Report Released, Our Team is Growing, and We Need Your Help!

INDEPENDENT CITY AUDITOR. REPORTING DIRECTLY TO THE RESIDENTS.

Report Released Second Semiannual Audit Recommendation Follow-up Report

Dear Friend,

Today, my Office released our second semiannual Audit Recommendation Follow-Up Report. This report provides the statuses of all open audit recommendations as of June 30, 2024, and summarizes 275 unique recommendations from 44 performance audits dating back to 2014.

Our new report format, introduced in the first semiannual report issued in March 2024, aims to keep the City Administration, residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders informed about the implementation status of all open audit recommendations. This second report reveals that the City Administration has implemented 115, or only 42 percent, of all recommendations. Of the 147 recommendations that remain open, 66 have been partially implemented.

Per the City Charter, I am required to present the semiannual recommendation follow-up reports to the full City Council and the public. Please stay tuned for an invitation to attend this presentation before the end of 2024; we hope to see you there! Further, I invite you to support our Office’s follow-up on audit recommendations. See details on how you can help below.

Recommendation Follow-up Report

New Campaign WTH is ARFU?

On October 3rd, my Office launched our new campaign, “WTH is ARFU?” My Team and I debuted the campaign's t-shirt at the Prescott Night Market, and our standout message garnered much attention and had many people asking, "WTH is ARFU?"

WTH stands for "What the Heck" (we decided to keep it PG), and ARFU stands for "Audit Recommendation Follow-Up." The campaign aims to spark conversations with interested community members about the role of our Office and generate more attention, engagement, and support for our audit recommendations.

Because our Office functions in an oversight rather than administrative role, we rely on the City Administration to implement our audit recommendations to achieve our shared goals of creating more equitable, effective, and efficient City services. Unfortunately, less than half of these recommendations have been implemented in the past ten years. Additionally, we are surprised by the number of Oaklanders who don’t know about the key role of their City Auditor, whose scope of work includes and prioritizes taking a closer look at the City’s most pressing issues and making recommendations to ameliorate them. Therefore, we need your help! Please:

Forward this newsletter to your networks, neighbors, family, businesses, and friends and encourage them to subscribe to our newsletter by clicking the button below.
Follow us on social media (links to the platforms below) and re-post our news.
Review all open audit recommendations and then,
Contact your Councilmembers and ask them to consider the recommendations that affect you and their districts.

Stay tuned for further directions on partnering with our Office!

Exciting Announcement Our Team Is Growing

Brianna Horton is not new to the City but is new to our Office! In July, she was hired as our Office's Community Outreach and Engagement Advisor and my Executive Assistant. In these dual roles, she is responsible for refreshing and innovating our Office's community outreach, maintaining our education programming, and helping manage my calendar.

Brianna’s enthusiasm and expertise in community outreach and engagement have impressed us all in just a few months. She has successfully set the Office up to have a strong presence in the community and created several engagement tools that the Office will use for years to come.

Before joining our Office, Brianna was the Executive Assistant to the Director of the Department of Transportation for approximately three years. In 2020, she transitioned to the Oakland Fire Department's Emergency Management Services Division as an Emergency Planning Coordinator, where she focused on increasing community preparedness and public awareness of Oakland-specific hazards.

We are deeply honored that she chose to support our team! If you see her out and about, say “hi’” and ask her how you can partner with our Office.

Marisa Lin joined my Team as a Senior Performance Auditor in September 2024.

Before joining our Office, they worked as a Performance Auditor at the City of San José, California, where they contributed to various audits, including technology deployments, municipal water services, police staffing, and the City's Bill of Rights for Children and Youth.

Not only is Marisa a local government auditor, but they are also a passionate poet and a community organizer! If you meet Marisa, ask them about their work at San Quentin State Prison working with the incarcerated and their recently published book, "Dream Elevator." They are low-key famous, proving that auditors are not one-dimensional!

Marisa is currently working on the audit of emergency response times, and we are deeply honored to have Marisa on our Team.

Marisa holds a Master's in Public Policy from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University.

I look forward to introducing Brianna and Marisa to you soon!

Spread the News We are Hiring!

We are currently looking to hire two Senior Performance Auditors!

Applicants must have at least two years of experience in government performance or financial/internal auditing in the private sector. If you know someone who might be a good fit for this role, please inform them about this opportunity!

Applications are due this Sunday, October 20th, through the City's online job application portal. Don't wait—apply today! Click the link below to learn more about the position and submit your application.

Apply Today!

Share Your Feedback in a Flash: Take the Equal Access 1-minute Survey Today!

The City of Oakland passed an Equal Access to Services Ordinance to remove language barriers for limited-English speakers when using City services.

The City is conducting a Citywide survey to determine whether departments provide the same service level to limited-English speaking persons.

Please help us by answering the few questions on this survey and indicating in the last section "the department or location you visited today, "Office of the City Auditor." You can access the survey by scanning the QR code pictured to the left or clicking the link below. Thank you in advance for your help.

Equal Access Survey