State & Local Reports

OIG audited the Chicago Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) billing process for commercial driveway permit annual fees to determine whether the Department accurately and completely billed commercial property owners for driveways that use the public way. We found that CDOT either did not bill, or inaccurately billed, an estimated 6,713 permitholders, resulting in annual revenue loss between $1.1 million and $1.5 million. If collected, this would increase driveway permit revenue by 39-54%. In addition, the City does not actively pursue payment for driveway permit fees that are past due, resulting in at least 11,561 active permits with $3.8 million in overdue fees in CDOT’s records. Lastly, CDOT has no confidence that all relevant driveways are recorded in its current driveway permit system and is thus likely forgoing an unknown amount of additional revenue by not billing all relevant property owners.

This advisory summarized the findings of OIG’s 2017 Chicago Department of Transportation Aldermanic Menu Audit and urged Mayor Lightfoot to implement the related recommendations. Specifically, the advisory noted,• the Aldermanic Menu Program (“Menu”) creates significant funding inequities, including a gap of $9.3 million between the best- and worst-funded wards;• Menu underfunds citywide residential infrastructure needs by $228.8 million annually;• the City allows alderman to spend Menu funds on projects other than residential street infrastructure; and• the City does not follow best practices for multiyear capital planning of residential street infrastructure.OIG suggested that the City stop funding core residential infrastructure through Menu and empower the Department to fully inhabit its infrastructure management role.

A 2017 audit by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the City perpetuates significant inequities between wards and underfunds residential street infrastructure needs by approximately $228.8 million annually, primarily because it does not follow best practices for multi-year capital planning. The previous administration disagreed with our findings and declined to reform its residential street infrastructure management. To reduce inequities in residential street infrastructure funding between wards and to begin to address unmet needs citywide, we urge the City to stop funding core residential infrastructure through Menu. Instead, the Mayor should empower CDOT to fully inhabit its infrastructure management role. CDOT should conduct a comprehensive citywide needs assessment, prioritize projects according to need, and implement a multi-year capital plan for maintenance and improvement of both residential and arterial streets, in line with best practices. While aldermen and constituents should be encouraged to provide input, CDOT’s infrastructure professionals are best positioned to develop long-term plans and make cost-effective decisions regarding the City’s limited infrastructure resources. If the City chooses to continue some form of Menu Program, it should be limited to discretionary projects with no program or operational connection to core citywide infrastructure such as street resurfacing.

The complete report can be found on our website: auditor.delaware.govFor more information, contact: Kathleen McGuiness, State Auditor – kathleen.mcguiness@delaware.gov – (302) 739-4241Why This Inspection? This inspection on school district and charter school overtime is the final installment of our review for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017. We identified the top 50 overtime earners for school districts and charter schools and tested internal controls related to overtime payments.The top 50 overtime earners that we tested earned approximately $800,000 and $1.0 million in overtime for 2016 and 2017, respectively.What We Found: Through testing the top 50 overtime earners, we identified internal control weaknesses for 64% and 60% of the payroll documents we inspected for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017, respectively. We found the districts were using a variety of methods, from automated to manual, to track and approve overtime hours; some variations resulted in more human errors. We tested 410 timesheets and found the following issues:• 207 timesheets lacked supporting documentation (Capital, Christina, Lake Forest, and New Castle County Vocational-Technical School Districts)• 46 incorrectly calculated timesheets (Appoquinimink, Cape Henlopen, Capital, Christina, Colonial, Lake Forest, New Castle County Vocational-Technical, and Smyrna School Districts)• One timesheet lacked approval of overtime (Christina School District)Christina, Lake Forest, New Castle County Vocational-Technical, and Smyrna School Districts provided management responses detailing internal control measures and process improvements that have been implemented as a result of this engagement. As an example, the Smyrna School District is in the process of converting to an automated absence request and personnel attendance system.RECOMMENDATIONS• A universal automated timekeeping system should be utilized by all school districts.• School districts should ensure that employees responsible for reviewing timesheets are properly trained and understand the importance of the accuracy of this review.