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Austin will pay more than $5 million for a multiyear independent audit of all city departments, advancing the recurring citywide assessment program created by City Council this year.
What you need to know
The ongoing audit review will cover Austin's government, the programs and services it supports, and its third-party contracting. It'll include comparisons to peer cities, produce regular public reporting, and result in recommended improvements for city officials and department leaders.
The concept of a citywide audit was raised in the aftermath of last November's failed tax election. At that time, Mayor Kirk Watson said the result showed a need to restore trust in City Hall's approach with finances and public services. Council members then began considering the program alongside new spending policies for their offices.
The new efficiency audit will likely take several years to cover all pieces of Austin's government. The process will continue repeating into the future with at least three years between full assessment cycles.
The specifics
After council passed an ordinance establishing the audit in February, the city auditor's office solicited for a third party to manage the program. Pennsylvania-based Public Works LLC was announced as the chosen vendor in July after scoring higher than two dozen other interested firms in a city evaluation. City Auditor Jason Hadavi also said the contractor is partnering with Austin-based EGS Research and Consulting LLC.
Watson said the lead firm will focus on finding "meaningful and sustainable ways" to improve Austin's government.
"The professionals at Public Works understand that this assessment is more than an audit and performance review—it will be transformative and comprehensive, importantly, it will also be an ongoing independent examination on how Austin’s government can operate better," he said in a statement.
“Government should never stop asking how it can better serve the people. Today’s contract begins that work," Watson said.
The approach
The council-approved ordinance requires an audit plan and proposed schedule to be published online with any related findings, recommendations and progress reports through the process. The city hasn't yet determined how reporting on the audit will take place, and will inform residents about those updates.
"Once established, the posting will be announced publicly through multiple communication channels to ensure broad awareness and accessibility for the community," Austin Financial Services spokesperson Aubrey Roemer said in an email.
Council's Audit and Finance Committee will also be briefed on progress and results at least semiannually as work continues. Planning for the first round of formal reporting will begin "immediately" after the Public Works contract is finalized, according to the finance department.
Eric Schnurer, Public Works founder and president, said the firm will begin reporting to the city auditor's office on a weekly basis as the assessment gets underway and provide regular information throughout the process.
“Many of these things will be rolling off the presses ... as we’re going, and I would anticipate that we start seeing hard results that will hopefully be saving taxpayers money right away within a fairly short time period after we start," he told council. "That will continue for the entire time we’re working on this, and many years after.”
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