Internal Audit Department
March 23, 2019
I have written previously, and believe it needs repeating.
A city cannot fix problems it doesn’t realize it has, and it is up to the Internal Auditing Dept. (IA) to investigate and bring to the attention of the city their findings, and hopefully “Fixed.”
I attended the Internal Auditors meeting on (3/21/19) and it included the discussion and approval of Chronic Nuisance and Police Property and Impound Lots report.
1st. Chronic Nuisance:
The report contained 4 recommendations.
#1 Management update: Implemented May 2017
#2 The audit found 4 dept. working independently. Development Services, Finance, Police and City Attorney’s Office.
Recommendation: Development Services and the Police Dept., in conjunction with Finance and Law Dept. should ensure continued success of the program b developing written procedures and necessary training.
The city has implemented written and training procedures.
#3 At the time of the audit they found that the departments did not consistently communicate or follow-up with one another to ensure that all work and procedures had been completed.
City management agreed with the recommendations and appointed Deputy City Admin. too oversee the successful coordination among the individual dept.
#4 Audit dept. noted the city’s program could be strengthened if it were established in State Statues because stronger remedies are more frequently available.
City management agreed and is continuing to strengthen the program through legislative opportunities.
2nd. Police Property Room & Impound Lots:
The impound lot is used to store vehicles involved in fatalities or serious bodily injuries, and to preserve the chain of command for state court cases, and insure evidence is not tampered with.
The audit Dept. toured the lot and found that the current conditions were insufficient to ensure vehicle evidence would be safeguarded or preserved and noticed the following:
1- Did not have a surveillance system or functioning lights.
The city agrees and requires upgrades, enhancements and more coverage. The Police Dept. has been pursuing upgrades for several years.
2- Had been burglarized and evidence stolen.
The P.D. Has requested an assessment of the property by the building dept. which is responsible for city owned property; the current condition of the property is not sufficient to house evidence properly.
3- No tracking system to determine who was on the premises and for what reason.
Upon securing the lot the Property & Evidence Section will be responsible for ensuring the safekeeping of vehicles in the lot.
4- No covered buildings to protect vehicles from the elements or conduct tests.
5- Had severe overgrowth of landscaping, brush and weeds.
Management Update:
The impound lot has been modified to include a fence with barbed wire, camera alarm system, a two factor access which is a swipe card and key for entry. The city has not incorporated the impound lot with the evidence section and are planning to add additional fencing to accommodate the evidence section. Target date is 6/2019.
Paving was requested and denied. Parks has no access to the lot. This problem still needs work.
All of the above are follow up reports, and please notice many of them have been corrected.
“Audacity” Bold or arrogant disregard of normal restraints: I received a mailer for the upcoming Commissioners race and was asked to tell Richard Ryles “The city of WPB is not for sale” Stupid, dumb flyer. How is Richard going to sell our city when the mayor and commissioners have already sold it to the highest bidder. Please make an effort to vote this coming Tuesday 3/26/2019, and make it count.
To end this piece on a positive note Ms. Beverly Mahaso, Chief Internal Auditor, and her crew were honored with winning an award issued by the ALGA (Association of Local Government Auditors) She along with her crew should be proud of their accomplishes.