Reports

Wastewater goes through pipes owned by the Bureau of Environmental Services but the bureau pays another - the Bureau of Transportation - to maintain these pipes. This longstanding agreement has had mixed results. We make recommendations for both bureaus in our audit report.

This annual report highlights unique occurrences, challenges, and lessons learned from 2020.

The Auditor’s Office Fraud Hotline provides City employees and members of the public a way to confidentially report suspected fraud, waste, and abuse of position by or against the City.

Prosper Portland’s Small Business Relief Fund provided a lifeline during the early days of the pandemic. Staff successfully delivered dollars to struggling businesses but in haste, short-changed program integrity. We make recommendations for building a stronger program the next time disaster strikes

New risks for City-issued credit card misuse emerged when employees began working from home due to COVID-19. We asked: How did compliance with rules, management, and card spending change? We found some issues the City should shore up to prevent misuse.

Getting a building permit in Portland can be a frustratingly slow process. Delays can affect the economy and motivate property owners to skirt the permitting system altogether. Our audit recommends ways to address persistent problems as the City strives for economic recovery from COVID-19.

Independent Police Review took a closer look at interactions between police officers and community members who may need language services and recommended changes to the Portland Police Bureau to strengthen effective communication.

The Auditor’s Office is Portlanders’ independent agency responsible for providing oversight of City government. This Accountability Report, covering the year 2020, shows the breadth, depth and impact of our work.

Along with context and evidence, we make 16 recommendations in our audit report for improving the City’s contracting equity strategies. These include suggestions for better program design as well as measures to improve oversight, transparency, and accountability.

Districts provide security and maintenance of public spaces, but without the level of transparency and accountability required for similar services managed by the City.

The Auditor's Accountability Report, covering the year 2019, provides examples of how we’ve been responsive to the public’s concerns, scrutinized the City’s spending of public dollars, tracked lobbyist influence, and revived forgotten parts of our City’s history.

The City’s economic development agency, Prosper Portland, needs to measure and tell the public what urban renewal investments have accomplished in Lents, according to our audit report.

Like other businesses that operate in Portland, cannabis businesses must meet various building, safety and environmental requirements. This audit focused on the responsibilities and activities of Civic Life. We did not include a review of the permitting process at the other City bureaus.

Portland City Council committed to accountability measures when it asked voters to approve recent taxes and bonds related to the arts, cannabis, affordable housing, and street repair. According to our audit, implementation of some of the accountability protections fell short of what was promised.

The City Auditor contracted with construction audit experts, Sjoberg Evashenk Consulting, to audit the City’s compliance with requirements for how the main contractor will be compensated for costs, submit contract changes, and select subcontractors.

Portland Police overtime was high by historical standards in 2018. Officers worked nearly 250,000 hours and the Bureau spent $15.7 million on overtime. We found management of overtime for patrol officers could be improved.

In November 2016, voters gave Portland the go-ahead to borrow $258.4 million to invest in affordable housing to address a growing housing crisis. The goal was to build or buy 1,300 housing units. Our audit found bond implementation is off to a solid start.

We identified risk areas during the project’s initial phase and this report follows up on the recommendations from that audit.

Portland Parks and Recreation’s golf program is at a crossroads. Intended to be self-supporting, the program required an infusion of $800,000 of taxpayer funds in 2017 to remain solvent. While Parks improved practices on some fronts, financial risks remain.

The City should improve the transparency and accountability of the recreational cannabis tax revenue, according to our audit.