City receives new audit reports from Auditor General

City management agrees with all 116 recommendations in nine audits tabled today by Auditor General Ken Hughes in his 2014 Annual Report. A number of the recommendations have already been implemented and the remainder are underway.

“I would like to recognize the Auditor General’s important role in helping us to identify practices that produce improved oversight and efficiency,” said City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick. “Staff remain committed to finding new and better ways to manage while ensuring that tax dollars are used wisely to serve the residents of Ottawa.”

Highlights of key recommendations already implemented or in progress: ** Audit of 3-1-1 Contact Centre ** Management agrees with all 34 recommendations made by the Auditor General and four of the recommendations have already been implemented. The remaining recommendations are in progress.

Ottawa residents depend on 3-1-1 as a first point of contact with their City government and the Audit notes that overall 3-1-1 clients are satisfied with the service and praises the knowledge and professionalism of the City’s 3-1-1 agents.

The Auditor General’s recommendations will result in a more responsive and transparent 3-1-1 service. ServiceOttawa will conduct a detailed analysis of post-call satisfaction surveys to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and client satisfaction and will also work closely with City departments to improve the quality and accuracy of the knowledge base articles used by the agents. ** Audit of Accounts Payable ** Management agrees with all seven of the Auditor General’s recommendations. Two of the recommendations are complete and the remaining five are underway with most to be completed by the end of 2016.

Overall, the audit found that a management control framework is in place, and controls have been designed to enable the payment of accurate and approved vendor invoices. Accounts Payable is pursuing system enhancements to increase efficiency and supplement the risk mitigation activities currently in place. ** Audit of Infrastructure Services Department – Administrative Management ** Management agrees with all nine of the Auditor General’s recommendations. Three of the recommendations have already been implemented and two more will be implemented by the end of 2015. All recommendations will be implemented by early 2017.

Prior to the Audit, the Infrastructure Services Department (ISD) had already focused efforts on streamlining staff and reducing overtime costs. ISD successfully reduced its overtime hours from $1.1 million to $325,000 in seven years and during some of the busiest construction years in the history of the department.

ISD will implement new financial reporting measures to ensure that financials are reported and controlled more stringently. ISD Management will work more closely with staff to monitor career development and prioritize learning and future development. ** Audit of Infrastructure Services Department – Technical Management ** Management agrees with all eight of the Auditor General’s recommendations. Two of the recommendations will be implemented by the end of 2015. All recommendations will be implemented by early 2018.

Prior to the Audit, the Infrastructure Services Department (ISD) had already implemented a new Project Delivery Manual that includes stringent project management and construction inspection guidelines to ensure that City infrastructure is built safely and within the City’s financial means.

ISD is putting further measures in place to ensure that the Project Delivery Manual is being followed and implemented. ISD also implemented the Comprehensive Asset Management Program in 2012 that ensures that City infrastructure is maintained to the highest standard. The City is implementing measures that will better assess consultant performance. ** Audit of Information Technology Risk Management ** Management agrees with all eight of the Auditor General’s recommendations and implementation of all eight is underway.

Managing information technology risks is an issue that the City of Ottawa takes extremely seriously. Ottawa residents expect and depend upon the City to provide secure and uninterrupted access to City information and services. The Auditor’s recommendations will result in stronger and more resilient IT infrastructure. ** Audit of Species at Risk ** ** ** Management agrees with all eight of the Auditor General’s recommendations. One recommendation is complete. The remainder are underway and expected to be substantially completed in 2016.

Overall, the City has a good understanding of the requirements to comply with the regulations on the protection of species at risk. The City has a team with experience and knowledge to deal with these requirements.

In 2013, Council approved a Wildlife Strategy which identified the need for the City to update the wildlife construction protocol and expand it to include more information on avoiding wildlife conflicts. Following public consultation, staff updated the protocol, which was approved by City Council in October 2015, to include information about species at risk, best practices, current standards and other new information. An up-to-date Ottawa list of species at risk that is a useful resource document for staff has also been created. ** Audit of Winter Operations: Capacity Planning and Performance Measurement ** Management agrees with all 20 of the Auditor General’s recommendations. Seven recommendations have already been completed. Seven of the recommendations will be addressed as part of the Roads Services Winter Operations and KPMG Review, and a review of findings and subsequent recommendations will be presented to the Transportation Committee and Council in Q2 2016. Work on the remaining six recommendations is underway, with an overall timeline of completion for Q4 2016.

The Roads Services Branch of the Public Works Department is responsible for providing safe and passable roads, sidewalks and cycling facilities by reducing the hazards resulting from snow and ice accumulation. The Branch provides winter maintenance for 12,254 lane kilometres of roadways and 2,195 kilometres of sidewalks with an annual budget of approximately $60 million.

Snow and ice control operations are carried out 24/7, subject to weather conditions, in a manner that enables the City to achieve its Council-approved Maintenance Quality Standards with available resources. ** 2010 Audit of the Mackenzie King Bridge Rehabilitation ** Management agrees with all 11 of the Auditor General’s recommendations. All of the recommendations have been fully implemented. The legal matter related to this project has been settled through a confidential mediation process and details cannot be made public. Recoveries were realized as part of the legal process, which is established in the contract conditions.

Requirements to be followed when piloting new technologies have been fully documented in the Project Delivery Manual and are being implemented.

A ninth audit, the ** Information Technology Security Incident Handling and Response Audit ** , was presented _ in camera _ pursuant to Subsection 13(1)(a) of Procedure By-law 2014-441 relating to the security of the property of the City, and will not be reported out.