The Sacramento City Council hired a Philadelphia-based firm earlier this week to audit the city’s Utilities Department. Public Financial Management, Inc., will receive up to $116,902 for its audit of the department, the council decided on Tuesday. In a Feb. 22 staff report, City Auditor Jorge Oseguera wrote that he and his staff judged the seven firms that applied for the job on “proposed scope of work, timeliness of work product, each firm’s expertise and qualifications, project cost and references.” The city’s audit team also interviewed three of the firms. The outcome of the process was Oseguera’s recommendation that the City Council hire Public Financial Management for the audit. L

City Auditor Jorge Oseguera will present to the City Council on Tuesday night a list of audits he wants to work on during the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Ideas for audits include examinations of the Utilities Department’s billing practices and payments to city employees on top of their base salary. The Utilities Department will experience a double dose of audits. In addition to Oseguera’s audit of the department’s billing procedures, an independent consultant will review many of its other functions, including service, operations and staffing levels. The City Council will decide whether to approve Oseguera’s list at its meeting. The rules for the auditor’s annual plan, which are outlined in th

The city auditor’s office expects it will finish fewer audits by July 1 than planned because of high staff turnover in recent months, according to City Auditor Jorge Oseguera. He said in an interview on Wednesday that his office will release three audits by July 1: one on the city’s health benefits system, one on revenue collection practices and the third on citywide policies. In an interview last July, Oseguera said he planned to focus on four audits and hoped to start working on additional ones by this July. But Oseguera explained Wednesday that two of three staffers resigned in recent months, causing his office to take the fourth audit off the table. The auditors left in the midst of

As we in the tiny Sacramento Press newsroom digested the news that a newly hired deputy city auditor was resigning - as a result of one lunchtime phone call to auditor Gerald Silva from our city hall reporter, Kathleen Haley - I marveled at several things. First, that on a summer Monday, the Sacramento Press' inquiries had caused a city official to resign. Despite what people might think, that's not the most rewarding thing a journalist can do. But when the official and his boss have hidden damaging information from city staff and the public - in this case that Silva was fired for his role in a sexual harassment lawsuit while working for San Jose's city government - well…that's good stuff

 In an abandoned corner of City Hall that formerly housed the planning department, four auditors are digging for information about the city’s rules and finances. Jorge Oseguera, the new city auditor, has narrowed down the top four areas of municipal government he will investigate first: the city’s health benefits, citywide policies, revenue collections and the vehicle fleet. In addition to those audits, he has four more in the hopper. The next set of audits will cover the city’s 311 information center, purchase cards, fire inspection fees and the city’s sidewalk repair process. The City Council gave Oseguera permission to move ahead with the audits in June. Oseguera said his goal is to

The auditor of Sacramento’s city government now reports to the city manager, but City Council members Tuesday said the auditor should answer to them. Council members said they could create a more transparent process if they direct the city’s auditor to report to the City Council and mayor, instead of reporting to the city manager. The city is currently looking for a new auditor to replace Marty Kolkin, who is leaving Sacramento in May to take a job in Santa Monica’s city government. Council members asked city staff Tuesday to analyze the option of making the auditor answer to the City Council and mayor. The auditor position was created in 2002, City Councilman Steve Cohn said, and was