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OKAY,

[00:00:03]

IT IS SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2020

[Audit Committee Meeting on September 30, 2022]

2, 1 30 1:00 PM WELCOME TO THE CITY OF GARLAND'S AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING.

I'M CHAIRMAN ROBERT SMITH.

UH, WITH ME, I HAVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS MOORE AND WILLIAMS, AND QUITE A NUMBER OF STAFF UMD.

LIKE TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR COMING ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON ON THE LAST DAY OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

WE'RE GONNA TRY AND GET YOU OUTTA HERE AS QUICK AS WE CAN.

ITEM NUMBER ONE IS THE APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 14TH, 2022 MEETING MINUTES.

MEMBERS, IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO READ THEM, AND IF SO, DO I HAVE A MOTION? MAKE A MOTION.

ALL RIGHT.

WE HAVE A MOTION TO, TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE SECOND.

SURE.

SECOND COUNSELS MEMBER WILLIAMS. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE.

NONE OPPOSED.

THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, UH, WEAVER PRESENTATION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2022 AUDIT.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

UH, MY NAME IS SARAH DEMPSEY.

I'M THE PARTNER ON THE ENGAGEMENT.

AND THIS IS CLAIRE WOODTON.

SHE'S THE SENIOR MANAGER.

SO WE'RE HERE TO KIND OF GO THROUGH WHAT THE AUDIT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE.

WE HAVEN'T STARTED THE MAIN AUDIT, OBVIOUSLY IT'S FISCAL YEAR IN TODAY.

UH, BUT WE HAVE DONE SOME INTERIM WORK, SO WE'LL UPDATE YOU ON WHERE WE ARE AND THEN, UH, LET YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING.

LET ME MAKE SURE I DO THIS RIGHT.

OKAY.

SO HERE'S OUR TEAM.

UM, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF CONSISTENCY FROM PRIOR YEAR, SO THAT WORKS OUT WELL FOR LOGISTICS AND EVERYONE, YOU KNOW, KNOWING WHO TO TALK TO, WHO TO GO TO.

SO, UM, SAME PARTNER, SAME MANAGER.

UM, WE HAVE THE SAME SENIOR, AND THEN WE'VE ROTATED THE STAFF FOR THE ENGAGEMENT.

SO, UM, WE ALSO HAVE AN IT ADVISORY GROUP THAT COMES OUT IN OCTOBER TO DO CONTROL TESTING OVER THE IT SYSTEMS. UM, THAT'S MAHOL LED BY BRITNEY GEORGE.

AND THEN WE ALSO DO DATA ANALYTICS WORK.

SO BECAUSE DISBURSEMENTS AND PAYROLL, AND THERE'S A LARGE AMOUNT OF DATA, WE USE DATA ANALYTICS TO FILTER INTO SOME UNUSUAL ITEMS. SO, UM, A PERSON THAT'S APPROVING THAT ISN'T LISTED AS AN APPROVER OR A DATE THAT SOMETHING IS HAPPENING WHEN IT'S NOT NECESSARILY SUPPOSED TO BE THAT DATE, WE LOOK FOR UNUSUAL ITEMS WITH THE DATA ANALYTICS.

SO THIS IS THE AUDIT SCHEDULE, UM, IN CASE YOU NEED IT.

SO WE DID INTERIM WORK IN AUGUST.

WE'LL BE BACK, UH, FOR THE FIELD WORK IN FEBRUARY, UH, LATE JANUARY.

AND THEN WE WRAP UP USUALLY BY MID-MARCH.

UM, WE GIVE AN AUDIT COMMITTEE PRESENTATION AT THE END, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL.

SO THE AUDIT PROCESS IS RISK BASED.

SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE COUNCIL MINUTES.

WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TRANSACTIONS THAT OCCURRED THIS YEAR, SOME OF THE ISSUES OR COMPLEXITIES THAT MAY HAVE OCCURRED IN ONE FISCAL YEAR, AND SEEING IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S RISKIER THAN IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST.

THAT COULD BE A DEBT ISSUANCE THAT WAS COMPLICATED, OR LAST YEAR, THE FREEZE AND THE TRANSACTIONS THAT WENT AROUND WITH THAT.

SO IF THERE'S, UM, AN UNUSUAL TRANSACTION, A COMPLEX ONE, THAT WILL STAND OUT.

BUT THEN THE RISK AREAS ASIDE FROM THAT ARE ALWAYS MANAGEMENT OVERRIDE OF CONTROLS, WHICH DEALS WITH THE JOURNAL ENTRY PROCESS, THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT REPORTING PROCESS, AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT THOSE CONTROLS ARE IN PLACE WHERE THERE'S ALWAYS A PROPER APPROVAL, A PROPER REVIEWER, AND MAKING SURE THAT THE ENTRIES OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT BALANCES, UM, HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND THAT NO ONE IS TRYING TO OVERSTATE REVENUE OR UNDERSTATE A LIABILITY.

SO THAT'S REALLY A BIG FOCUS ON THE AUDIT, IS THE MANAGEMENT OVERRIDE OF CONTROLS.

WE ALSO LOOK AT REVENUE RECOGNITION, UM, THE LIABILITIES, CAPITAL PROJECTS.

SO THESE ARE THE, THE LARGER NUMBERS IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

IF YOU WERE TO OPEN UP THE ACT FOR AND SEE THESE SUBSTANTIAL BALANCES, THAT'S REALLY WHERE A LOT OF OUR TESTING WILL LIE.

ALSO, THE FEDERAL GRANTS WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH ARPA AND ALL OF THE FEDERAL FUNDING THAT'S COME IN, THAT'S A BIG PIECE AS WELL.

AND BECAUSE OF THAT PART, WE DO INTERNAL CONTROL TESTING.

SO WE'RE ALSO DOING CASH DISBURSEMENTS, PAYROLL TESTING, PROCUREMENT BID TESTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO FOR INTERIM MARKET THAT WE'VE STARTED ALREADY, WE DO COMPLIANCE TESTING.

SO WE'RE LOOKING AT COMPLIANCE WITH, UM, THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS, THE DAYS PAID, UM, THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUNDS ACT, SO A LOT OF REGULATION CONTROLS ARE TESTED, AND THEN THE COMPLIANCE PIECE IS TESTED AS WELL.

WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CAPITAL PROJECTS AT INTERIM, AND THEN WE'LL FOLLOW THAT UP AT FIELDWORK AS WELL.

AND THEN THE LAST PIECE THAT TAKES A LITTLE BIT IS WALKING THROUGH THOSE CONTROL PROCESSES.

SO THE CITY WILL TELL US, THIS IS HOW THE DISBURSEMENT PROCESS WORKS, THIS IS HOW PAYROLL WORKS.

AND THEN WE

[00:05:01]

GO BACK THROUGH, WALK THROUGH IT, AND MAKE SURE THAT IT'S OPERATING AS DESIGNED AND THAT NOTHING HAS CHANGED AND THAT THOSE PROCESSES ARE STILL IN PLACE.

AND THIS IS A LIST OF SOME OF THE WALKTHROUGHS THAT WE DO.

SO WE'RE LOOKING AT UTILITY BILLING, CASH RECEIPTS, UM, DEBT MANAGEMENT, THE FINANCIAL CLOSE.

THERE'S A LOT OF PROCESSES THAT WE GO THROUGH AND BASICALLY JUST REPERFORM A CERTAIN NUMBER OF TRANSACTIONS.

AND THEN THE CONTROLS THAT I MENTIONED, CASH DISBURSEMENTS, PAYROLL, BID UTILITY BILLING, AND PROPERTY TAXES.

UM, WE'RE ALSO UTILIZING THE INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENTS.

SO THEY HELP US OUT WITH THE, THAT CONTROL TESTING AS WELL AS SOME GRANT TESTING.

AND THEN OUR DATA ANALYTICS WORK CONTINUES TO GROW AS, AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION, UM, WITH THE LARGE, UH, VOLUME OF TRANSACTIONS IN IT.

SO THIS PART IS REQUIRED BY THE AUDITING STANDARDS.

THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE LANGUAGE THAT WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH WITH YOU AS THOSE CHARGED WITH GOVERNANCE.

UM, YOU KNOW, OUR ENGAGEMENT IS TO DO THE AUDIT IN ACCORDANCE WITH GENERALLY ACCEPTED AUDITING STANDARDS, GENERALLY ACCEPTED GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS, AS WELL AS THE UNIFORM GUIDANCE FOR THE SINGLE AUDIT THAT WE DO.

UM, WE'RE PERFORMING TESTS OVER CONTROLS, BUT WE'RE NOT GIVING AN OPINION ON CONTROLS.

AND THEN WE'RE PERFORMING TESTS OF COMPLIANCE, UH, FOR THE SINGLE AUDIT.

WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER COMPLIANCE FOR A PARTICULAR GRANT.

UM, AND THEN WE'RE TESTING COMPLIANCE THERE AS WELL.

SO AGAIN, IT'S NOT AN OPINION ON CONTROLS, BUT WE DO WALK THROUGH AND TEST THOSE CONTROLS SO THAT WE CAN OPINE ON COMPLIANCE.

SO WAS THE CITY COMPLIANCE WITH, UM, WITH AN APA GRANT OR WITH HC V A P OR, UM, HOUSING GRANTS? SO THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WHEN WE'RE TESTING THAT IS WE'RE SEEING WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE GRANT ARE, AND WAS THE CITY COMPLIANT IF THOSE COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS WERE MATERIAL TO THAT GRANT.

SO FOR THE INTERNAL, UM, FOR THE IT UPDATE, THEY ARE GOING TO START IN OCTOBER.

SO THIS SLIDE LOOKS FAMILIAR TO PRIOR YEAR LISTING OFF THE SYSTEMS THAT THEY WILL BE LOOKING AT.

AND THEN THE TEST THAT THEY WILL BE PERFORMING.

RIGHT NOW IT'S SCHEDULED, I THINK IT WAS OCTOBER 3RD OR 10TH.

10TH.

SO THEY'RE COMING OUT SOON.

AND WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH THOSE SYSTEMS THIS YEAR.

UH, WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THAT COULD HAVE AN IMPACT, UM, IS THE GAS B LEASE STANDARD.

SO LEASES THAT WERE OPERATING IN THE PAST, AND MAYBE WERE JUST ON WHAT'S KNOWN AS AN INCOME STATEMENT, BUT REALLY IT'S, UM, A STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES OR THE STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCE.

WHAT USUALLY WENT THROUGH THAT IS NOW GOING TO BE ON THE BALANCE SHEET IF IT'S A LEASE THAT'S 12 MONTHS OR LONGER.

SO, UM, YOU'LL DEFINITELY SEE LEASES ON YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

THAT FINANCIAL STATEMENT IMPACT HASN'T BEEN DETERMINED YET.

WE'LL GET THAT AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE AUDIT.

BUT THE CITY IS WELL PREPARED.

WE'VE MET, I MEAN, THERE ARE A LOT OF LEASES AND A LOT OF CONTRACTS TO GO THROUGH.

SO THIS WAS A BIG EFFORT BY ALL THE DEPARTMENTS, THE FINANCE GROUP, IT, IT'S, IT'S A HEAVY LIFT TO READ ALL OF THOSE CONTRACTS AND FIGURE OUT THE TERMS AND IF IT QUALIFIES UNDER THIS NEW STANDARD, GABY 87.

SO WE'VE MET, WE APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK THAT THEY'VE PUT IN TO GET THAT TO WHERE IT IS.

AND THEN NEXT YEAR IS THE SUBSCRIPTION BASED IT ARRANGEMENT.

SO THAT'S EVEN, THAT'S PROBABLY A BIGGER IMPACT.

THIS IS ANY SORT OF MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION TO IT, SOFTWARE OR PLATFORMS. AND SO READING THROUGH THOSE CONTRACTS AND DETERMINING IF THOSE SHOULD GO ON THE BALANCE SHEET OR NOT.

SO, YOU KNOW, THE HEAVY LIFT HAS BEEN DONE ON THE LEASING OF EQUIPMENT AND BUILDINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND THEN WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT FOR THE CITY AND THE DEPARTMENTS IS, IS READING ALL OF THOSE IT ARRANGEMENTS.

SO, UM, DEFINITELY GONNA BE A CHALLENGE, BUT BECAUSE THEY STARTED THIS LEASE PROCESS, IT'S GONE WELL.

UM, IT'S VERY SIMILAR.

THE ACCOUNTING IS SIMILAR, THE NOTE DISCLOSURES WILL BE SIMILAR.

AND THEN THIS IS REALLY A DISCUSSION.

IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US, UM, IF THERE'S ANY AREAS OF CONCERN THAT YOU'D LIKE TO LET US KNOW, REALLY MAKING SURE THAT YOU KNOW THAT WE REPORT TO YOU AND THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS, WE WANNA KNOW THOSE.

AND THAT DURING THE AUDIT PROCESS, IF ANYTHING COMES UP THAT WE NEED TO GO TO YOU ON, I WILL BE REACHING OUT TO THE CHAIR, UH, AND LETTING YOU KNOW AS WELL.

SO REALLY OPENING UP THAT COMMUNICATION.

[00:10:05]

AND THAT'S ALL THAT I HAVE FOR OUR PRESENTATION, IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

MM-HMM.

AND EVERYBODY, THE, THE MICS ARE, UH, JUST PUNCH IN AND OUT IF YOU NEED TO.

UH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR ME.

JUST HOP ON IN THERE.

GO AHEAD, SIR.

RIGHT, SIR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

GREAT PRESENTATION AS, AS ALWAYS.

GOOD.

10 YEAR OLD AGAIN.

THANK YOU.

UH, JUST, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THESE ARE QUESTIONS OR, OR COMMENTS OR, UH, JUST THOUGHT COMMENTS.

SO HOWEVER THEY, THEY COME OUT THERE, UM, YOU HAD MENTIONED SEVERAL THINGS AND, UH, I OFTEN HEAR THE TERM DATA ANALYTICS.

I HEAR THAT WE TALK, EVEN TALKING ABOUT SPORTS, I HEARING THE WORD ANALYTICS MM-HMM.

CAN IN, IN A LAYMAN'S TERM.

SURE.

CAN YOU BREAK THAT DOWN? WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YES, FROM LAYMAN'S STANDPOINT, WHEN YOU SAY DATA ANALYTICS, I, OKAY, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

NO, THAT'S GREAT.

BUT IF WE LISTEN TO ESPN, I DON'T KNOW, , SO, SO CAN YOU, FROM THE AUDIT PERSPECTIVE? SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL GET THE CHECK REGISTER, LET'S SAY, AND WE WILL PUT THAT INTO WHAT'S CALLED AUDIT COMMAND LANGUAGE, AND WE'LL SET UP SCRIPTS AND IT WILL SAY, UM, HOW MANY CHECKS WERE TO A CERTAIN VENDOR SO IT CAN REALLY TAKE THE DATA THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN THAT MAYBE WE COULDN'T GO THROUGH AND WE WOULDN'T WANNA DO A RANDOM SAMPLE.

WE WOULD WANNA LOOK FOR UNUSUAL ITEMS. AND SO IF IT'S A CHECK REGISTER, WHAT WE CAN DO IS TAKE THAT DATA AND THEN SEE WHAT AMOUNTS ARE GOING TO CERTAIN VENDORS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE TOP VENDORS ARE, HOW MUCH THEY'RE PAYING THEM.

AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS IF THERE IS PROCUREMENT POLICIES THAT MIGHT BE, UM, CIRCUMVENTED WHERE MAYBE THEY'RE DOING MULTIPLE CHECKS TO A VENDOR TO SPLIT IT UP INSTEAD OF GOING OUT FOR BIDS OR THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO WE'RE REALLY USING A LOT OF DATA THAT WOULD NORMALLY, AUDITS USED TO DO IS JUST RANDOM SAMPLE, BUT INSTEAD WE TAKE IT AND PUT IT INTO THIS AUDIT COMMAND LANGUAGE AND WRITE SCRIPTS TO FIND UNUSUAL ITEMS. AND THAT WAY WE'RE TARGETING THINGS AS OPPOSED TO JUST, HERE'S 50,000 CHECKS THAT WERE WRITTEN AND WE'RE SAMPLING RANDOMLY, UM, A CERTAIN NUMBER.

SO, OKAY.

SO YOU'RE LOOKING, BASICALLY LOOKING FOR PATTERNS.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR PATTERNS, IRREGULARITIES, UM, UNUSUAL VENDOR NAMES OR VENDOR NAMES THAT HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, I THINK EVERYONE HAS HEARD FRAUD WORLD WOULD BE LIKE WALMART AND THEN WALMART WITH A PERIOD, AND THAT'S REALLY SOMEONE'S BANK, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST LOOKING FOR UNUSUAL VENDOR NAMES, THINGS LIKE THAT.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU.

MM-HMM.

, UH, YOU MENTIONED, UH, COUNCIL MINUTES.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU LOOK AT, OH, THAT'S, YEAH, THAT'S OUR FAVORITE.

SO THAT WILL SHOW THE BIG PURCHASES AND THEN THE BIG, UM, ITEMS UP FOR DISCUSSION.

SO WE'LL SEE THE MAJOR PURCHASES, WE'LL SEE, UM, DEBT ISSUANCES LEASES PERHAPS.

SO MAYBE THE CITY DIDN'T CAPTURE ALL THE LEASES, BUT AS WE'RE READING, WE SEE THAT THERE'S BEEN AN APPROVAL TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT.

SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR CONTRACTS, LARGE PURCHASES, UH, AND THEN REALLY THE HOT TOPICS.

OKAY.

OKAY.

AND PROCUREMENT ARE, DO YOU ALSO LOOK AT PRACTICES VERSUS POLICY? DO YOU ALSO LOOK TO SEE IF WE HAVE, THIS IS OUR PRACTICE, DO WE HAVE POLICIES THAT ARE CONSISTENT OF THE SUPPORT THAT, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU ALSO LOOK AT? WE DO.

WE TYPICALLY GET THE PROCESS FROM THEM AND THEN UPDATE FROM THERE.

BUT IT IS THAT WE DO HAVE THE POLICIES IN OUR FILE AS WELL, MORE IN THE PERMANENT FILE.

AND THEN AS IT'S CHANGED, WE UPDATE IT, BUT WE ARE LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROCESS AND POLICY THAT'S BEEN DESIGNED IS BEING FOLLOWED.

SO THAT'S PART OF GOING THROUGH THE CASH DISBURSEMENT PROCESS, PAYROLL BIDDING, CERTAIN PROCESSES LIKE THAT, THAT HAVE A BIG FINANCIAL STATEMENT IMPACT.

OKAY.

OKAY.

AND ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SIDE, FOR OUR, THOSE FEDERAL MAJOR PROGRAMS OF THE SINGLE, FOR THE, THE FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, SOME OF THOSE HAVE UNDER THE UNIFORM GUIDANCE HAVE REQUIREMENTS FOR, FOR BIDDING IF IT'S OVER A CERTAIN DOLLAR AMOUNT, HAVE TO BE BID OUT.

AND SO WE'RE MAKING SURE THOSE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

ALL RIGHT.

AND I'M ALMOST DONE, UM, STAFF VETTING, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU LOOK AT BASED ON RESPONSIBILITIES? AND YOU MENTIONED THINGS LIKE, UH, UH, MANAGEMENT OVERRIDE CONTROLS, WHO DOE DOES WHAT MM-HMM.

, DO YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THIS, THESE ARE THE TASKS OF RESPONSIBILITIES.

THERE'S SOME POLICY SYSTEMS FROM CRITERIA IN ORDER FOR THIS PERSON TO PERFORM THESE TASKS.

RIGHT? WE DO YOU LOOK AT THAT, MAYBE VETTING IS NOT,

[00:15:01]

BUT DO YOU LOOK TO SEE IF IN ORDER TO DO X, RIGHT, IF, IF THE POLICY SAYS YOU MUST HAVE Y DO YOU LOOK TO SEE IF, WHY IS IN FACT THERE FOR THAT PERSON TO DO THAT? I THINK, LET ME SEE IF I'M HEARING THIS RIGHT, MORE LIKE A SEGREGATION OF DUTIES.

IF SOMEONE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING SOMETHING THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND THEY'RE NOT GOING INTO OTHER AREAS, OR THAT SOMEONE, THE RIGHT PEOPLE ARE IN THE RIGHT PROCESSES, IS SOMETHING THAT WE EVALUATE.

SO WE WOULDN'T WANT ANYONE TO HAVE TOO MUCH CONTROL, RIGHT.

THAT IF SOMEONE ELSE WAS SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT SOMETHING FIRST, OR AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE CHECKING FOR SEGREGATION OF DUTIES.

UM, WHAT ELSE WAS I THINKING ABOUT WHEN YOU SAID THAT? UM, IT WAS REALLY A, I I WAS THINKING SEGREGATION OF DUTIES AS YOU WERE TALKING, BUT IF IT'S SOMETHING ELSE, YEAH.

YES.

IS THAT IT? OKAY.

THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING, LOOKING AT.

AND THEN FROM AN IT SIDE, OUR IT CONTROLS ALSO LOOKS AT WHO HAS THE RIGHTS TO GO TO CERTAIN PLACES.

THAT'S, SO THAT'S, UM, WHAT OUR IT, THAT'S KIND WHERE I WANTED YOU TO GO.

OKAY.

WHO, WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT THE BLUE SCREEN, WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO LOOK AT THE BLUE SCREEN? WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO I'M, AND I'M JUST FOR PURPOSES OF SIMPLIFYING THIS, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF I HAD A RIGHT TO LOOK AT THE BLUE SCREEN, BUT, BUT SHE HAS THE RIGHT TO LOOK AT THE GREEN SCREEN MM-HMM.

, BUT I DON'T HAVE IT.

RIGHT.

BUT YET, YOU KNOW, IF SHE'S NOT AROUND, I LOOK AT THAT SCREEN MM-HMM.

, I CAN DO THAT KIND OF THING.

THAT, THAT THAT'S RIGHT.

AND THAT'S PART OF THE, IT CONTROLS THAT THEY GO THROUGH AND SEE HOW THE PERSON WAS SET UP INTO THE SYSTEM, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'VE STAYED THAT WAY, THAT NOTHING HAS BEEN CHANGED, THAT MAYBE THEIR RIGHTS HAVEN'T BEEN ELEVATED WITHOUT PROPER APPROVAL.

AND THEN WE CAN GO IN AND SEE WHO HAS THE RIGHTS TO DO CERTAIN THINGS AS WELL.

SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF OUR IT PROCESS WHEN THEY COME OUT IN OCTOBER.

AND THEN US AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE AUDIT, SEEING WHO HAS THE RIGHTS FOR WHAT? BLUE SCREEN? GREEN SCREEN.

OH.

OH, OKAY.

NOT THAT SHE'S BEEN PICKING UP THE SCREEN .

WHY GET, AGAIN, MY LAST QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH, WITH IT, AND YOU MENTIONED SUBSCRIPTIONS MM-HMM.

, HOW FAR DOWN, HOW FINITE IS, IS THAT, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT IT SUBSCRIPTIONS, CAN YOU KIND OF WALK THROUGH THAT PROCESS FOR ME? SURE.

SO IF IT'S AN, IS THAT FOR USERS, IS THAT, OR IS THAT HIGHER UP? IS THAT ON THE IT TECH SIDE? DOES THAT, DOES THAT REACH DOWN TO US AS USERS? OR IS THAT, CAN YOU, US AS CITIZENS OR? NO, NO, AS AS USERS.

AS AS USERS OF THAT SERVICE MM-HMM.

, LET'S, SORRY, FOR MY TEAM, YES, THAT'S WHAT IT IS.

IF THE CITY IS A USER OF THAT SERVICE, RIGHT? THAT'S THE CONTRACTS THAT WILL BE LOOKED AT.

BUT IT WILL ALSO BE THE, THE E R P SYSTEMS, IT'LL BE EVERYTHING FROM, UM, IF YOU'RE USING TEAMS OR IF YOU'VE GOT A PUBLIC SAFETY PLATFORM THAT, THAT YOU'RE USING, AND IT'S, UM, A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION TO, TO KEEP IT UPDATED, UPGRADED, IT'S NOT THE EQUIPMENT THAT GOES WITH THE, THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF THE LEASE STANDARD.

IF THE CONTRACT IS THAT YOU HAVE MONTHLY ACCESS TO A SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

SO IT CAN BE ANYTHING FROM TEAMS TO, UM, TO YOUR E R P SYSTEM ALL THE WAY.

OKAY.

ALL THANK YOU.

I DON'T KNOW IF THAT LOOKS HELPFUL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR RESPONSE.

THANK YOU.

MR. MOORE, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? NOPE.

ALL I CAN SAY IS, SOUNDS LIKE IT'S VERY, LET'S GET YOU ON MIC, BUT, UH, YEAH.

PUNCH HIM.

BUT NO, I REALLY DIDN'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING WITH THE CHAIR.

UH, I JUST WANNA SAY TO YOU, JUST LISTENING, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S A VERY INTRICATE PROCESS, UH, VERY DETAILED.

AND, UH, JUST LISTENING, IT SOUND LIKE YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

SO I, I WAS INTERESTED THOUGH, IN KNOWING THE RELATIONSHIP.

YOU STATED THAT YOU WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR LOCAL, WITH OUR IN-HOUSE IT, HOW DOES THAT RELATIONSHIP WORK WITH, WITH THE IT DEPARTMENT OR THE INTERNAL AUDIT? INTERNAL AUDIT.

OKAY.

SO BECAUSE THEY REPORT TO YOU AS WELL, THEY'RE CONSIDERED INDEPENDENT, AND SO THEY CAN PERFORM PART OF THE AUDIT WITH US.

SO IF WE HAVE A SAMPLE OF 60 ITEMS TO TEST, THEY CAN TEST THE 60, AND THEN WE'LL GO IN AND REPERFORM THE WORK, UM, AT LEAST AT A HIGHER LEVEL TO WHERE IT SAVES THE CITY SOME MONEY BECAUSE THEY'RE INDEPENDENT, WE CAN DO THAT.

IF THEY WERE NOT, UH, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO USE, UTILIZE THE INTERNAL AUDIT GROUP.

IT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY GOOD CHECK AND BALANCE.

IT IS, YEAH.

WE, WE REVIEW THE WORK AND, UM, WORK CLOSELY ON THE PROGRAMS AND THE WAY TO TEST A CERTAIN AREA AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO YEAH, TRY NOT TO TAKE UP

[00:20:01]

TOO MUCH OF THEIR TIME.

, THANK YOU FOR YOU, SIR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU.

ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, STAFF? WELL, IF I MAY CLARIFY ONE THING.

SO COUNCILMAN, UH, THEIR FOCUS IS MAINLY ON FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ALSO SINGLE AUDITS.

OKAY.

SO, OKAY.

SINGLE AUDIT MEANS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS.

OKAY.

SO IT'S A REQUIREMENT FOR THE CITY TO HIRE A THIRD PARTY EXTERNAL CPFM TO DO THAT.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE THE FOCUS IS.

AND I GUESS AS I'M SITTING HERE LISTENING, BEING, UM, UH, PRESIDENT OF OUR HO HOA, WE DO AN ANNUAL AUDIT.

I'VE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.

SO IT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, THIS IS A REAL AUDIT AND, UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY IS NECESSARY, A VERY GOOD CHECK AND BALANCE SYSTEM.

SURE.

THANK YOU.

YEP.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING.

THANK YOU.

THANKS.

MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT FEES.

GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.

I'M JUST GONNA INTRODUCE THIS AUDIT, UH, BEFORE PATRICIA AND ERIN GETS OUT THERE.

SO, UM, THIS CAME FROM THE LAST YEAR'S AUDIT PLAN.

WE HAD TWO OBJECTIVES, UH, FOR THIS AUDIT.

BASICALLY, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE FEES ASSESS BY THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, ARE THEY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FEE SCHEDULE, WHICH IS APPROVED.

AND ALSO, WE ALSO WANTED TO LOOK AT THE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVENESS OF PAYMENT PROCESSING AND TRACKING.

THE SCOPE OF THE AUDIT COVERED BASICALLY OCTOBER, 2020 THROUGH MAY, 2020 SECOND.

UH, I DO WANNA THANK THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.

UH, THE LEADERSHIP AND THE EMPLOYEES WERE EXTREMELY ACCOMMODATING, COOPERATIVE AND PROFESSIONAL DURING THIS AUDIT.

UM, WE KNOW THAT THEY HAD LIMITATIONS, THEY HAD LIMITED TECHNICAL RESOURCES AND PERSONNEL, UH, CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF VOLUME THAT THEY HANDLED.

TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I EXPECTED A, UM, WE EXPECTED A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, INACCURACY WHEN IT COMES TO CERTAIN FEE, UM, ASSESSMENT AND TRACKING AND ALL OF THAT STUFF.

OVERALL, THE DEPARTMENT ASSESSED APPLICATION AND INFORMATION REQUEST FEES ACCURATELY.

WE DID HAVE CERTAIN AREAS OF IMPROVEMENTS.

I DO WANT TO GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR IMPLEMENTING CERTAIN, UM, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS ALREADY OR WORKING THROUGH THROUGHOUT THE AUDIT.

SO YOU WORKING AT A FEW AREAS OF, UH, THAT WE IDENTIFIED FOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT.

I DO WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT THEY'RE ON TOP OF IT.

UM, JED.

UM, AND WE, WE'VE MET SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND WORKING THROUGH THIS, SO WE FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT, UH, OUR FUTURE.

UH, PATRICIA AND AARON, UH, CONDUCTED THIS AUDIT.

UM, THEY'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE BACKGROUND, UM, BECAUSE THEY KNOW EXACTLY, UH, WHAT WE DID MORE THAN I DO.

UH, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO OVER THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

THANK YOU, SIR.

YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE , SURPRISE, WHAT THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT DOES.

ALL RIGHT.

SO JUST HIGH LEVEL, THE, UH, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, UH, DEPARTMENT ASSISTS THE COMMUNITY BY ENSURING IT'S DEVELOPED IN A SAFE AND EFFICIENT AND ATTRACTIVE MANNER WITH NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND REDEVELOPMENTS.

PART OF THAT IS ON EACH, SORRY.

IT'S OKAY.

UH, PART OF THAT IS ON EACH DEVELOPMENT, UM, INCLUDING A, ANY TREES THAT ARE TO BE TAKEN OUT.

SO IN TERMS OF THE GARLAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, THERE'S AN ARTICLE FOR TREE PRESERVATION AND MITIGATION TO PRESERVE EXISTING HEALTHY TREES ON DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND FOR REPLACING THOSE THAT HAVE TO BE REMOVED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT.

AND THE DEVELOPER CAN EITHER MITIGATE THE TREES BY PLANTING NEW TREES OR PAYING INTO THE CITY'S REFORESTATION AND TREE MANAGEMENT PLAN, OR FUND, UH, FOR FUTURE PLANTING AND MAINTENANCE.

AND EACH DEVELOPMENT INCLUDES A TREE MANAGEMENT PLAN WITH A TREE INVENTORY THAT'S PREPARED BY A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT OR AN ARBER.

UM, AND THE TREE INVENTORY INCLUDES THE SPECIES, THE HEALTH, AND THE CPER INCHES OF EACH TREE ON THE PROPERTY.

AND IF YOU CAN PICTURE SORT OF A C CLAMP, UH, IT'S KIND OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

THEY PUT IT ON EITHER SIDE OF THE TREE TO MEASURE THE DIAMETER IN INCHES.

UM, SO THE TREE INVENTORY, UH, HAS ALL OF THE CPER INCHES, AND THOSE ARE DETERMINED BY MEASURING THE DIAMETER FOUR AND A HALF FEET, UM, FROM GROUND LEVEL.

NOW, IF YOU WILL LOOK AT TABLE FOUR DASH ONE, UM, AND FOUR DASH TWO, UH, ON THE EXHIBITS.

EACH TREE, UH, THAT IS LISTED ON THE INVENTORY, UM, REVIEW THESE TABLES TO DETERMINE, DOES IT FALL ON FOUR DASH ONE OR DOES IT FALL ON FOUR DASH TWO AND LARGE CANOPY TREES ARE FOUR DASH ONE SMALL ORNAMENTAL TREES ARE FOUR DASH TWO.

SO YOU FIRST DETERMINE WHETHER IT'S LARGE CANOPY OR SMALL ORNAMENTAL, THEN YOU GO TO TABLE FOUR DASH NINE TO DETERMINE THE REPLACEMENT RATIO FOR

[00:25:01]

THAT PARTICULAR TREE SPECIES, SPECIES.

AND YEAH, SO HERE, SO AT THE BOTTOM YOU'LL SEE, UM, ON THE LEFT SIDE, OTHER TREE SPECIES, UM, THAT ARE NOT LISTED IN FOUR DASH ONE AND FOUR DASH TWO ARE GIVEN A RATIO OF 0.25.

SO THAT'S KIND OF IMPORTANT TO NOTE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

UM, SO THEN YOU TAKE THE MEASURED INCHES, MULTIPLY IT BY THE RATIO THAT WAS ON THE TABLE.

SOMETIMES IT'S A ONE TO ONE, COULD BE A 0.5 TO ONE OR A 0.25 TO ONE, MULTIPLY IT BY THAT RATIO TO GET YOUR MITIGATED INCHES.

AND THAT'S HOW YOU DETERMINE HOW MANY REPLACEMENT INCHES ARE REQUIRED.

IF THEY CUT DOWN A HUNDRED INCHES, THEY HAVE TO REPLACE A HUNDRED INCHES AFTER THE CALCULATION IS DONE, OF COURSE.

UM, THEN YOU TAKE THE, IF, IF THEY WANT TO REPLACE THE TREES, THEN THEY DO IT BY INCHES, NOT BY NUMBER OF TREES, OR THEY CAN PAY INTO THE FUND AT $150 PER INCH.

SO THAT'S HOW THEY DETERMINE THE PAY AMOUNT THAT GOES INTO THE FUND IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO REPLANT THE TREES.

AND I KNOW THAT'S KIND OF COMPLICATED, BUT DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT PIECE OF IT SO FAR? ARE, ARE THESE FEDERAL LAWS OR WHAT IT, IT'S PART OF THE GARLAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, THE CITY OF GARLAND EDC.

MM-HMM.

, YES.

THANK YOU.

SURE.

SO MY PIECE OF THE AUDIT WAS THE TREE MITIGATION AND PRESERVATION.

AND FOR THE TIME PERIOD OF THIS AUDIT, THERE WERE NINE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT HAD TREE REMOVAL AND SUBSEQUENT MITIGATION.

SO WE ANALYZED THE NINE PROJECTS, DID THE CALCULATIONS, AND LOOKED AT THE PAYMENTS THAT WERE RECEIVED.

UM, IN THE FUND, TWO OF THE PROJECTS WERE CHARGED CORRECTLY AND PAID THE CORRECT AMOUNT.

TWO PROJECTS WERE CHARGED INCORRECTLY, RESULTING IN OVER PAYMENTS.

IN THE AMOUNT OF 24 75, THERE WERE FIVE PROJECTS THAT WERE CHARGED INCORRECTLY, RESULTING IN POTENTIAL UNDERPAY IN THE AMOUNT OF 260,521.

THE TABLE THAT YOU SEE, UM, YOU'LL SEE THAT ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS, UH, PROJECT A IS THE BULK OF THAT.

THE BLUE REPRESENTS, UH, THE OVERPAYMENT.

THE RED IS THE UNDERPAYMENT.

SO IN THE SPECIES IN EXCLUSION, UH, PIECE OF IT.

SO THERE, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF OVERLAP BETWEEN THE CALCULATIONS AND THE SPECIES EXCLUSION.

UM, THERE'S SOME CONFUSION ABOUT THE EASTERN RED CEDAR.

UM, IF YOU'LL SHOW THAT, UH, TABLE, I THINK, LET'S SEE, WHERE WAS IT? EXHIBIT E? YEAH.

SO THERE WAS SOME CONFUSION ABOUT WHETHER, FIRST OF ALL, THE EASTERN RED CEDAR IS A TREE OR A SHRUB.

UH, WE SPOKE WITH TEXAS A AND M FOREST SERVICE, AS WELL AS OTHER AREA CITIES TO DETERMINE THAT IT IS IN FACT CONSIDERED A TREE.

UM, THE CITIES THAT WE SPOKE TO WERE ARLINGTON, CARROLLTON, IRVING, MESQUITE, ROCKWELL, AND ROULETTE.

SO AS WE WERE LOOKING AT THE, THE PROJECTS, THREE OF THEM PROJECTS, A, E, AND H ALL HAD EASTERN RED CEDAR.

THE OTHERS DID NOT.

WITH THOSE, THEY WERE CALCULATED, OR THEY WERE REVIEWED IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

SO ON PROJECT A, THEY EXCLUDED THE CALCULA, THE EASTERN RED SEAT CALCULATIONS FROM, WELL, THEY EXCLUDED THE EASTERN RED CEDAR FROM THEIR MITIGATION CALCULATIONS ENTIRELY.

THEN ON PROJECT E, THEY INCLUDED THE EASTERN RED CEDAR IN THE CALCULATIONS.

AND ON PROJECT H, THEY INCLUDED THE EASTERN RED CEDAR IN THE CALCULATIONS, BUT THEN FOR REMOVAL, BUT THEN ALSO ALLOWED FOR IT TO BE REPLANTED.

SO EACH OF THEM HAD, WERE REVIEWED DIFFERENTLY.

SO THIS TABLE IS, IF THE EASTERN RED CEDAR IS EXCLUDED FROM THE TREE CALCULATIONS, HOW THAT WOULD LOOK.

SO IT LOOKS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN, WELL, IT LOOKS A LOT DIFFERENT ACTUALLY, THAN THE PREVIOUS BLUE TABLE THAT YOU SAW.

UH, OF COURSE, IT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED PROJECT A AND E.

AND THEN THE LAST THING THAT WE NOTICED DURING, UH, THE REVIEW WAS THAT THERE WERE TREES THAT APPEARED TO BE DESIGNATED AS MOVING THEM OFFSITE.

THEY WERE PRESERVING THE TREE, BUT MOVING THEM OFFSITE, THERE WAS, THERE'S NOTHING IN THE GDC THAT ALLOWS FOR THE CITY TO, UH, HAVE A MITIGATION VALUE FOR

[00:30:01]

THOSE TREES.

AND WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE STAYING WITHIN THE CITY OF GARLAND OR WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THOSE TREES.

AND THAT MITIGATION VALUE WAS 31,215.

SO, ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR ABOUT ANY OF THAT BEFORE I MOVE ON? OKAY.

SO THE, THE CAUSE THAT WE, WE CAME TO WAS THAT THE DEPARTMENT RELIES ON THE TREE INFORMATION THAT'S PROVIDED BY THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT OR OTHER AORIST WITHOUT VERIFYING THE DATA.

UM, AND IF YOU WANNA GO TO THE TABLE IN THE EXHIBIT, THAT INDICATES THE SPECIFIC REASONS FOR EACH OF THOSE, UM, PROJECTS HERE.

SO WE'LL JUST LEAVE THAT UP ON THE SCREEN.

UM, AND THE DEPARTMENT REQUESTS AN EXCEL CALCULATION SPREADSHEET FROM THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, BUT DOES NOT REQUIRE IT.

SO SOMETIMES THEY WERE GETTING IT, SOMETIMES THEY WERE NOT.

UM, AND WHEN THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT WAS DOING THEIR WORK, THERE WERE SOME INCORRECT MITIGATION RATIOS APPLIED, OR THE CALCULATIONS WERE JUST SIMPLY INCORRECT.

UM, ON THE INVENTORIES, AND AGAIN, THE CONFUSION ABOUT WHETHER THE TREES, THE EASTERN RED CEDAR ARE PROTECTED OR NOT, UM, INCONSISTENCY ON HOW IT WAS APPLIED, AND THE ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE APPLICATION WASN'T USED CONSISTENTLY.

AND THE GDC IS SILENT ON THE CRITERIA FOR DOCUMENTATION OF THE REMOVAL OF HEALTHY TREES TO BE REMOVED OFFSIDE.

SO OUR RECOMMENDATION WAS TO CONSIDER CREATING A STANDARDIZED FORM OR TEMPLATE TO REDUCE ERRORS AND ASSIST IN CALCULATING AND VERIFYING TREE MITIGATION FEES.

AND THEY HAVE ALREADY STARTED WORKING ON, UM, A TEMPLATE FOR THAT.

UM, THEN PROVIDE CONTINUOUS OVERSIGHT OF FEES ASSESSED AND COLLECTED.

AND, UH, THEY HAVE, UH, IMPLEMENTED OVERSIGHT FOR, UH, THE FEE CALCULATION CONSULT WITH CITY ADMINISTRATION REGARDING APPROPRIATE RESOLUTION FOR OVER AND UNDER PAYMENTS.

AND AT THIS TIME, UH, THE DEVELOPMENTS ARE STILL UNDER DEVELOPMENT, AND THE CITY ADMINISTRATION DOES NOT INTEND TO REIMBURSE OR COLLECT ANY OF THE UNDER OR OVER PAYMENTS.

UM, CONSIDER ESTABLISHING CRITERIA AND UPDATE THE GDC TO REQUIRE THE DEVELOPER TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL FOR APPROVAL WHEN REMOVING TREES TO BE REPLANTED AT AN OFFSITE LOCATION.

UM, AND NUMBER FIVE IS REEVALUATE TABLES ONE THROUGH NINE IN CHAPTER FOUR, TO PROVIDE MORE CLARITY AS TO THE CLASSIFICATION OF VEGETATION TO BE PROTECTED, PRESERVED, MITIGATED, PLANTED, AND PLANTED OFFSITE.

UM, AND STAFF IS, UH, PLANNING STAFF IS GOING TO BRING FORWARD SOME PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE GC THAT WILL CLARIFY THESE ITEMS. UM, ESPECIALLY THE, UH, EASTERN RED CEDAR AND HOUSE SPECIES IN THE TABLES ARE HANDLED AS WELL AS OFFSITE TREE PLANTINGS.

AND LIKE I SAY, SOME OF THIS IS ALREADY STARTED.

IT'S IN, UH, PROGRESS.

IT'S BE COMPLETED BY OCTOBER, THE END OF OCTOBER, AND THEN SOME OF IT IN JANUARY IF IT NEEDS, UH, GDC APPROVAL.

VERY, VERY GOOD.

AND EVERY TIME I SEE THE, THE NAME OR THE, THE PICTURE OF THE RED CEDAR, I JUST START ITCHING .

SO YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE.

IF WE, UH, IF WE WANT TO HAVE SOME, UH, CITY SUPPLIED FLAME THROWERS OR CHAINSAWS, , WE COULD DEAL WITH THAT WAY TOO.

AND DID I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY THAT, UM, FROM CITY MANAGEMENT, WE'VE OPTED TO TAKE THE APPROACH OF WHAT'S DONE IS DONE, LET'S JUST MOVE ON.

THAT'S CORRECT.

OKAY.

THAT'S CORRECT.

VERY GOOD.

YES.

UM, IT'S PROBLEMATIC TO REALLY GO BACK.

THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN ISSUED SITE PERMITS AND SURE.

JUST FROM A REPUTATION STANDPOINT, WOULDN'T A GOOD APPROACH.

I DIDN'T KNOW IF WE, UH, WERE GONNA TRY AND PAY BACK ANY OF THE UNDER CHARGES.

UH, NO.

IF IT'S SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT THAT IT'S NOT, I KNOW WE DON'T LIKE TO GIVE AWAY THE MONEY, BUT, OKAY.

THANK YOU.

VERY GOOD, .

VERY GOOD.

OKAY.

UM, MEMBERS, ANY QUESTIONS? GO AHEAD, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS? NO.

ALL RIGHT.

LET'S JUST GO BACK TO THE FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UH, RIGHT, RIGHT.

YEAH.

RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT THERE.

UM, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT? UH, DO WE HAVE A PROJECTED TIMELINE? AND THIS IS SOME MORE QUESTIONS FOR STAFF TIMELINE AND, AND THE AMENDMENTS THAT STAFF IS WORKING ON BRINGING FORWARD TO ADDRESS THIS.

THAT IS THE JANUARY, 2023, UM, JANUARY, IF IT REQUIRES GDC APPROVAL.

OKAY.

WE'LL INITIATE THE DISCUSSION IMMEDIATELY WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE.

UM, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON HOW LONG THAT DISCUSSION TAKES.

AND THEN GOING THROUGH PLAN COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, JANUARY, MAYBE A LITTLE OPTIMISTIC, BUT RIGHT.

UH, WE'LL PUT IT ON THE NEXT MONTH, UM, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE AGENDA.

AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOMETHING EXISTING

[00:35:01]

UNDERGOING REVIEW WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND THE TREE BOARD.

RIGHT.

SORT OF HAVE SOME OVERLAP WITH THIS, SO WE MAY, UH, END UP TYING IT ALL TOGETHER.

YEAH, I, YEAH, I, I, I WAS A LITTLE BIT AWARE OF THAT.

YEAH.

BUT YOU WERE SAYING THEN THAT'S WHAT'S MY CONCERN, THAT WE DON'T HAVE TWO TRACKS, UH, GOING ON THIS.

YEAH.

WE'LL MAKE SURE THEY MERGE .

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MS. CHEER.

GOOD.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ALL RIGHT.

SO I'M GONNA COVER, UH, THE NEXT THREE FINDINGS.

UM, TWO OF THE, THE FIRST TWO HAVE TO DO WITH, UH, APPLICATION AND SERVICE FEES COLLECTED.

SO, UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, UM, THE SCOPE THAT WE LOOKED AT WAS FOR BACK TO, UM, THIS FISCAL YEAR AND LAST FISCAL YEAR.

UM, SO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT COLLECTS APPLICATION FEES FOR ZONING PLANNING AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS FEES.

UM, AND THEY ALSO COLLECT, UH, FEES FOR ZONING VERIFICATION LETTERS.

SO THERE'S THREE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT, UM, CUSTOMERS CAN SUBMIT APPLICATIONS OR SUBMIT PAYMENTS.

UH, THEY CAN COME IN PERSON, THEY CAN SUBMIT IT BY EMAIL, OR THEY CAN SUBMIT IT THROUGH A THIRD PARTY FILE SHARING SLASH CONTENT MANAGEMENT TYPE SYSTEM, SUCH AS DROPBOX.

UH, SO TO ENABLE CUSTOMERS TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS AND PAYMENTS THROUGH THIS THIRD PARTY FILE SHARING SYSTEM, THE DEPARTMENT'S REQUIRED TO GRANT TEMPORARY ACCESS TO IT FOR THE CUSTOMERS.

UM, AND UNLESS A CUSTOMER CAN COME VISIT THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT IN PERSON AND MAKE A PAYMENT, THE ONLY AVAILABLE MEANS AT THE MOMENT, UH, IS THROUGH THIS FILE SHARING SYSTEM OR THROUGH EMAIL.

SO THE CUSTOMERS HAVE TO FILL OUT A CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION FORM THAT HAS THE CREDIT CARD NUMBERS ON IT, UM, AND THEN SUBMIT IT THROUGH EMAIL OR SUBMIT IT THROUGH THE FILE SHARING SYSTEM.

THEN IT HAS TO BE PRINTED OUT, TAKEN TO THE CREDIT CARD MACHINE AND THEN DESTROYED.

UM, SO THERE'S OBVIOUS ISSUES WITH THAT SYSTEM.

YEAH.

UM, SO WE KNOW THIS PROVIDES LIMITED SECURITY, UH, AND THEN ALSO, UM, POTENTIAL FOR, UM, THE WRONG PEOPLE TO HAVE ACCESS.

UH, AND THEN ALSO CURRENTLY APPLICATIONS ZONING, THE CARE ZONING VERIFICATION LETTERS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING PAYMENTS ARE BEING MANUALLY TRACKED ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT SPREADSHEETS BY THE DEPARTMENT.

UM, THESE SPREADSHEETS ARE CONTAINED ON THE DEPARTMENTS, UH, DRIVE.

SO THERE MIGHT BE ISSUES WITH VIRGIN CONTROL.

AND THEN OBVIOUSLY IF IT'S MANUALLY DONE, THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR ERROR.

SO BY NOT HAVING A SECURE ONLINE PORTAL FOR CUSTOMERS TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS AND PAYMENTS, UM, AND NO AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR TRACKING THESE APPLICATIONS, UM, WE FOUND A FEW, UH, ERRORS, BUT LIKE JED SAID BEFORE, WITH THE VOLUME OF INFORMATION THAT THEY'RE HAVING TO TRACK MANUALLY, UM, IT WASN'T SIGNIFICANT.

IT WAS JUST SORT OF LIKE A FEW DATES HERE AND THERE CASE NUMBERS.

SO IT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY IMPRESSIVE ON THAT END.

UM, HOWEVER, WE KNOW IT'S REALLY INEFFICIENT FOR CUSTOMERS AND THE PLANNING STAFF.

UM, IT'S NOT VERY SECURE.

THERE'S GREAT POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN ERROR, AND IT ALSO LIMITS THE DEPARTMENT'S ABILITY TO TRACK AND, UM, AND REPORT ACCURATE PERFORMANCE METRICS EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY.

SO WE RECOMMENDED TO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT THAT, UM, THEY IMPLEMENT A SECURE ONLINE CUSTOMER FACING PORTAL TO ACCEPT APPLICATIONS AND PAYMENTS, AND THEN ADOPT A CENTRALIZED INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT CAN TRACK AND GENERATE PERFORMANCE REPORTS, AND THEN HAVE THESE TWO SYSTEMS INTERFACED FOR AUTOMATION.

SO PLANNING MANAGEMENT, UM, IS ACTUALLY RESEARCHING, UH, A DEVELOPMENT REVIEW AND PERMITTING SOFTWARE THAT WOULD ACCOMPLISH THIS.

AND THE GOAL IS TO HAVE THE SYSTEM IN PLACE BY DECEMBER OF 2023.

WE'VE ALSO RECOMMENDED, UM, MANAGEMENT THOROUGHLY REVIEW THE DEPARTMENT NETWORK DRIVE CONTENTS FOR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION, AND REDACT OR DESTROY ANY, UM, AS NECESSARY TO PROTECT CUSTOMERS' INFORMATION AND DEACTIVATE ANY FORMER EMPLOYEES ACCESS TO THE FILE SHARING SYSTEM.

UH, AND THEY HAVE TAKEN ACTION ON THAT ALREADY.

LASTLY, WE RECOMMEND THE PERIODIC REVIEW AND UPDATE OF ACCESS RIGHTS, UH, MANAGEMENT CONCURRED, AND THEY'RE GONNA START IMPLEMENTING A QUARTERLY REVIEW OF ACCESS RIGHTS STARTING IN OCTOBER.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT FINDING? UM, NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT THE FINDING.

I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO FOR A YEAR, THOUGH.

NOT THAT WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE THESE CONCERNS, UH, BUT OF COURSE, I, I KNOW THAT IT TAKES TIME TO IMPLEMENT THE SYSTEM THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING OF, BUT IF THERE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO ASSURE THAT, UM, WELL, COUNCILMAN, IF I MAY ANSWER THAT.

I THINK WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO IS THEY'RE GOING TO, UH, ENHANCE THEIR COMPENSATING

[00:40:01]

CONTROLS, MEANS MANAGERIAL REVIEW.

OKAY.

UM, SO UP UNTIL WE GET THE SYSTEM, THEY'RE GONNA GO THROUGH AND DO A THOROUGH REVIEW JUST TO MAKE SURE INFORMATION DOESN'T STAY THERE, OR IF IT NEEDS TO BE REDACT OR DESTROYED, THEY WILL DO THAT.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE CONTROL THAT THEY PUT IN PLACE.

GOOD.

THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT.

FOR THE SEC OR THE THIRD FINDING, WE HAVE INCORRECT OR INCONSISTENT ASSESSMENT OF FEES.

UM, I DON'T, THIS ISN'T A VERY SIGNIFICANT FINDING.

AND YOU'LL SEE BY THE AMOUNT THERE FOR THE, THE TWO FINDINGS THAT WE DID HAVE FOR APPLICATIONS, IT WAS $2,600 IN A SHORTAGE THAT WAS JUST DUE BASICALLY TO A ROUNDING ERROR AND SELECTING THE LOWER PRICED REQUEST ON AN APPLICATION THAT CONTAINED TWO REQUESTS.

UM, AND WE THINK THAT'S GONNA, THAT WOULD BE MITIGATED BY JUST HAVING A SECONDARY REVIEW.

AND THEN, UM, WE FOUND THAT ZONING VERIFICATION LETTERS AREN'T ASSESSED UNIFORMLY IN ALL SITUATIONS.

UM, AND WE'LL EXPLAIN THIS, UM, PRETTY WELL, UH, BUT BASICALLY WE FOUND THAT ZONING VERIFICATION LETTERS IN THE GC ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CHARGED $200 PER LETTER.

WHAT WE FOUND THAT SOMETIMES THEY WERE CHARGED PER LETTER, SOMETIMES PER REQUEST, SOMETIMES PER ADDRESS, SOMETIMES PER DEVELOPMENT.

UM, SO WE JUST SUGGESTED THAT THE DEPARTMENT COME UP WITH AN INTERNAL STANDARD FOR, UM, ASSESSING ALL LETTERS EQUALLY .

SO BY JANUARY OF 2023 AND PENDING THE GDC AMENDMENT APPROVAL, THE DEPARTMENT'S GONNA DEVELOP THE CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING MULTIPLE REQUESTS ON A SINGLE APPLICATION, UM, AND HOW VLS WILL BE ASSESSED.

UM, SO INSTEAD OF DOING IT BY ADDRESS OR BY LETTER, THEY'RE GONNA DO IT BY DCA PARCEL ID NUMBER, SINCE THAT'S THE COMMON PRACTICE IN THE DFW REGION.

AND THAT'S EVERYTHING FOR THAT FINDING.

THANK YOU.

UH, JUST ON, ON THAT FINDING, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION, UM, YOU ALL GET TO HOW IS THE, HOW IS THE PUBLIC OR POTENTIAL VENDORS GONNA BE NOTIFIED OF THAT CHA OF THAT CHANGE? MM-HMM.

, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY'RE JUST GONNA START CHARGING $200, UH, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL UPDATE THE GDC OR, UM, THE PROCEDURE.

THEY WILL MENTION THAT ON THEIR FORM APPLICATION.

OKAY.

SO LET ME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.

WHAT YOU FOUND WAS, WAS THE INCONSISTENCY, SOME WERE BEING CHARGED AND SOME WERE NOT.

THEY WERE BEING CHARGED BY THE LETTER AND NOT BY THE PARCEL MM-HMM.

, IS THAT RIGHT? YES.

SOMETIMES.

SOME, SOMETIMES.

OKAY.

SO MOVING FORWARD IN THE INTERIM, PIGGYBACKING ON COUNSELING, MORE QUESTION IN THE INTERIM, THEY'RE GONNA START DOING WHAT? WELL, EFFECTIVE, UM, JANUARY, 2023.

UM, THE INTERIM, MY UNDERSTANDING WILL PLEASE CHIME.

UM, UM, THEY'RE GONNA STICK WITH THE $200 PER LETTER AT THIS POINT ONE'S, RIGHT? CORRECT.

YEAH, GO AHEAD.

THAT'S CORRECT.

UM, I THINK AN AUDIT MADE A GREAT FINDING CREDIT TO THEM, UM, A COUPLE OF OTHER CITIES, AND THIS WOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH THEM, A CHARGE BY DECCA PARCEL ID.

AND SO HAVING A VERY CLEAR, UM, AND VERY SPECIFIC, UM, WAY TO CHARGE THEM SUCH AS THAT, UM, THAT, THAT WAS OUR THOUGHT.

WE, WE LIKED THAT SUGGESTION.

UM, BECAUSE IT DOES GET A LITTLE CONFUSING THAT IF A LETTER HAS MULTIPLE ADDRESSES ON IT, RIGHT? SOMETIMES THAT ADDRESS IS ISSUED BY THE CITY, BUT IT MAY BE THE SAME PARCEL, OR THERE MAY BE THREE OR FOUR ADDRESSES ON THE SAME DEVELOPMENT.

UM, MULTI-FAMILY COMPLEXES, PARK COMPLEXES SOMETIMES HAVE ADDRESSES PER BUILDING.

SO DO WE CHARGE FOR EVERY SINGLE BUILDING OR ONE, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT'S ALL THE SAME ZONING DISTRICT ONE DEVELOPMENT? SO, UM, REALLY LIKE THAT SUGGESTION AS FAR AS THE DEC HAD PARTIAL ID.

SO I THINK THAT'S THE DIRECTION WE'RE HEADING.

OKAY.

SO WE'RE GONNA START DOING THAT JANUARY, 2023 GOAL.

UM, YES SIR.

THE, THE THOUGHT WAS JUST TO MAKE IT VERY, VERY CLEAR IN THE POLICIES IS ACTUALLY PUT THAT INTO THE GC, RIGHT? UM, IN THE FEE SCHEDULE.

UM, WE'RE AWARE FOR THE, THE FEE SCHEDULE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ATTORNEY'S OFFICES WORKING ON THAT, BUT, UM, TO ACTUALLY CODE THAT, SO IT'S JUST VERY CLEAR AND IN THE CODE FOR BOTH CUSTOMERS AND FOR STAFF.

OKAY.

AND, AND, AND ONCE WE DO THAT, WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT'S VERY, VERY CLEAR TO POTENTIAL AUDIENCE TO DEVELOPERS, FOLKS, CUZ THAT'S A, THAT'S A CHANGE.

SO HOW, HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE SURE I KNOW WE GONNA, YOU'RE GONNA AMEND THE CODE, PUT THAT IN THERE.

UM,

[00:45:01]

AND MAYBE THIS IS MORE OF A THOUGHT, A THOUGHT COMMENT THAN A QUESTION, BUT AS WE DO THAT, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT, UH, UM, THAT OUR CUSTOMER BASE, IF YOU WILL BE, IS, IS AWARE IN ADVANCE OF THIS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME REPEAT CUSTOMERS.

CORRECT? AM I CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.

UM, TYPICALLY WITH ZONING VERIFICATION LETTERS, IT, IT'S, UM, IT'S LAW FIRMS, IT'S TITLE EXACTLY LIKE THAT, UM, REQUEST THESE ON BEHALF OF A CLIENT, RIGHT? THEY'RE VERY COMMON REQUESTS, BUT YES SIR, WE, WE CERTAINLY HAVE SOME REPEAT.

OKAY.

REPEAT CUSTOMERS.

OKAY.

AND COUNCILMEN, SINCE OTHER CITIES ARE DOING THIS BY PARCEL ANYWAY, A LOT OF THESE LAW FIRMS AND CONTRACTORS, THEY'RE AWARE OF THIS.

YEAH.

A LOT OF 'EM ARE REMIND YOU OF WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING, RIGHT? I KNOW IN THAT DISCUSSION WITH, WITH WILL.

AND THAT'S, AND THAT'S THE REASON I BRING THE POINT UP AS, AS WE MOVE, AND I, I AGREE WITH CONCUR.

I DON'T HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THE RECOMMENDATION, BUT I TO MAKE SURE THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND WE AMEND THE, UH, THE POLICY GC THAT, THAT WE GO AND RECORD AS DOING THE NOTIFICATION, MAKE SURE THAT, THAT OUR CLIENTS, UM, AWARE OF THAT.

AND SO THEY, THEY DON'T NECESSARILY BE SURPRISED WITH, WITH THIS CHANGE.

YEAH, THAT'S MORE A COMMENTARY PROBABLY THAN A, THAN A QUESTION.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

WILL, THANK SIR.

OKAY.

MR. MOORE, ANYTHING? NO, SIR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ALL RIGHT.

THE FOURTH FINDING, UM, IS FOR CASH HANDLING WEAKNESSES.

SO, UM, I'M JUST GONNA HIT, UM, ON THE MORE IMPORTANT ONES BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET IN THE NITTY GRITTY ON THESE, AS YOU'LL SEE IN OUR, UH, CASH COUNT AUDIT THAT ALEX IS GONNA PRESENT, UM, FOR ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS.

SO, UM, WE FOUND THAT OVER A THIRD OF THE TRANSACTIONS THAT WE TESTED WERE PREPARED FOR DEPOSIT SIX OR MORE WORKING DAYS AFTER PAYMENTS WERE RECEIVED, WHICH IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.

UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, THE TIMING BETWEEN THE PAYMENTS AND THE DEPOSITS HAVE CONSISTENTLY SHORTENED SINCE OCTOBER OF 2021.

SO IT'S HIGHLY LIKELY THAT IT WAS DUE TO COVID AND LIMITED PERSONNEL IN THE OFFICE.

WE ALSO FOUND NOT ALL DEPOSITS HAD THE MANAGEMENT APPROVAL DOCUMENTED.

UH, WE ARE ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT SEGREGATION SEGREGATIONS OF DUTIES IN THE OFFICE AS THE PRIMARY EMPLOYEE THAT ACCEPTS PAYMENTS AND RIGHTS RECEIPTS, ALSO PREPARES THE DEPOSITS AND TAKES THE DEPOSITS TO THE DROP SAFE.

WE FOUND GAPS IN THE SEQUENTIAL NUMBERING OF THE RECEIPTS ISSUED, AND WE FOUND THAT VOIDED RECEIPTS LACKED JUSTIFICATION IN MANAGERIAL REVIEWER APPROVAL.

AND THEN SPECIFICALLY FOR THE CASH FUND, UH, WE DETERMINED THAT PETTY CASH CUSTODIAN HADN'T VERIFIED REIMBURSEMENT CALCULATIONS FOR, UM, REIMBURSEMENTS ORIGINATING IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS.

AND SO REIMBURSEMENTS FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS WERE ALSO MISSING SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION AND PROOF OF MANAGEMENT APPROVAL.

UM, AND THEN WE ALSO IDENTIFIED A FEW INSTANCES OF USING THE WRONG MILEAGE RATE AND, UM, SOME PROHIBITED EXPENDITURES.

SO WE RECOMMENDED, UH, THAT THE DEPARTMENT REQUIRE PERSONNEL WHO HAVE CA CASH HANDLING DUTIES TO COMPLETE THE CASH HANDLING TRAINING DEVELOPED BY THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UH, AND PERIOD PERIODICALLY REVIEW THE DEPARTMENT'S CASH HANDLING AGREEMENTS, UH, MANAGEMENT CONCURRED.

UM, THEY'RE GONNA ENSURE THE CASH CUSTODIANS ATTEND THE FINANCES TRAINING AS SOON IS AVAILABLE.

AND, UH, THEY'RE GONNA REVIEW ANY CASH HANDLING AGREEMENTS UPON CHANGES IN PERSONNEL OR DUTIES.

WE ALSO RECOMMENDED, UH, THAT ALL RECEIPTS BE RETAINED IN THE DOCUMENT REPOSITORY SYSTEM, INCLUDING VOIDED RECEIPTS, AND THAT THEY DOCUMENT THE REASON FOR AVOIDING THEIR RECEIPTS AND DOCUMENT THE MANAGEMENT'S REVIEW AND APPROVAL MANAGEMENT AGREED.

AND, UM, THEY'RE GONNA IMPLEMENT THIS PRACTICE THIS COMING OCTOBER.

AND THEN, UH, WE ALSO RECOMMENDED IMPLEMENTING SEGREGATION OF DUTIES OR COMPENSATING CONTROLS WITHIN THE PAYMENT INTAKE AND TAKE AND DEPOSIT PROCESSES AND ENSURE A SUPERVISOR'S APPROVALS DOCUMENTED FOR ALL DEPOSITS, MANAGEMENT'S AND AGREEANCE, AND IS IMPLEMENTING COMPENSATED CONTROLS AND SECONDARY REVIEWS FOR DEPOSITS.

THIS COMING OCTOBER TO ASSIST WITH THE PETTY CASH CUSTODIAN, WE RECOMMENDED, UH, DISTRIBUTING A MEMO TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE BUILDING, INSTRUCTING THEM TO PROVIDE PROPER SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION, PROPER MANAGEMENT APPROVAL FOR REIMBURSEMENTS.

UH, SO A MEMORANDUM, UH, WAS SENT OUT BY THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UH, TO DEPARTMENTS REGARDING OBTAINING PROPER SUPERVISOR APPROVALS AND REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION PRIOR TO SUBMITTING TO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT'S PETTY CASH CUSTODIAN FOR REIMBURSEMENT.

WE ALSO RECOMMENDED, UM, THAT THE PETTY CASH CUSTODIAN, UH,

[00:50:01]

RECEIVE A REFRESHER ON CORRECT MILEAGE RATE AND UNAUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES MANAGEMENT CONCURRED, UM, AND WILL ASSURE THAT'S HAPPENING.

, I THINK THAT'S EVERYTHING.

THAT'S IT.

ALL RIGHT.

QUESTIONS? GOOD, SIR? I'M NOT, AGAIN, I'M, I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS AT ALL.

UH, AND YOU ALL PLEASE BEAR WITH ME.

THIS IS, UH, THIS IS ALL NEW TO ME.

UH, AND, UH, I'VE JUST CELEBRATED A BIRTHDAY ON THE 26TH, WHICH MAKES ME A VIRGO HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

THANK YOU.

AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH, UH, EVERY DAY WHEN I WAKE UP.

AND THAT IS, UH, BE NICE.

JUST BE NICE.

AND WHEN I, WHEN I SEE THIS, UH, YOU SEE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HANDLE THIS IN OCTOBER, THEY'RE GONNA BE IMPLEMENTING SOME NEW STRUCTURES.

AND THAT WHAT I HEARD, IF, IF I MAY CLARIFY THAT, NUMBER ONE, OCTOBER IS TOMORROW.

YES, .

WHICH, WHICH IS GREAT.

WHICH IS, WHICH IS WONDERFUL.

WELL, A LOT OF TIMES, UH, THE IMPLEMENTED TRADITION DATE IS PUT TO AT A LATER TIME, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT'S WHEN EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY BY THAT TIME.

SO THEY WERE WORKING WITH US AS WE WERE PERFORMING IT BECAUSE MANY OF THIS, UM, THEY ALREADY GOT IT DONE, BUT SOMETIMES CHANGING POLICIES AND REWRITING POLICIES, IT TAKES A LITTLE LONGER.

RIGHT? AND SO THAT, THAT'S WHY THEY PUT OCTOBER.

OKAY.

BUT THEY DID IMPLEMENT THE MANAGERIAL REVIEWS AND STUFF LIKE THAT OKAY.

AS, AS SOON AS WE IN INFORM THEM.

OKAY.

YEAH.

SO IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE DELAYING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EVERYTHING THEY'RE IMPLEMENTING AS THEY, AS THEY'RE AS, AS YOU'RE, AS YOU'RE LEARNING, RIGHT? WHAT THEY'RE, AND WHAT DEPARTMENT IS THIS AGAIN? UH, THIS IS PLANNING.

OKAY.

YEAH.

OKAY.

UH, THAT'S, THAT'S GREAT.

THAT'S WONDERFUL.

I'M JUST GLAD TO HEAR THAT.

UH, YOU GUYS ARE ON TOP OF THIS.

.

THANK YOU.

AND, AND TO GIVE CREDIT TO PLANNING, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, UM, FOR THREE EMPLOYEES BASICALLY IS HANDLING ALL OF THIS, UH, WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.

AND WE HAVEN'T BEEN THERE FOR A LONG TIME.

IN FACT, UH, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, THIS IS PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME WE EVER WENT THERE TO DO A THOROUGH AUDIT LIKE THIS.

SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK FOR INTERNAL CONTROLS.

THEY'RE TRYING TO GET THE JOB DONE AND SERVE THE CUSTOMERS.

SO, UM, THIS IS, UM, I WOULD CONSIDER THAT.

AND, AND LIKE I SAID, IT'S, IT'S, BRIAN USED TO SAY THIS, IT'S NOT ABOUT HAVING AUDIT FINDINGS, IT'S ABOUT WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT IT? WHAT GONNA DO WITH IT? IS IT, YEAH.

AND SO, AND THEY WERE VERY COOPERATIVE AND EXTREMELY PROFESSIONAL, AND THEY WANTED TO IMPLEMENT AS SOON AS WE TOLD THEM.

SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY WITH THAT.

VERY GOOD.

I'M JUST, I'M JUST GLAD TO SEE THAT, UM, I UNDERSTAND, I'M UNDERSTANDING SO MUCH MORE ABOUT WHY AUDIT IS SO IMPORTANT AND IT HAS VERY LITTLE TO DO, IT SEEMS, WITH WHAT IS WRITTEN AND WHAT POLICY IS, AS MUCH AS YOU IDENTIFYING WHAT WE ARE DOING, ARE WE FOLLOWING THE POLICY? AND, UH, I THINK THAT THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIR.

YES, SIR.

AND, AND I THINK, UH, A LOT OF WHAT'S GOING ON HERE REFLECTS THE, THE BROADER EFFORT TO DRAG US KICKING AND SCREAMING INTO THE 21ST CENTURY AS FAR AS CENTRALIZING, UH, FILE MANAGEMENT AND PAYMENT INFORMATION AND ALL THE REST.

AND BECAUSE NOBODY'S WRITTEN A GOOD SYSTEM THAT, UH, WORKS FOR ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE STILL SEE SOME PIECEMEALING AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS CERTAINLY A SMALLER, A SMALLER DEPARTMENT THAT YOU DON'T, MOST OF US DON'T LOOK AT PLANNING AND ZONING AND THINK CASH HANDLING.

YOU JUST, YOU DON'T SEE IT.

SO IT, IT, YOU KNOW, IT, WE'LL SEE A FEW MORE DEPARTMENTS THAT PROBABLY FIT INTO THIS, UH, THIS, THIS KIND OF POSITION AS WE GET INTO THE SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER DEPARTMENTS AND BRING THEM FORWARD INTO THE, INTO THE CENTURY.

YEAH.

IT HELPS ME ALSO WITH A COUNCILMAN WHEN I HEAR, UH, MY CLIENTELE, MY CONSTITUENCY AND, UH, THEY'RE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER.

YEAH.

IT HELPS ME TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT'S TAKING PLACE THERE.

YEAH.

AND WE USUALLY PRIORITIZE CONSTITUENT SERVICES FIRST, AND SO WE START SEEING THE INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS CATCH UP LATER AND LATER.

SO YEAH.

THANK VERY GOOD.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE.

THANK YOU.

AGAINST MEL WILLIAMS. DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING? ARE WE GOOD? YEAH, YEAH.

JUST, JUST TWO, TWO THINGS VERY QUICK.

UM, NUMBER ONE, AND I'LL SAY THIS, UH, UH, UH, COUNSEL MOORE HAS ALREADY REMINDED HIM THAT HE'S, HE'S GRADUATED, HE'S GOT HIS DEGREE, SO , THAT'S HOW I GO.

SO, SO HE'S NO LONGER NEW.

UH, UM, UH, BUT THIS IS, GOES BACK TO THE PREVIOUS, UM, PREVIOUS COMMENTARY AND I'M GLAD TO SEE THIS.

WHEN I WAS TALKING

[00:55:01]

ABOUT S UM, IDENTIFICATION, INTEGRATION OF DUTIES KIND KIND OF THINGS, AND THAT THIS IS WHAT WAS TALKING ABOUT IN RECOGNIZING, AND THIS IS MORE OF COMMENTATION FOR, WE'VE GOT OUR KEY STAFF PEOPLE HERE TODAY, THE IMPACT OF COVID AND STAFFING.

I DIDN'T SEE, I THINK I SAW ONE REFERENCE HERE ABOUT STAFFING, SOME STAFFING CHALLENGES, AND I DIDN'T SEE WHETHER ANY OF THE RECOMMENDATION THAT, AND I KNOW THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL GET INTO, BUT FOR, FOR, FOR OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, LOOKING AT, UH, THE STAFFING SIDE OF THIS ALSO, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT MANY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TAKING BABY STEPS AND DOING THIS, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT STAFFING AS A PARALLEL NEED IN ORDER TO FACILITATE, UH, OUR MOVEMENT INTO THE 21ST CENTURY.

CUZ I THINK THEY BOTH GO HAND IN HAND, UH, RESOURCES.

SO THAT I, I'D MORE, I DIRECT THAT COMMENT MORE TO THE GENTLEMAN, TO MY IMMEDIATE LEFT AND THE ONE THAT I'M STARING AT RIGHT NOW, , THOSE TWO GENTLEMEN.

AND THEN, BECAUSE I THINK STAFFING IS IMPORTANT, UH, AND, AND GETTING THERE.

SO WITHOUT OF YOU CARE TO COMMENT, I WILL SAY WE DON'T GET ANYTHING DONE WITHOUT PEOPLE AND, UH, PEOPLE WE'RE IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS.

AND SO YOUR COMMENTS SPOT ON COUNCIL MEMBER.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU SIR.

THANKS, MS. CHAIR.

I'VE ONLY GOT ONE QUESTION.

UH, IS THE DEPARTMENT LARGE ENOUGH TO GET, UH, TRUE DUAL CONTROL ON EACH OF THE, UH, HIGH PRIORITY ITEMS THAT Y'ALL HAVE LISTED? UM, UM, SO JUST TO ADD ONTO THE STAFFING ISSUE, AND THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY THEY ARE PLANNING ON OUTSOURCING.

UH, ACTUALLY I BELIEVE THERE'S ALREADY A CONTRACT WITH THE THIRD PARTY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT.

OKAY.

UM, TO START REVIEWING THE TREE MITIGATION, UH, PLAN AND FUNDS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

SO THAT WILL HELP THE DEPARTMENT SIGNIFICANTLY.

AND SO I APPRECIATE JARDEN WILL FOR WORKING.

SURE.

AS SOON AS WE MENTIONED THIS, WE'RE USED TO DEALING WITH COMPLIANCE AND SMALL TEAMS. AND SO I KIND OF WANTED, YOU KNOW, DO WE EVEN HAVE THE ABILITY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT TO, TO TRULY HAVE TWO PEOPLE LOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT.

SO, AND, AND WHILE I DIDN'T SEE IT, UH, THAT MAY BE SOMETHING REALLY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PART OF, UH, UH, THE PLAN HERE.

AND THAT IS PART OF THE PROBLEM IS STAFFING.

I DIDN'T SEE THAT IN PLACE IN THE WAY OF WHAT THE PROBLEMS MAY HAVE, MAY HAVE BEEN.

SO VERY GOOD.

OKAY.

UH, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ELSE.

THANK YOU BOTH.

THANK YOU.

LET'S MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR, VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SERVICES CHAIRMAN.

AS ROBERT IS COMING, I WILL KICKSTART THIS AUDIT.

UM, THIS AUDIT IS GARLAND POWER LIGHT TRANSMISSION LINE.

UH, SO VEGETATION MANAGEMENT ON THAT SIDE, UH, DO WANNA, UH, GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND.

SO THEY HAVE ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY EIGHT THIRTY TWO, UH, LINEAR MILES OF TRANSMISSION LIGHTS LINES IN EAST, NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

SO IT IS IMPORTANT FOR GP AND L UH, TO COMPLY WITH NOR STANDARDS TO ENSURE THAT OUR TRANSMISSION LINES ARE CLEAR.

WE'RE NOT CAUSING ANY KIND OF OUTAGES.

UM, AGAIN, YOU PROBABLY WILL HEAR ME REPEATING THIS, BUT AGAIN, GP NL WAS VERY COOPERATIVE DURING THIS AUDIT.

AND I ALSO WANNA EMPHASIZE FIVE YEARS AGO MY UNDERSTANDING BASED ON TALKING WITH DAR AND TOM, WE HAD A LOT OF ISSUES ON THE TRANSMISSION LINE FROM A VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, BUT THEN FIVE YEARS AGO THEY PUT A PLAN TOGETHER AND THAT PLAN HAS BEEN WORKING.

MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE LAST YEAR WHEN NERK DID THEIR AUDIT OR WHEN WE REPORTED THE COMPLIANCE, THERE WAS NOT ANY ISSUES.

THERE WAS NOT ANY MAJOR ISSUES.

HOWEVER, WE WANTED TO JUST MAKE SURE, UM, UH, BASICALLY AT THE COMPLIANCE, UM, JUST MAKING SURE THAT, UH, THE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE WITH THE TWO THIRD PARTY VENDORS, HOW ARE WE IN COMPLIANCE, UH, HOW ARE THEY IN COMPLIANCE, HOW ARE WE IN COMPLIANCE BASICALLY FROM A BILLING PERSPECTIVE.

SO WE WANTED TO LOOK AT THAT.

AND WE ALSO WANTED TO SEE, UM, THE INSPECTION RECORDS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

AND DURING THE SCOPE OF THE AUDIT, WE GP L PAID APPROXIMATELY 2.2 MILLION.

AND THE SCOPE WAS FROM, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, FROM OCTOBER, 2018 THROUGH MAY, 2022.

UH, OUT OF THE 2.2 MILLION, UM, 1.5 APPROXIMATELY WAS FOR ROUTINE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SERVICES AND THE OTHER 800,000 WAS FOR ADDITIONAL PROJECTS.

OUR FOCUS WAS MAINLY ON THE ROUTINE SERVICES.

AND, AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM, UH, ROBERT.

ROBERT GAN DID THE AUDITS.

I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO HIM.

UH, HE'S

[01:00:01]

GONNA GO THROUGH, UM, SOME OF THE, UH, INTERNAL CONTROL WEAKNESSES THAT WE IDENTIFIED, BUT ONCE AGAIN, UM, UH, GP L MANAGEMENT WAS, UM, WE'VE MET WITH, UM, DARRELL, TOM AND UH, TRANSMISSION HEAD, UH, SEVERAL ON SEVERAL LOCATIONS AND THEY ALREADY HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE.

AND SO NOT WORRIED ABOUT GOING FORWARD, BUT, UM, WE JUST WANTED TO REPORT WHERE WE FOUND.

OKAY, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY.

UM, I'M GONNA GO THROUGH MY FINDINGS.

THE FIRST FINDING HERE, BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS TIME AND MATERIAL CONTRACTS.

SO WE HAVE TWO VENDORS AND BASICALLY THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CONTRACTS, WHERE THE AGREEMENTS WERE IN OUR LOCAL AGREEMENTS.

SO AN INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT IS BASICALLY ANOTHER CITY BROUGHT OUT THE SERVICES, WENT OUT BID, OBTAINED THE SERVICES TO GO THE CONTRACT.

SO WHAT WE DID IS WE WENT AHEAD AND USED THAT AGREEMENT, AND THAT'S WHAT WE CALL AN INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT.

SO WE DIDN'T PUT OUT OUR, OUR OWN BID, WE KIND OF PIGGYBACKED ON THE SERVICES FROM SOMEBODY ELSE.

SO LOOKING AT THOSE TWO, UH, VENDORS, THE CONTRACTS, THE AGREEMENTS THAT WE PUT IN PLACE FOR OUR SERVICES HERE, UH, CAUSE THE TIME PERIOD THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT OCTOBER, 2018 TO MAY, 2022, UH, WE PAID APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED AND, UH, $1.5 MILLION FOR THOSE SERVICES.

AS YOU COULD SEE, VENDOR A, UH, YOU HAVE 1.3 MILLION THAT WAS PAID OUT TO THEM.

A VENDOR B, YOU HAVE ALMOST A LITTLE BIT OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.

SO