State & Local Reports

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges to Multnomah County. We conducted this audit to support transparent and accountable government operations during this unprecedented time. This report details what the county spent pandemic funding on, which provider organizations received pandemic funding from the county, and whether funds were distributed in alignment with the county’s stated commitment to leading with race. In this audit, we found that county management sought to balance the need to get resources out to the community quickly with also maintaining effective policies and procedures to help manage the county’s spending of pandemic-related relief funds. We found several areas where the county managed policies and procedures well; we also found some areas for improvement

The overall objective of this report was to see if the City effectively managed the distribution of economic recovery funds. The City created several programs using federal and local funding to provide economic relief to residents and organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These programs included providing financial assistance to Austin renters, small businesses, artists, and others. We found the City effectively managed the distribution of these economic relief funds. The Economic Development Department appears to have provided funding timely to eligible residents and organizations. For the City’s emergency rental assistance program, the Housing and Planning Department made improvements over time to be more accessible to the community and better align with best practices.

The purpose of this performance audit report was to assess the effectiveness of the Unemployment Insurance Agency's actions to establish federally complaint claimant eligibility criteria for the PUA program. We ultimately concluded the their actions were not effective as the agency established incorrect criteria for the PUA program and failed to take timely or appropriate corrective action when notified of deficiencies by the Department of Labor

A review of the Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) information technology (IT) security practices showed that not all AGO employees were offered or required to take cybersecurity awareness training during a portion of the audit period. The audit examined the period of July 1, 2018 through July 31, 2020.

The audit shows that Roxbury Community College (RCC) is still in the process of implementing previous recommendations by the office to improve the management of the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center (RLTAC). The audit examined the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019.

What Was Performed? An examination of the Woodbridge School District Career and Technical Education funds for fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. We reviewed the Career and Technical Education funds to ensure Woodbridge School District allocated the mandated 90 percent of funds to the correct schools. Additionally, the team randomly selected 10 percent of the Career and Technical Education expenditures and tested them to ensure the funds were expended to support the state-approved occupational-vocational courses and programs. Why This Engagement? This engagement is mandated by Title 14 Del. C. §1706, which requires periodic audits by the State Auditor’s office. What was found? I am pleased to say this engagement contained no findings. All reviewed vouchers supported the state-approved occupational-vocational courses and programs. The examination of the Woodbridge School District’s Career and Technical Education funds for fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 can be found on our website.

What Was Performed? An examination of the Smyrna School District Career and Technical Education funds for fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. We reviewed the Career and Technical Education funds to ensure Smyrna School District allocated the mandated 90 percent of funds to the correct schools. Additionally, the team randomly selected 10 percent of the Career and Technical Education expenditures and tested them to ensure the funds were expended to support the state-approved occupational-vocational courses and programs.Why This Engagement? This engagement is mandated by Title 14 Del. C. §1706, which requires periodic audits by the State Auditor’s office. What was found? I am pleased to say this engagement contained no findings. All reviewed vouchers supported the state-approved occupational-vocational courses and programs.The examination of the Smyrna School District’s Career and Technical Education funds for fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 can be found on our website.

The COVID-19 Pandemic presented the Department with many challenges and obstacles including a sharp increase in the volume of unemployment claims as well as the expansion of regular unemployment benefits by the federal government. The Department did not have the man-power or technology resources to adequately deal with this drastic increase in claim activity and the addition of new federal unemployment funding. The Department’s legacy unemployment System, Ohio Job Insurance (OJI), has been in place since 2004. Due to its age and functionality, it was unable to handle the increased volume of claimants brought on by the pandemic. This report includes 10 recommendations to the Department which we believe will help improve the operations related to Unemployment Insurance.

OIG found that the municipal license plate inventory the Department of Assets, Information and Services (AIS) manages does not match the Illinois Secretary of State (ILSOS) database of municipal plates issued to the City. Approximately 7,000 municipal license plates issued by ILSOS for City vehicles are unaccounted for at AIS. Without an accurate database and regular audit of the City’s municipal license plates, AIS is unable to account for and track the possession and use of all municipal license plates assigned to the City, resulting in, among other things, a significant risk of abuse and misconduct with municipal plates and vehicles within the City’s fleet.OIG’s review of AIS’ records discovered disjointed datasets and lists and multiple outdated recordkeeping practices. OIG also found that AIS’ municipal license plate records are incomplete and inaccurate or outdated. AIS’ current practices also lack effective quality control and auditing measures to ensure that license plates are properly registered and affixed to City vehicles or properly destroyed after the end of service. Without regular audits of the municipal plate inventory, thousands of discrepancies between ILSOS and AIS records have developed over time. Accordingly, AIS is unable to accurately account for all the license plates within its physical possession and is unable to verify that all license plates currently registered to City vehicles are properly affixed to the correct vehicle within the M5 database. The existence of thousands of unaccounted municipal license plates poses serious safety and security issues for the City. Lost or misplaced license plates could be attached to non-City vehicles, allowing those vehicles to be illegally driven and improperly used. With improperly registered plates, City vehicles involved in traffic accidents or violations could create liability issues. Furthermore, allowing plates to be registered to multiple vehicles and failing to account for when the plates are swapped between vehicles provides ripe opportunity for City vehicles to be abused, misappropriated, or misused in violation of City policies or rules.