News
Regional Arts and Culture Council: Clear City goals aligned with strong Arts Council strategy will improve arts and culture services
This report makes recommendations to improve the City’s provision of art and culture services through its contract with the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Report
Gang Enforcement Patrol: The Police Bureau must show that traffic stops are effective
Auditors found racial disparities: 59 percent of the Gang Enforcement Team’s traffic stops affected African Americans. Community members told auditors their concerns about such stops.
Report
Gang Crime Investigations: Lack of accountability and transparency reduced the community's trust in police
The Police Bureau was still collecting information about people’s gang associations, auditors found. Such practices raised concerns and potential legal questions.
Report
Streets Improvement Projects: Bureau of Transportation has an inclusive planning process, but should improve assessments of neighborhood impact
Expectations for the project planning phase were met, but evaluation of project effectiveness needs improvement.
Report
Recreation Scholarships: Conflicting policy direction and communication barriers limit access
The City of Portland has contradictory goals for recreation services, according to our audit. The Bureau of Parks and Recreation wants community centers to charge fees to pay for activities while also ensuring access to all.
Report
Portland Housing Bureau: Improved monitoring to protect housing investments
Improved monitoring at the Portland Housing Bureau has helped protect the City’s investments in housing, according to our audit.
Report
Prosper Portland: Disciplined property management needed to achieve future revenue goals, equitable outcomes
Prosper Portland is at a crossroads, transitioning both where its resources come from and who benefits from its work . Real estate will be a major part of that transition.
Report
Utility Payment Assistance: Program improvements would enable City to assist more customers
We recommend the Portland Water Bureau strengthen payment assistance by collecting and using customer data and improving outreach and training. We also recommend the Water Bureau continue to study how assistance could be extended to residents of multifamily housing.
Report
Tree Code: Implementation phase shows progress and pitfalls
The City’s comprehensive Tree Code went into effect in 2015 and applies to more trees than previous regulations. We audited whether the City is on track to both effectively implement the Code and to measure how well it works.
Report
Audit of the Auditor: 2017 Peer Review of the Audit Services Division
Outside auditors conducted a peer review of Audit Services’ quality control procedures and concluded they were working appropriately to ensure Portland’s performance audits meet professional standards.
Report
Risk Management: City loss prevention needs a proactive approach
The City’s Risk Management Division spends about $16 million each year to help City bureaus avoid injuries and loss and manage and pay claims against the City if an accident occurs. We audited the loss prevention and claims management processes.
Report
Translated Community Survey: Half report City is doing a good job
We conducted a Community Survey to see how Portlanders view the quality of City services. In 2016, the Community Survey was translated into Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese (Mandarin), and Russian. This report presents a snapshot of those survey responses.
Report
Portland's Financial Condition: Funding infrastructure should be high priority
This report provides residents and public officials with information on the City of Portland’s financial health. The report uses information, primarily from the City’s audited Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and identifies favorable and unfavorable trends at a high level.
Report
Portland Building Reconstruction: City faced with important post-planning decisions to ensure project success
The City has begun work to reconstruct the landmark Portland Building. Built in 1981, the building has a history of water leaks, and the City has identified improvements to efficiently hold the 1,300 City employees who work there.
Report
Americans with Disabilities Act: Coordination gaps complicate City response
The City has several requirements to meet Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding accommodation requests and complaints. The audit found the City's current approach makes accommodation requests difficult for individuals with disabilities, and the process varies by bureau.
Report
Transportation Network Companies and Taxicabs: Transportation Bureau needs to monitor service, not just safety
This report contains the results of our audit of the City’s oversight of transportation network companies and taxicabs. It also includes the Transportation Bureau’s response to our recommendations.
Report
City Transaction Testing: Continuous monitoring revealed few issues
We reviewed procurement card transactions to look for prohibited or risky transactions. We did not find anything to indicate fraud, misuse or a general lack of oversight.
Report
Red Light Cameras: City can fine tune some program aspects and solidify plans for future
This report contains the results of our audit of the City’s oversight of transportation network companies and taxicabs. It also includes the Transportation Bureau’s response to our recommendations.
Report
Portland Streetcar: City transit targets unmet, better performance management needed
This audit reviewed the effectiveness of the performance management system used by the Portland Bureau of Transportation to meet the City’s transit goals for Portland Streetcar.
Report
Portland Parks and Recreation: Managing diverse assets requires evaluation of maintenance
We initiated this review because Parks cited increasing costs for maintenance of these important City assets in the Bureau’s proposed FY 2012-13 budget. Our audit assessed the structure Parks has in place to evaluate whether maintenance goals are being met.
Report
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