAVE A JUNE MEETING.

AUGUST 28TH, SEPTEMBER 18TH, OCTOBER 16TH, NOVEMBER 13TH, AND DECEMBER 4TH.

AND WE'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT DECEMBER 4TH OCCURRING IN THE AFTERNOON OR EVEN ON THE THIRD, UH, BECAUSE THAT IS ALSO A PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE MEETING.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, SO CALL COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.

OH, I WAS JUST GONNA MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.

SORRY, I THINK I JUMPED THE GUN.

THANK YOU.

UM, I JUST WANNA FLAG THAT, UM, I JUST GOT WORD FROM COUNCILMEMBER POOLE THAT SHE HAS A COUPLE CONFLICTS.

SHE DID NOT OFFER ALTERNATIVE DATES.

SO FOR NOW WE'RE GOING TO ADOPT THESE DATES AND I'LL JUST FLAG FOR YOU THE DATES THAT EITHER SHE'LL BE ABSENT OR WILL REARRANGE.

THEY'RE MUCH LATER IN THE YEAR, SO I THINK WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO FIGURE THAT OUT.

BUT I DON'T WANT US TO GO WITHOUT A CALENDAR, UM, FOR THE BEGINNING PART OF THE YEAR.

SO, UM, SHE WILL BE AWAY FOR THE MAY 22ND MEETING AND HAS CABINET METRO BOARD MEETINGS ON OCTOBER 16TH AND NOVEMBER 13TH.

UM, SO WE MAY NEED TO JIGGER AROUND WITH TIMES OR, OR, UM, ADDRESS IN VARIOUS WAYS.

AND, UM, MS. STOKES, MY OFFICE AND COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE'S OFFICE WILL CONNECT AND SHARE WITH THE REST OF AUDIT, AND WE CAN ADJUST THAT AT A LATER MEETING IF WE, IF WE NEED TO, OR SHE'LL JUST BE ABSENT.

OKAY.

SO COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY MAKES A MOTION.

COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, IF YOU CAN GO ON SCREEN TO SECOND THAT MOTION.

THANK YOU.

UM, IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, THEN WE WILL ADOPT THE CALENDAR WITH THE THREE DATES NOTED THAT WE MAY, UM, MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO TWO TIMES TO ADDRESS COUNCIL MEMBER POOL'S, CONFLICTS, AND THEN, UM, THAT THE DECEMBER 4TH MEETING MAY NOT BE AT NINE 30.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

OKAY.

UM, THAT WAS ITEM TWO.

UM,

[3. Discussion and possible action establishing the calendar year 2024 proposed draft audit plan]

MORNING.

GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME'S JASON AVI.

I'M THE DEPUTY CITY AUDITOR, AND I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE DRAFT CALENDAR YEAR 24 AUDIT PLAN, WHICH IS SEEN UP HERE ON THE SCREEN AND IS AVAILABLE IN BACKUP.

IT'S BROKEN DOWN INTO TWO TABLES.

THE FIRST TABLE WITH THE GREEN HEADER ARE SIX PROJECTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY FROM THE CALENDAR YEAR 23 PLAN THAT ARE CARRYING OVER INTO 24.

WE'VE STARTED WORK ON EACH OF 'EM.

THEY'RE AT VARIOUS DEGREES OF COMPLETION.

WE WILL DELIVER EACH OF THOSE AFTER THE NEW YEAR.

AND THEN THE SECOND TABLE WITH THE BLUE HEADER ARE THE PROPOSED NEW PROJECTS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 24.

THERE ARE TWO CAVEATS MIDWAY THROUGH THE TABLE, YOU'LL SEE A WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SERIES AUDIT ON SUCCESSION PLANNING.

WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING AN AUDIT ON CITYWIDE RETENTION, AND IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE RETENTION AUDIT WOULD ENCOMPASS SUCCESSION PLANNING.

IF THAT IS THE CASE, WE WOULD TRADE OUT THE SUCCESSION PLANNING AUDIT NEXT YEAR FOR AN AUDIT FOCUSED ON COMPENSATION PRACTICES.

AND THEN LASTLY, THE VERY LAST AUDIT YOU SEE IN THE BLUE TABLE IS THE 2017 CAPITAL PROJECT FOLLOW-UP AUDIT.

WE BELIEVE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED.

THERE'S A NEW DEPARTMENT, NEW PROCESS.

WE WOULD DO SOME QUICK WORK TO ENSURE THAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE EMBRACED IN THE NEW PROCESS.

ASSUMING THAT'S THE CASE, WE WOULD TRADE IT OUT FOR A CONSULTANT SPENDING RISK ASSESSMENT WHERE WE WOULD START EVALUATING THE EXPENDITURES FOR CONSULTANTS, UH, ACROSS THE CITY AND EVALUATING HOW WE ENSURE THAT WE RECEIVED THE ROI FOR, I'M SORRY, RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR, FOR THOSE EXPENDITURES.

SO THAT IS OUR PLAN, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

THANK YOU.

UM, COLLEAGUES, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.

NOT A QUESTION, BUT A QUICK COMMENT ON, AND THERE WE GO.

UM, AS IT RELATES TO THE HOMELESSNESS OUTCOMES, I JUST WANT US TO THINK A LITTLE BIT OR, AND HAVE IT TIME SO THAT AS WE DO OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING, UM, AND LOOK TOWARDS THE NEXT BUDGET, IF WE ARE GOING TO BE SETTING CERTAIN TARGETS AND GOALS WITHIN THE STRATEGIC PLAN AS IT RELATES TO HOMELESSNESS, IT COULD BE USEFUL TO HAVE SOME OF THE, THE OUTCOMES REVIEW AVAILABLE PRIOR TO BUDGETING, JUST SO THAT

[00:10:01]

WE, WE HAVEN'T SCHEDULED OUT ONE, WE WOULD DO EACH OF THOSE, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY PRIORITIZE THAT ONE WITH AN EARLY START TO, TO GET THAT, THOSE RESULTS TO YOU.

YEAH, I THINK IT JUST, UH, HAVING WHATEVER, UH, WHATEVER, WHATEVER WE DECIDE IN, IN TERMS OF STRATEGIC DIRECTION IN TERMS OF OUR OUTCOMES BEING OR OUR GOALS, BEING ABLE TO HAVE ANY OF THOSE OUTCOMES THAT ARE MEASURED BY Y'ALL, UM, CORRELATE TO THOSE GOALS JUST SO THAT WE HAVE TWO DATA POINTS THAT ARE KIND OF RELATED TO EACH OTHER AND NOT, UH, JUST DISJOINTED.

ABSOLUTELY.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.

UH, THANK YOU.

UM, I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M MOST INTERESTED IN IS THAT SINCE WE DON'T HAVE ARPA FUNDING AVAILABLE RELATED TO HOMELESS SPENDING, I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW EFFECTIVELY THAT THAT WENT.

BUT ALSO LOOKING TOWARDS THE BUDGET, LIKE WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN TER MENTIONED, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO KNOW HOW THOSE OUTCOMES OCCURRED AND WHAT WOULD BE BEST FOR US TO FOCUS ON IN FUTURE BUDGETS WITH THAT LACK OF ARPA FUNDING AVAILABLE IN THE FUTURE.

I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN INCLUDE IN THAT, BUT IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL.

GOT IT.

WE'LL MAKE SURE TO INCORPORATE THAT.

THANK YOU.

UM, SO I THINK THIS IS A VERY THOROUGH, UM, PLAN FOR THE YEAR.

UM, HOPEFULLY WE WON'T HAVE THE NEED TO DO COUNCIL INITIATED AUDITS AGAIN, UM, THIS COMING YEAR.

UM, BUT WE WILL MAKE ADJUSTMENTS AS NEEDED IF, IF WE DO NEED YOU TO OVERSEE, UM, SOME AUDITS LIKE WE DID WITH THE WATER AUDIT AND WE DID WITH ANIMAL SERVICES, UM, RECENTLY.

UM, I THINK THERE'S A VERY GOOD MIX HERE OF AUDITS THAT ADDRESS THE RISKS THAT WE HAVE, UM, AS A CITY.

UM, THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE'S NOT OTHER THINGS THAT WE COULDN'T LOOK AT.

I KNOW WE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT TO INCLUDE AND WHAT NOT TO INCLUDE.

UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE JOB OF THE AUDITOR IS TO FOCUS IN ON WHAT IS OF OF HIGHEST RISK.

SO, UM, I APPRECIATE THIS LIST.

I WILL NOW ENTER, ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS PLAN.

COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER MAKES THAT MOTION COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY SECONDS THAT WITH NO OBJECTIONS, UM, THAT'LL BE APPROVED, THAT WILL MOVE ON TO THE FULL COUNCIL.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

THANK, UH, MR. AVI, YOU MAY BE JOINING US FOR ITEM FOUR.

UM, SO ITEM

[4. Status of prior audit recommendations]

WE ARE GOING TO BE, UM, IMPROVING OUR FOLLOW-UP PROCESS FOR THE AUDITS.

UM, MR. AVI AND HIS TEAM HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A NEW DASHBOARD, A NEW PROCESS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE MAKE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEY GO OUT, THAT THEY GET IMPLEMENTED IN A TIMELY MANNER AND THAT WE CAN TRACK AND SEE HOW THOSE ARE BEING HANDLED.

UM, I WANT TO SAY THAT THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT PROVIDES TRANSPARENCY, IT PROVIDES SUNLIGHT, UM, AND I WANNA APPRECIATE THE WORK OF THE AUDIT TEAM IN GENERAL, BUT THEN PARTICULARLY I WANNA GIVE SOME KUDOS TO JASON AVI, COREY STOKES OUR AUDITOR.

WE'LL GO OVER OVER RECO AND CARL STEVENSON, UM, AND ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE THE WORK OF THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD, UM, WITH IMPLEMENTATION WITH THE EXTRA PUSH FROM THIS PROCESS.

UM, SO PLEASE GO AHEAD, MR. DAVI.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

OKAY, JASON AVI, DEPUTY CITY AUDITOR.

I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE NEW AUTO RECOMMENDATION PROCESS.

IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHY THERE'S A BOWL OF PASTA ON THE SLIDE, IT'S BECAUSE TODAY, OCTOBER 25TH HAPPENS TO BE WORLD PASTA DAY.

AND IN MY EXPERIENCE, 18 YEARS WORKING WITH AUDITOR'S OFFICE, I GENERALLY FIND THAT PEOPLE PREFER PASTA OVER AUDITS.

SO THIS IS A SHAMELESS ATTEMPT TO GARNER ATTENTION TOWARDS THE REALLY IMPORTANT WORK THAT EVERYBODY IN THE CITY HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON.

SO WHAT DOES THIS NEW FRESH PROCESS LOOK LIKE? WE, WE IMPLEMENTED A NEW SYSTEM CALLED MISSION MARK, AND THE MISSION MARK INCORPORATES A NUMBER OF FEATURES I'LL TALK ABOUT SOON THAT ALLOWED US TO ENHANCE OUR PROCESS.

WE PUT IN A NEW RECOMMENDATION PROCESS AND COMBINATION OF THE PROCESS AND THE SYSTEM WILL ALLOW US TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY INTO ALL THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE ISSUE AT THE END OF OUR AUDITS, AND HELP SMOOTH OUT THE IM IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.

SO WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE? FIRST, INCREASED TRANSPARENCY.

UH, HISTORICALLY WE'VE FOCUSED ON DOING FOLLOW-UP AUDITS, WHERE WE'VE TAKEN ONE OR TWO AUDITS, A SMALL SUBSET OF THOSE OF RECOMMENDATIONS COMPARED TO THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE.

WE'VE DONE A FOLLOW-UP PROJECT ON THOSE, ISSUED A REPORT, AND THEN PRESENTED TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE ON THOSE.

BUT AS I SAID, THAT'S ONLY BEEN A SUBSET OF THE RECOMMENDATION UNIVERSE.

[00:15:01]

IF THERE'S A DESIRE TO ZERO IN ON ANY SPECIFIC PROJECTS OR SUBSET OF UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, WE CAN CERTAINLY STILL INCORPORATE THAT, BUT WE'LL BE DOING AT LEAST A COUPLE OF PRESENTATIONS A YEAR ON ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE PROGRESS THAT THAT HAS BEEN MADE.

SECONDLY, UH, MISSION MARK INCLUDES A PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD.

I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO ACCESS THAT DASHBOARD AND HOW TO MANEUVER THROUGH THAT DASHBOARD AT THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION.

BUT IT IS PUBLIC FACING.

IT'S AVAILABLE NOW, AND SO THE GENERAL PUBLIC CAN GO AND LOOK AT WHAT WORK IS BEING DONE ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE'VE ISSUED AT THE END OF OUR, OF OUR AUDITS.

MOVING MORE INTERNALLY FOCUSED THE IMPROVED IMPLEMENTATION.

SO MISSION MARK IS, IS A GREAT SYSTEM.

IT HAS A LOT OF FEATURES, SOME OF WHICH ARE HIGHLIGHTED HERE ON THIS SLIDE, BUT IN SHORT, IT ALLOWS US TO BETTER COLLABORATE AND WORK IN, UH, CONJUNCTION WITH MANAGEMENT TO IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS TO SEE THE STATUS OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS, ANY, ANY HURDLES WITH IMPLEMENTATION.

IT ALSO HAS SOME FEATURES THAT PRESERVES INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE.

SO IF THERE IS TURNOVER WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OR WITHIN OUR OFFICE, THE HISTORY OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, ALL THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE TO DATE IS BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM AND NEW EMPLOYEES CAN COME IN AND PICK UP WHERE OTHER EMPLOYEES HAVE LEFT OFF.

AND THEN IT JUST ALLOWS US TO ANALYZE, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS, THE STATUS BY AGE, BY DEPARTMENT, BY RISK LEVEL, BY A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES TO DO WHATEVER REPORTING AND ANALYSIS WE NEED, UH, TO LOOK AT THE RECOMMENDATIONS AS A WHOLE.

SO LOOKING AT OUR CURRENT STATUS, WE UPLOADED FIVE YEARS WORTH OF RECOMMENDATIONS 2019 THROUGH 2023 TO DATE INTO MISSION MARK THAT ENCOMPASSED 34 AUDITS, 189 RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND THEY'RE BROKEN DOWN BY STATUS AS SEEN ON THIS SLIDE.

29 HAVE ALREADY BEEN IMPLEMENTED.

32 ARE AN ALREADY FOR REVIEW STATUS.

AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE DEPARTMENT HAS ALREADY DONE THE WORK AND THEY BELIEVE THAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS IMPLEMENTED, AND NOW IT'S, UH, INCUMBENT UPON OUR OFFICE TO GO IN, REVIEW WHAT'S BEEN DONE, MAKE SURE THAT IT MEETS THE INTENT OF THE RECOMMENDATION, AND IF SO, THOSE WILL MOVE FORWARD TO, TO AN IMPLEMENTED STATUS.

108 ARE IN PROGRESS.

DEPARTMENTS ARE WORKING ON THOSE AS WE SPEAK.

15 ARE NOT STARTED.

WE ALWAYS ANTICIPATE THERE WILL BE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE NOT STARTED STATUS BECAUSE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ANIMAL SERVICES AND VEGETATION MANAGEMENT THAT WERE JUST ISSUED A MONTH AGO ARE UP THERE.

SOME MAY HAVE BEEN STARTED, AND THEN SOME WILL NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE LEAD OF TIME BEFORE WORK CAN BEGIN.

AND THEN FIVE ARE NOT APPLICABLE.

RECOMMENDATIONS CAN END UP IN THE STATUS FOR A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT REASONS.

A NEW STATE LAW OR A NEW POLICY OR AN UPDATED AUDIT MIGHT RENDER AN OLD RECOMMENDATION NO LONGER APPLICABLE.

ADDITIONALLY, IF A RECOMMENDATION WAS NOT ACCEPTED BY MANAGEMENT, IT WOULD END UP IN A NOT APPLICABLE STATUS.

AND WE HAVE FIVE THERE RIGHT NOW.

WE ALSO HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE GREATER THAN FIVE YEARS OLD THAT WILL NOT BE SEEN IN MISSION MARK.

THE MAJORITY OF THESE ARE IN A READY FOR REVIEW STATUS.

WE'RE STILL VERY ACTIVELY WORKING ON THESE.

WE'RE GONNA MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ALL OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT THEY WON'T SHOW UP IN THE DASHBOARD.

AND MY HOPE IS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO WORK THROUGH THOSE RELATIVELY QUICKLY AND WE'LL SEE THOSE, UM, DECREASE AND ULTIMATELY BE ELIMINATED IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF PRESENTATIONS TO THIS COMMITTEE.

SO WITH THAT, WE CAN GO TO THE DASHBOARD.

CAN YOU SWITCH TO CHROME PLEASE? AND MR. AVI, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY.

YES.

HAS THERE BEEN AN UPDATE TO THIS PRESENTATION FROM WHAT WAS SHARED WITH US EARLIER THIS WEEK? YES.

DEPARTMENTS WERE VERY ACTIVELY WORKING ON THESE THINGS.

SO AFTER WE DID BRIEFINGS, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATION STATUSES UH, CHANGED.

JUST AS OF YESTERDAY, I WAS MAKING CHANGES.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

SO THIS IS OUR DEPARTMENT WEBSITE AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE YOU'LL SEE, UM, A LIST OF DIRECT LINKS.

THE SECOND ONE SAYS, GO TO RECOMMENDATION DASHBOARD.

IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, IF YOU CLICK ON THAT, IT BRINGS YOU TO THIS PAGE, WHICH IS THE MISSION MARK PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD.

IT DEFAULTS AT THE TOP TO SHOWING ONLY THE OPEN RECOMMENDATIONS.

SO IF YOU CLICK ON THAT TOP BUTTON AND SELECT OPEN, CLOSED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE, UH, THERE WE GO.

AND OPEN AND CLO OPEN AND CLOSED.

THAT'S JUST CLOSE.

SORRY, THE ONE BELOW THAT OUT.

THERE WE GO.

THANK YOU.

NOW IT SHOWS THE 34 AUDIT REPORTS, THE 189 RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THE SUMMARY DEFAULTS TO, TO BREAKING 'EM DOWN BY YEAR.

AND THEN WITHIN EACH YEAR IT SHOWS HOW MANY ARE IN EACH ONE OF THE STATUS AS SEEN ON THE RIGHT.

YOU CAN ALSO BREAK IT DOWN BY DEPARTMENT OR BY AUDIT.

AND IF YOU SCROLL DOWN ON THE PAGE A LITTLE BIT, YOU'LL SEE A COUPLE OF CHARTS THAT ALLOW YOU TO LOOK AT THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY TYPE.

THIS IS REALLY THE RISK LEVEL, LOW, MEDIUM, AND HIGH.

OR YOU CAN LOOK AT ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY IMPLEMENTATION PHASE.

CLICKING ON ANY OF THE CATEGORIES IN THOSE CHARTS ABOVE WILL AUTOMATICALLY FILTER THIS LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND THEN THE SECOND

[00:20:01]

SO IF A USER WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE FINDING THAT LED TO THE RECOMMENDATION, THEY COULD CLICK ON THAT LINK AND GET TO THE AUDIT REPORT.

SO THAT IS OUR PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU.

UM, JUST A COUPLE THINGS TO CLARIFY.

WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT IT THE OTHER DAY.

SO THE ONES THAT ARE CURRENTLY LISTED FOR NOT STARTED, THOSE ARE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF SORT OF LAST MONTH'S AUDIT FOR SURE ON ANIMAL SERVICES AND VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND A COUPLE OTHERS, BUT THEY'RE ALL LESS THAN A YEAR OLD.

THEY'RE ALL VERY, VERY RECENT, AND SOME OF THEM ARE EVEN WAITING FOR ONE RECOMMENDATION TO BE IMPLEMENTED BEFORE WE CAN START WORKING ON THAT NEXT ONE.

SO THEY ARE, THEY ARE VERY NEW AND IT, IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE WHY THEY'RE IN THAT, IN THAT NOT STARTED STATUS.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

AND OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE STILL IN PROGRESS, UM, CAN YOU PLEASE PROVIDE A SENSE OF THE MOST URGENT OR THOSE THAT REPRESENT THE MOST HIGH RISK? THAT'S A DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ASK.

UM, I LIKE TO THINK THAT ALL OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT I WOULD SAY THE EASIEST THING TO DO WOULD BE TO FIRST START LOOKING AT THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY TYPE.

AND SO LOOKING AT THOSE THAT ARE IN A HIGH RISK CATEGORY.

SO THOSE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE, WE STRESS A SENSE OF URGENCY WITH.

AND SO THE HIGH RISK RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE IN PROGRESS ARE, ARE ONES THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE IMPLEMENTED, UM, WITHIN THE TIMEFRAME THAT MANAGEMENT HAS ESTABLISHED.

AND WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THEM TO, TO HELP THEM MEET THOSE GOALS.

OKAY.

CAN YOU SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC, YOU MAY NOT BE LOOKING AT THE DASHBOARD.

OH, SURE.

IT'S, UH, EXAMPLES.

EXAMPLES.

UM, THERE'S MULTIPLE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AUDIT THAT ARE, THAT ARE IN PROGRESS, UM, THAT, THAT WAS THE AUDIT THAT CAME FOLLOWING WINTER STORM URI.

SO OBVIOUSLY THOSE ARE VERY SERIOUS.

UM, WE'VE GOT SOME, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF SOME OF THE OTHER AUDIT EXAMPLES.

WE HAVE SOME IN OUR WATER QUALITY EVENTS AUDIT THAT WE DID THAT ARE, THAT ARE HIGH RISK, THOSE AFFECT OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR WATER SYSTEMS. SO OBVIOUSLY THOSE ARE, ARE VERY IMPORTANT.

WE'D LIKE TO SEE THOSE DONE.

UM, AND THE LIST LIST GOES ON.

I COULD GO THROUGH THE DASHBOARD AND WE COULD LOOK AT, AT LOOK AT SOME MORE.

THERE'S SOME FROM THE ANIMAL SERVICES AUDIT, BUT THOSE ARE, ARE VERY, VERY RECENT.

THANK YOU.

AND I THINK THERE'S, YOU KNOW, SOME FROM THE CYBER AUDIT AS WELL AS EARLY INTERVENTION FOR OFFICERS AT RISK AS WELL.

ABSOLUTELY.

BOTH OF THOSE ARE INCLUDED.

THE, THE IT AUDITS THAT YOU MENTIONED, THE, THOSE ARE CONFIDENTIAL AUDITS.

YOU'LL SEE REFERENCE TO THEM IN THE DASHBOARD, BUT THE PUBLIC WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THOSE RECOMMENDATION, THE DETAILS OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.

BUT THOSE ARE DEFINITELY IN PROGRESS AND IN A, A HIGH RISK CATEGORY THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH MANAGEMENT ON.

AND I'LL JUST ADD ON THAT ONE.

SEVERAL OF THOSE WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED CORRECT AS WELL.

CORRECT.

UM, OKAY.

AND THEN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN PULL UP THE DASHBOARD, UM, SINCE WE ARE GOING TO, UM, BE POSTPONING THE ITEM THAT'S ON TODAY'S AGENDA FOR THE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AUDIT, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF WE COULD PULL UP, IT'S POSSIBLE TO PULL UP, UM, THE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AUDIT AND LOOK AT WHAT'S NOT BEEN, UM, IMPLEMENTED YET, WHICH ITEMS ARE STILL IN PROGRESS SO THAT WE CAN JUST HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE ONES THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING.

I UNDERSTAND THAT STAFF IS PREPARING A, UH, PREPAREDNESS REPORT TO COUNCIL AT, UM, ONE OF THE, UM, NOVEMBER WORK SESSIONS, I BELIEVE.

AND SO WE DIDN'T WANNA DUPLICATE THAT WORK WITH THIS SESSION.

WE HAVE SCHEDULED IT FOR THE DECEMBER MEETING IF WE DO NOT FULLY COVER IT.

UM, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HIGHLIGHT THOSE.

ABSOLUTELY.

SO HE'S ALREADY CLICKED ON THE BUY AUDIT BUTTON AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE, AND THE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AUDIT IS THE THIRD FROM, UH, FROM THE TOP.

SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS.

YOU GOTTA HIGHLIGHT A LITTLE BIT HIGHER WHERE YOU'RE AT JUST A BIT HIGHER.

WE'RE ALMOST THERE.

THERE WE GO.

SO EIGHT ARE IN PROGRESS.

AND THEN IF YOU CLICK ON THE TWO TO THE RIGHT OF THAT, THE, THE NEXT BAR IN THE GRAPH , WHAT HE'S DONE BY CLICKING ON THAT IS FILTER THE TABLE.

SO NOW WE CAN SEE ALL OF THE IN PROGRESS RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AUDIT.

THE RECOMMENDATION IS THE SECOND COLUMN FROM THE LEFT, AND THE LATEST UPDATE THAT, UM, THAT HAS BEEN MADE TO THE RECOMMENDATION IS IN THAT MIDDLE COLUMN.

AND SO IF YOU WERE TO SCROLL DOWN FURTHER ON THE TABLE, YOU COULD SEE ALL OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND THEN IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS ANOTHER STATUS WITH THIS AUDIT.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK UP TO THE GRAPH, PLEASE.

THERE'S, UH, TWO NEXT TO THE EIGHT ON THE RIGHT OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, AND THAT SHOWS YOU THE TWO THAT ARE READY FOR REVIEW.

SO THESE ARE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS WHERE MANAGEMENT HAS DONE THE WORK THAT THEY BELIEVE IMPLEMENTS THE RECOMMENDATION, AND NOW OUR OFFICE NEEDS TO GO BACK AND REVIEW THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONFIRM THAT THEY ARE IN FACT IMPLEMENTED.

THANK YOU.

UM, AND I'LL JUST UNDERSCORE FOR STAFF THAT ARE FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S

[00:25:01]

UM, THIS AUDIT IS A FEW YEARS OLD AT THIS POINT, UM, GOES BACK TO YURI, UM, AND, AND IS IMPORTANT FOR US, UM, IN OUR PREPAREDNESS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE IMPLEMENTED.

AGAIN, WE ARE GONNA POSTPONE THAT ITEM TODAY, BUT IT IS NOT FOR LACK OF INTEREST IN MAKING SURE THAT THOSE ARE COMPLETE.

IT'S BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND WE'RE GETTING A VERY COMPLETE REPORT, UM, NEXT MONTH ABOUT THE TOPIC.

UM, AND WE'LL PRIORITIZE THESE TWO THAT ARE READY FOR REVIEW THAT WE NEED TO DO OUR OUR JOB ON.

THANK YOU.

UM, COLLEAGUES.

COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

KELLY, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? CAN'T I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION SO MUCH AS A COMMENT.

I JUST WANNA THANK THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE FOR THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING TO MAKE EVERYTHING SO EASY TO FIND IN THE COMMUNITY.

UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT MORE PEOPLE SEE THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING AND UNDERSTAND IT.

AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALTER, I CAN'T SEE YOU, SO IF YOU DO HAVE A COMMENT, CHIME IN.

OTHERWISE WE'LL MOVE ON.

NOTHING.

OKAY, GREAT.

THANK YOU.

AND I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS CORRECT ITEM.

THANK YOU, MR. AVI.

AND THANK YOU TO THE TEAM FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON THAT.

UM, THE ITEM NUMBER FIVE

[5. City Auditor Integrity Unit FY 2023 update]

UM, GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING.

UH, MY NAME'S BRIAN MALLOY.

I'M THE CHIEF OF INVESTIGATIONS AND I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO PRESENT ALL THIS INFORMATION ABOUT THE INTEGRITY UNIT AT THE OTTER'S OFFICE, UM, TO THIS COMMITTEE.

SO WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON EVERYTHING THE INTEGRITY UNIT DID AT THE OTTER'S OFFICE IN FISCAL 23.

WE'LL GO THROUGH ALLEGATION TRENDS AS WE, UH, OBSERVE THEM THROUGH OUR INTAKE, THE INVESTIGATIONS WE COMPLETED, AND THEN WHAT, UM, INVESTIGATIONS ARE ONGOING INTO FISCAL YEAR 24.

UH, SO THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 23, WE RECEIVED 316 ALLEGATIONS.

THAT'S ABOUT A 5% INCREASE FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR AND STEADILY ABOVE OUR, UH, FIVE YEAR AVERAGE, THOUGH THAT AVERAGE IS BROUGHT DOWN, UM, BY FISCAL YEAR 21 WHEN THE CITY WAS, UH, TRANSITIONING IN, IN DEALING WITH THE OUTBREAK OF COVID THAT DEPRESSED THEIR ALLEGATION NUMBERS.

SO I THINK EXCLUDING THAT YEAR, WE GET AN AVERAGE THAT'S MUCH CLOSER TO THE 316 WE SAW THIS YEAR.

AND THEN AS FAR AS THE ALLEGATIONS THAT COME IN, UH, ABOUT TWO THIRDS TO 60% ARE USUALLY OUTSIDE OF JURISDICTION.

AND, AND WE SAW THAT EXACT PATTERN, UM, UM, GET FOLLOWED AGAIN IN FISCAL YEAR 23.

THAT MEANS THE REMAINING ONE THIRD OR 40% OF ALLEGATIONS ARE WITHIN JURISDICTION OF THE ONES OUTSIDE OF JURISDICTION.

HR ISSUES ARE, ARE THE BULK.

THAT'S ABOUT 31%.

AND THOSE GET REFERRED TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OR THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY.

THE THE NEXT BIGGEST AREA WAS OPERATIONAL ISSUES THAT GET REPORTED TO OUR OFFICE.

AND AGAIN, THOSE GET REFERRED OUT TO THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS WHO CAN ACT ON THOSE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

UH, LOOKING AT THE ALLEGATIONS THAT WERE WITHIN OUR JURISDICTION THAT OUR TEAM DID GET TO INVESTIGATE, UH, THE MOST COMMON WAS ABUSE, FOLLOWED BY THEFT.

THAT CAN INCLUDE THEFT OF INVENTORY, THEFT OF TIME, OR THEFT OF CASH, AND THEN, UH, MISUSE, CONFLICT AND WASTE.

AND ACTUALLY, THIS WAS THE EXACT SAME ORDER AS THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

AND, AND THOSE TEND TO BE THE MOST COMMON ALLEGATIONS, UH, OF THE, OF THE TYPE THAT WE GET TO INVESTIGATE.

UH, MOVING ON TO HOW PEOPLE REPORT TO US, UH, IT'S JUST AN INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICE, WELL KNOWN FACT THAT IF YOU WANT TO HEAR ABOUT PROBLEMS GOING ON IN YOUR ORGANIZATION, YOU GOTTA GIVE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO REPORT ANONYMOUSLY.

AND SO WE MAKE THAT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE BY LETTING PEOPLE USE AN ONLINE REPORTING FORM ANONYMOUSLY.

THERE'S AN EMAIL ADDRESS YOU CAN REPORT TO ANONYMOUSLY, AND WE HAVE AN ONLINE, OR WE HAVE A HOTLINE OF A PHONE NUMBER YOU CAN CALL THAT WOULDN'T LIKE TRACK CALLER ID OR ANYTHING.

SO YOU CAN REPORT ANONYMOUSLY THAT WAY.

AND I HAVE, UH, MY FINAL SLIDE.

WE'LL SHOW ANYONE WHO GETS TO WITNESS THIS PRESENTATION, HOW TO REPORT TO OUR OFFICE IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

UM, AND TAKING ALL THOSE STEPS TO HELP PEOPLE REPORT ANONYMOUSLY IS PAID OFF.

55% OF OUR REPORTERS DO CHOOSE TO REPORT ANONYMOUSLY.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ONE OF THOSE METHODS.

AND THEN OF THE VARIOUS WAYS YOU CAN REPORT TO OUR OFFICE, THE MOST COMMON WAS THAT ONLINE REPORTING FORM.

AGAIN, THAT WAS 55% OF, UH, PEOPLE WHO REPORTED TO US CHOSE TO USE THE ONLINE REPORTING FORM.

UH, THE NEXT MOST COMMON WAS ACTUALLY, UM, 15% DIRECT INVESTOR CONTACT.

I THINK THAT SHOWS, UM, JUST HOW MUCH TRUST SOME OF THE INVESTIGATORS ON MY TEAM HAVE BUILT UP WITH PEOPLE THEY'VE WORKED WITH IN THE CITY, THAT PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE COMING TO THEM EITHER BY EMAIL OR PHONE CALL DIRECTLY.

AND SO THAT'S SECOND MOST COMMON METHOD.

AND THEN FINALLY, 11% USE THE WHISTLEBLOWER HOTLINE.

HIGHEST NUMBER OF ALLEGATIONS BY DEPARTMENT.

10% OF OUR ALLEGATIONS CAME IN FOR OUR, THE ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICE, AND 10% FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, FOLLOWED BY HUMAN RESOURCES AND PARKS AND RECREATION, UH, AT 8%.

THESE ARE, UH, ONLINE WITH WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN PREVIOUS YEARS AS FAR AS WHICH DEPARTMENTS USUALLY HAVE THE MOST ALLEGATIONS.

AND THEN WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE ALLEGATIONS.

SO, UH, NO BIG UPTICKS FOR ANY, UH, INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENT OR, OR A BIG JUMP BETWEEN WHAT WE'VE SEEN, UH, FROM

[00:30:01]

MOVING ON TO THE INVESTIGATIONS WE COMPLETED ON FISCAL YEAR 23, OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR, WE COMPLETED 11 INVESTIGATIONS, UH, SEVEN OF WHICH RESULTED IN A SUBSTANTIATED MATERIAL VIOLATION OF CITY CODE.

SO THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT PRODUCE A PUBLIC REPORT THAT GETS SHARED WITH, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL'S OFFICES, AND THEN POSTED IT ONLINE, UM, FOR ANYONE IN THE COMMUNITY TO SEE.

THREE RESULTED IN AN INCONCLUSIVE FINDING.

THAT'S WHERE WE HAD EVIDENCE, UH, THAT SHOWED THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A VIOLATION, BUT EVIDENCE CONTRADICTING THAT AND NOT ENOUGH EITHER WAY TO MAKE A, UH, A, UH, DEFINITIVE CONCLUSION.

AND ONE INVESTIGATION RESULTED IN UNSUBSTANTIATED, UH, FINDING, FOCUSING IN ON THOSE SEVEN THAT PRODUCED A PUBLIC REPORT.

UH, THEY WERE ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY.

UH, THE MOST COMMON VIOLATION TYPE, UH, WAS A TIE BETWEEN MISUSE AND FRAUD.

THEY APPEARED IN THE THREE INVESTIGATIONS EACH, AND THEN IN EVERY CASE, THE DEPARTMENTS INVOLVED TOOK OUR FINDING SERIOUSLY, BELIEVE WE HAD SUPPORTING EVIDENCE, AND THEN TOOK A DECISIVE ACCOUNTABILITY ACTION.

SIX OF THE SEVEN CASES RESULTED IN EMPLOYEE SEPARATION.

AND, UH, ONE, UH, THE WRONGDOING WAS DONE BY CITY CONTRACTOR.

UH, SO THE, THE DEPARTMENT ENDED UP TERMINATING THE CONTRACT AND IT'S NOW TAKING STEPS TO RECOUP SOME MONEY THAT WAS PAID INAPPROPRIATELY.

AND THEN MOVING ON TO FISCAL 24, WHAT ARE WE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW GOING FORWARD? WE HAVE CURRENTLY EIGHT OPEN INVESTIGATIONS.

THEY'RE ACROSS FIVE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.

AND WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THE SAME ISSUES THAT, UH, WE SEE IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, INCLUDING WHAT WE FINISHED UP LAST YEAR WITH FRAUD, ABUSE AND MISUSE BEING OUR MOST COMMON ISSUES.

AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORK OF THE INTEGRITY UNIT.

AND THEN FOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS A CONCERN ABOUT CITY OPERATIONS, THAT'S HOW YOU CAN CALL US, EMAIL US, OR THERE'S WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUR ONLINE REPORTING FORM.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, COLLEAGUES.

COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

KELLY, DID YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. MALLOY? NOTHING FOR ME.

OKAY.

I'M GONNA ASSUME THAT COUNCIL MEMBER DOESN'T THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK.

UM, THESE INVESTIGATIONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE INTEGRITY, OBVIOUSLY, OF OUR WORK, AND APPRECIATE, UM, HOW YOU AND YOUR TEAM APPROACH THEM.

UM, THERE'VE BEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT REPORTS OVER THE LAST YEAR, UM, AND I, I APPRECIATE THE SERIOUSNESS WITH WHICH YOU APPROACH IT AND WHICH WITH WHICH OUR STAFF, WHEN THEY'RE FACED WITH ONE OF THESE REPORTS FOR THEIR DEPARTMENT ARE ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU.

UM, I DID WANNA ASK MR. AVI, IF YOU COULD JUST TELL US HOW PEOPLE CAN FIND, UM, THE MISSION MARK DASHBOARD IF THEY'RE INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT IT.

SURE.

UM, OUR DEPARTMENT WEBSITE IS AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV/AUDITOR, AND THE DIRECT LINK TO THE DASHBOARD IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE, AND THERE SHOULD BE A BUTTON ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE IN BLUE.

GREAT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

APPRECIATE IT.

THANK YOU.

SO, UM, ITEM SIX

[6. Disaster preparedness audit recommendations update]

AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO DISCUSS THAT TODAY, UM, WITHOUT OBJECTION.

WE WILL, UH, POSTPONE THAT UNTIL DECEMBER.

AND IF WE DON'T NEED IT IN DECEMBER, WE JUST WON'T PUT IT ON THE AGENDA.

UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH ON THAT.

UM, AND ITEM

[7. Mobility Action Plan update]

GOOD MORNING, DIRECTOR, SNOW.

GOOD MORNING, MA'AM.

UH, MY NAME'S JAMES SNOW.

I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE CAPITAL DELIVERY SERVICES DEPARTMENT.

TODAY I'M JOINED BY ERIC BAILEY, WHO'S OUR INTERIM DEPUTY DIRECTOR, AND CHRISTY FENTON, WHO'S OUR INTERIM, UH, A ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.

TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS BASED OFF OF, UH, FOLLOW UP AS FAR AS INFORMATION THAT WAS PROVIDED AT THE APRIL MEETING TO THE COMMITTEE.

UH, AS YOU SEE THE TITLE, IT TALKS ABOUT THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BOND ACTION PLAN, BUT TODAY'S SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON THE MOBILITY BOND.

I WILL TRY, UH, TODAY WE'RE GONNA COVER THE FOLLOWING TOPICS, WHO, WHO WE ARE.

WE'LL REVIEW THE INFORMATION FROM THE, THE MEETING IN APRIL.

WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHAT WE FOUND, WHAT WE'VE DONE, WHAT WE'LL DO, AND THEN A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE ACTION PLAN.

THIS DEPARTMENT WAS FORMED FOR A SPECIFIC REASON, AND THAT WAS TO CREATE A ONE CITY, ONE TEAM APPROACH TO EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY DELIVERING QUALITY PROJECTS.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THESE PROJECTS ARE FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY AND HAVING A PUBLIC IMPACT.

OUR DEPARTMENT CURRENTLY MANAGES OVER 500 ACTIVE PROJECTS, EQUATING TO ABOUT $7 BILLION, INCLUDE THAT.

WE ALSO SUPPORT, UH, THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS AS FAR AS THE $5 BILLION PROJECT CONNECT, THE AIRPORT EXPANSION, AND ALSO THE CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION THAT WAS VOTED ON LAST WEEK.

IN APRIL.

THERE WAS A PRESENTATION TO THIS COMMITTEE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS.

AS YOU CAN SEE, WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING TODAY ON IS THE MOBILITY, BECAUSE THAT HAD THE LARGEST UNSPENT

[00:35:01]

AND AT THE TIME, UH, OF SEPTEMBER WHEN WE LAST DID THIS RUN OF THE DATA, THERE'S ABOUT $747 MILLION UNSPENT BALANCE.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE BALANCES REALLY FALL INTO THREE CATEGORIES.

AND THAT'S IN THE 20 16, 18 AND MOBILITY BONDS.

AND IT'LL SHOW YOU THE PERCENT THAT'S UNSPENT.

THERE WAS A SMALL AMOUNT IN THE 20 2006 TO 12 $6 MILLION.

MOST OF THAT WAS ATTRIBUTED TO ONE PROJECT THAT'S 51ST STREET, WHICH IS IN CON ABOUT TO ENTER.

CONSTRUCTION WILL BE DONE, UH, WILL BE FINISHED BY THE TIME, UH, WILL BE THROUGH THIS MOBILITY, UH, ACTION PLAN.

BUT THAT WAS, WAS THE LARGEST.

THE REST IS MORE OF WHAT WE LIKE TO CALL COINS IN THE CUSHIONS.

LAST LAST PARTS OF PROGRAMS THAT WE NEED TO GO BACK AND WE'RE REPROGRAM IN TO SPEND.

FIRST, I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE 2016 MOBILITY BOND.

AS YOU LOOK AT THE CHART, UH, AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE PRESENTATION ON THE RIGHT, THAT WAS THE CHART THAT WAS PRESENTED TO YOU IN APRIL.

THE ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE, INITIALLY THIS WAS A BOND PROGRAM THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EIGHT YEARS.

IT WAS SUPPOSED TO FINISH IN SEPTEMBER, 2024.

BUT DURING OUR ANALYSIS AND REVIEW RIGHT NOW, THE WORK WILL COMPLETE NOW, FOUR YEARS LATER IS TRENDING, AND THAT'LL BE SEPTEMBER, 2028.

SO REALISTICALLY, IT'S GONE FROM AN EIGHT YEAR TO A 12 YEAR, UH, BOND CYCLE.

AS IT SHOWS ON THE CHART, THE LARGEST UNSPENT BALANCES ARE IN THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM, WHICH IS ABOUT 269 MILLION.

AND REGIONAL MOBILITY, WHICH IS 64 MILLION FOR 2020.

UH, FOR 2018 MOBILITY BOND, WE HAVE ABOUT 90, UH, 90 MILLION UNSPENT.

AS YOU CAN SEE, AGAIN, THE CHART THAT WAS PROVIDED TO YOU IN APRIL, UH, IT SHOWS THE SPENDING, BUT SPECIFICALLY THE PROGRAM WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE SEPTEMBER, 2026.

RIGHT NOW IT'S TRENDING TO SEPTEMBER, 2028.

SO GOING FROM AN EIGHT YEAR BOND PROGRAM TO A 10 YEAR, THE LARGEST UNSPENT BALANCES ARE ON THE BRIDGE AND STRUCTURES, WHICH IS SPECIFICALLY ON ONE PROJECT, WHICH IS REDBUD TRAIL BRIDGE, AND THE STREET, UH, REHABILITATION PROGRAM.

AS FAR AS THE 2020 MOBILITY BONDS, OBVIOUSLY THAT HAS THE LARGEST BALANCE, BUT THAT'S THE MOST NEWEST OF THE BOND PROGRAMS. THERE'S 409 MILLION UNSPENT.

THIS WAS A SIX YEAR PROGRAM WHEN ENVISIONED, RIGHT, UH, WITH THE BASELINE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SEPTEMBER, 2027.

BUT RIGHT NOW THE TRENDING IS TO SEPTEMBER, 2029.

UH, THE LARGEST UNSPENT BALANCES ARE LISTED THERE.

UH, AGAIN, THIS IS MORE NEWER THE PROGRAM.

SO ONE OF THE ONES I LIKE TO POINT OUT, THE SIDEWALK PROGRAM WILL, IS TRENDING TO PROBABLY SPENT, UH, TWO ON TIME ON BASELINE.

BUT AGAIN, IT'S EARLY, EARLY ON IN THE PROGRAM.

SO WHAT DID WE FIND DURING OUR ANALYSIS BETWEEN A APRIL AND NOW? FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA HIGHLIGHT THE FIRST BULLET AND THAT BEING THE STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING VERY HARD TO DELIVER $1.34 BILLION IN MOBILITY BONDS.

I UNDERSTAND THAT IN 2020, UH, 2016 BOND ALONE WAS THE MOST MONEY WE SPENT AGGREGATE TOTAL TO DATE, FOUR BONDS IN ONE PACKAGE, BUT THEN OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS 720 MILLION.

NOW WE'RE AT TO 1.34 BILLION STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING HARD TO DELIVER IT.

BUT DURING OUR ANALYSIS, WE FOUND THREE OTHER MAIN CAUSES I'D LIKE TO JUST HIGHLIGHT.

FIRST OF ALL, THERE'S ISSUES IDENTIFIED AND RISKS THAT WERE NOT CONTINUOUSLY MANAGED AND LEFT UNRESOLVED.

THOSE THEMSELVES WERE THE MAJOR FACTOR OF CAUSING DELAYS AND OVERRUNS.

WE, UH, ALSO BY THAT WHAT THEY DID WAS THERE'S EVER-CHANGING PERFORMANCE BASELINES.

AND WE ALSO SAW INCONSISTENT SPENDING PLANS.

SO SOME OF OUR FOCUS, WHICH I'LL SHOW YOU FOR, UH, IN THE NEXT SLIDE, IS FOCUSING ON ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES.

THE OTHER ISSUES LISTED ARE THERE.

THE OTHER ONE THAT, UH, WAS BROUGHT UP A COUPLE TIMES WHEN I'VE DONE THIS PRESENTATION TO MULTIPLE PEOPLE IS MY USE OF THE WORD TOWER OF EXCELLENCE.

UH, WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THAT WE AS A CITY HEAD DURING THIS TIME, HAVE SPENT AND SET UP VERY IMPORTANT OR LOOKED AT EXCELLENCE, BUT IT WAS INDIVIDUAL AND IT CREATED SILOS OR TOWERS OF EXCELLENCE.

WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO THROUGH THIS PROGRAM AND WITH THIS DEPARTMENT HAS ACTUALLY CREATED A COMMUNITY OF EXCELLENCE AND WORK TOGETHER TO DELIVER 'CAUSE TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER, UH, PROJECTS EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY.

IT'S A GROUP EFFORT, UH, LED BY THIS DEPARTMENT WITH OUR MULTIPLE PARTNERS AND THE ASSET OWNERS.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE? WELL, SINCE, UH, SINCE APRIL, WE ANALYZED ALL THREE BOND PROGRAMS FROM THE MOBILITY BOND.

WE INITIATED A BIWEEKLY ACTION MEETING WITH, UH, THE ASSET, UH, OWNER, WHICH IS A TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.

UH, WE CREATED A HIGH LEVEL, UH, QUARTER ACTION PLAN INITIALLY.

AND THEN WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE LOOKED, ALSO WENT TO A DEEP DIVE IN ALL THE OTHER BOND PROGRAMS, AND NOW WE'VE CREATED NEW PERFORMANCE BASELINE, WHICH IS PART OF THE ACTION PLAN.

WHAT WILL WE DO? AND THAT'S THE IMPORTANT THING.

'CAUSE AS WE SAID BEFORE, WE HAD THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T DO.

BUT WHAT WILL WE DO? WELL, THERE'S THREE THINGS I WANNA, UH, FOUR THINGS I WANNA HIGHLIGHT HERE.

FIRST OF ALL, THIS MONTH WAS THE FIRST MONTH WE INITIATED A MONTHLY PROGRAM HEALTH ASSESSMENT.

THE PURPOSE OF THAT PRO, UH, UH, HEALTH ASSESSMENT IS THE CAPITAL DELIVERY TEAM WITH SOME OF OUR CAPITAL DELIVERY PARTNERS ALONG WITH THE ASSET OWNER.

THIS BEING TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, TAKE, TAKE A LOOK AT THE PROGRAM OVERALL, ALL THREE PROGRAMS. WHAT

[00:40:01]

SO AS WE POINTED EARLIER, ONE OF THE BIGGEST TRENDS WAS UNRESOLVED ISSUES.

THIS MEETING'S AN ACTION, ACTUALLY AN ACTION MEETING WHERE WE ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES AND IF NEED TO ESCALATE TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL.

THE OTHER PART OUTPUT OF THIS MEETING, UH, COMES TO THIS, THIS RED PART THAT I'VE HIGHLIGHTED, WHICH IS SPECIFICALLY WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE CONSISTENT REPORTING.

THIS MEETING WILL HAPPEN ON A MONTHLY BASIS SO THAT WE CAN INFORM WHATEVER COUNCIL MEMBERS OR COMMITTEES THEY'RE FOLLOWING BASED ON ONE ONE SOURCE OF TRUTH.

WELL, WE HAVE FOUND OUT THAT THERE WAS SOME THINGS WHEN WE LOOKED AT ANALYSIS THAT PEOPLE SAID THAT THE DATA WAS PRESENTED ONE WAY IN ONE COMMITTEE MEETING AND ANOTHER WAY IN THE OTHERS.

AND THERE'S CONFUSION.

SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS MAKE, IS CONSISTENT.

IT WASN'T THE DATA, IT'S ACTUALLY AT TIMES WITH THE CONTEXT ON WHAT WAS PRESENTED.

BUT USING THIS MEETING, WE'LL BE ABLE, UH, THIS MONTHLY MEETING WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A CONSISTENT AND, UH, CONSISTENT AND ALSO ACCURATE PICTURE OF WHAT'S GOING ON.

THE OTHER TWO HIGHLIGHTS ARE JUST ESCALATION MEETINGS THAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE TO ADDRESS WITH SOME OF THE ISSUES THERE.

ONE WITH, UH, UTILITIES AND THE OTHER ONE PERMITTING.

BUT THIS GETS TO THE MEAT OF THE PRESENTATION FOR TODAY, AND THAT'S THE MOBILITY ACTION PLAN.

UH, YOU CAN READ THE SLIDE, BUT SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS OVERALL FROM EVERYTHING YOU'VE SEEN IS THE UNDERLYING MESSAGE YOU CAN TAKE AWAY FROM THIS IS THAT OF ALL THOSE BASELINES YOU SAW THAT WE'RE, WE'RE OUT OF, OUT OF SYNC WITH, WE'LL BE CUTTING TWO YEARS OFF OF THE LAG THAT WE'VE SEEN THERE ON AVERAGE FOR EACH OF THE PROGRAMS WITH THE EXPECTATION BY DECEMBER, 2027, ALL WORK WILL BE COMPLETE OR SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE.