Few city agency audits completed

Deadline is by year’s end, but only 3 out of the 26 have been finished

In 2012, Baltimoreans grew so frustrated by a lack of audits of city agencies, they voted to change the city charter to require them.

All major agencies, the voters decided, would have to undergo performance and financial audits by the end of 2016.

But with the deadline just three months away, only three of 26 agency audits required by law have been completed. Most of are listed by the city as “in progress.”

“I’m not surprised,” said City Councilman Carl Stokes, who was the lead sponsor of legislation to require that agencies undergo auditing at least once every four years.

He has called an October hearing on the status of the audits.

“The current administration has always been resistant to audits and fought us all the way,” Stokes said.

“It’s unfair to the new administration coming in.”

Stokes said he believes it will be impossible to finish the audits by Dec. 31.

So far, auditors have completed performance reviews of the Department of Transportation and Department of Finance. A financial audit of the finance department also has been completed.

Auditors found that the Department of Transportation did not keep sufficient records to track how well workers did their jobs. They also found the agency annually submitted erroneous information for the city’s budget.

A financial audit of the finance department audit found its financial statements were “free from material misstatement,” but a performance audit was more critical. Auditors said the agency did not perform business inspections in an “efficient or effective” manner, and failed to maintain records to show whether employees showed up for work.

Audits of the Baltimore Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Public Works, Mayor’s Office of Information Technology, Planning Department and Law Department remain “in progress,” according to a city website.

Audits of Recreation and Parks and Housing and Community Development are being reviewed before they are released. And audits of Human Resources and the Baltimore Development Corp. are “awaiting engagement” from auditors, according to the city.

The audit of the Police Department is supposed to track homicide clearance rates, the percentage of arrests that result in felony charges, turnaround time for drug analysis, and percentage of citizens satisfied with police responsiveness.

The audit of Recreation and Parks is supposed to track playground maintenance, payroll processing and tracking of cash receipts at recreation centers. The audit of Housing and Community Development is supposed to track code enforcement and blight elimination.

City auditor Robert L. McCarty, who reports to Comptroller Joan Pratt, said all audits undertaken by his staff will be completed by the deadline. That includes reviews of the Department of Public Works, Department of Human Resources and Baltimore Development Corp.

City finance director Henry Raymond, who is in charge of the rest of the audits, did not respond to a request for comment.

There is no penalty for failing to complete the audits.

City Councilman Eric T. Costello has proposed legislation that would create an oversight board to make sure the audits get finished.

He has proposed city agencies undergo audits every two years.