How do citizens demand audits of every department?

[godboko71]

How do we mere citizens demand an audit of every department within the city?

Before we raise taxes or raid funds outside of the general budget, we need a complete audit of each department. We need to trim people, does it suck yes, but I can tell you without seeing any audits we have to many chiefs taking to much salary. Its not just government this is true but we need to start there. We then need to look at all city contracts, see where we can save money LONG TERM.

[Breadburner]

How do we mere citizens demand an audit of every department within the city?

Before we raise taxes or raid funds outside of the general budget, we need a complete audit of each department. We need to trim people, does it suck yes, but I can tell you without seeing any audits we have to many chiefs taking to much salary. Its not just government this is true but we need to start there. We then need to look at all city contracts, see where we can save money LONG TERM.

Bingo....!!!.....Some nice posting as of late by some folks......

[guido911]

Bingo....!!!.....Some nice posting as of late by some folks......

What BB said.

[RecycleMichael]

While there may be waste and poor management of some city departments, lumping them all into a category implying they are all wasteful is not a sound approach.

First of all, they can't do "all departments at once". Which department should be audited first?

Public Works has the most employees, Information Technology has the most new employees, the Mayor's office has the highest average paid employees, etc...  If you believe the waste is found in outside contracts, maybe the first department audited should be Purchasing.

I have done work in the past year with Tulsa City, Tulsa County, nine suburbs, the State of Oklahoma and the federal government. I would completely defend the city of Tulsa management and employees in comparison. You want outrage, audit the state and feds.

[godboko71]

While there may be waste and poor management of some city departments, lumping them all into a category implying they are all wasteful is not a sound approach.

First of all, they can't do "all departments at once". Which department should be audited first?

Public Works has the most employees, Information Technology has the most new employees, the Mayor's office has the highest average paid employees, etc...  If you believe the waste is found in outside contracts, maybe the first department audited should be Purchasing.

I have done work in the past year with Tulsa City, Tulsa County, nine suburbs, the State of Oklahoma and the federal government. I would completely defend the city of Tulsa management and employees in comparison. You want outrage, audit the state and feds.

In what way did I say anyone did anything wrong? Is there waist in local government, you and I both know there is. I don't want anyones head, I don't want to blame anyone. I just know we have to take actions before we worry about raising revenue. With if through Audit we found out we where not as fair behind as we thought. Either way please don't read more into it then what is said. I asked how do we the citizens start the process of requesting audits of the City departments.

Instead of getting needlessly defensive how about helping find a solution? Can't fix things until we know what is wrong and where.

[Gaspar]

How do we mere citizens demand an audit of every department within the city?

Before we raise taxes or raid funds outside of the general budget, we need a complete audit of each department. We need to trim people, does it suck yes, but I can tell you without seeing any audits we have to many chiefs taking to much salary. Its not just government this is true but we need to start there. We then need to look at all city contracts, see where we can save money LONG TERM.

That's what HAS to happen!

We have people who do far too little work for far too much money.  I know some of them, and some are probably reading this, but sorry that's the way it is. 

You are making more than your equivalent in the private sector, and you only work half as hard, or in some cases 1/10th as hard. 

My phone rings in 3. . .2. . .1   

[RecycleMichael]

Is there waist in local government, you and I both know there is.

I know all about waist.

Yes, I also get defensive when people just make generalizations about hard-working public servants.  If I just listened to you, those working in government would be treated like lepers.

"No Timmy, you can't play with the boy down the street cause his dad works for, gasp, the City."

[custosnox]

I know all about waist.

Yes, I also get defensive when people just make generalizations about hard-working public servants.  If I just listened to you, those working in government would be treated like lepers.

"No Timmy, you can't play with the boy down the street cause his dad works for, gasp, the City."

I've known people that worked for the city that were great people, also known people that have worked for the city that were lazy SOB's.  But the problem does not lay with these individuals, but with the workings of the hierarchy.  I've often wondered what an audit performed by an outside agency would show.  The problem is, this costs money as well, and while we need to spend money to save money in this case, we don't have the money to spend in the first place.  But I do agree that things need to be checked line by line.  I also think that if you could follow the money, you could find a lot of corruption and out right waste that could be stopped.  As a whole, the institution isn't bad, it's the small area's that are bleeding it to death that are the problem

[rwarn17588]

Yes, I also get defensive when people just make generalizations about hard-working public servants.  If I just listened to you, those working in government would be treated like lepers.

If I were a hard-working city worker, I would welcome an audit because it would expose some of the dead weight around there.

[Gaspar]

I too know hard government workers that put in long hours that they typically are not rewarded for and others who do little more than show up. 

That's the purpose of such an audit, and the purpose of the office of the City Auditor, at least I would assume .

The first step is simple and inexpensive. . .a salary audit.  We have folks that remain very well paid when their counterparts in the public sector have seen significant wage/salary decreases or freezes.

The market is also flush with highly skilled individuals with impressive pedigrees willing work for a more competitive wage.  In order to be successful and competitive, the city has to operate like a business. 

Currently the product is too expensive to produce. 

• We can fix the problem for the short term by raising the price of the product.


• We can find efficiency where it exists and lower the cost of production.

Both scenarios have merits and consequences but only one produces a long term positive result.

[Gaspar]

If I were a hard-working city worker, I would welcome an audit because it would expose some of the dead weight around there.

+10
I just talked to a hard working city employee who would be thrilled to see this happen.

LOL 

He suggested that we would really only have to audit the people who resist the idea of an audit.

[Conan71]

I too know hard government workers....

Sorry, could not resist.

I wonder how many accounting, IT, and engineering jobs could be contracted out and get these people off the city payroll?  Why does the government need to shepherd so many people on it's payroll?  Another question comes to mind, do all city workers have pension plans we are funding?  That's becoming a rare commodity in non-union jobs in the private sector these days.

[MH2010]

The city recently had a study done of the police department. Here it is if u wanna read it

http://www.tulsacouncil.org/pdfs/Tulsa%20Prsntn%208.26.08.pdf

[godboko71]

I know all about waist.

Yes, I also get defensive when people just make generalizations about hard-working public servants.  If I just listened to you, those working in government would be treated like lepers.

"No Timmy, you can't play with the boy down the street cause his dad works for, gasp, the City."

You clearly don't know me and clearly didn't read my message. If you have nothing positive to contribute why bother posting?

[shadows]

There is a room full of audits somewhere in city hall or on the mainframe computer.  Mostly they have the information that the posters are requesting.  Among studies/audits is the information of over staffing and mismanagement of the taxpayer contribution to the necessities who are unable to run a city with personnel who have the common knowledge incased in plain "horse sense".  It is very easy to conclude that by operating a city with trusts and authorities it becomes very problematic to audit a non-responding entity distributing the taxpayer money.  The PW works scandal ended in the closure of fingerprinting even by an insider without the full investigation for other fraud that may have been permitted against the taxpayers. 

The freedom of information act with its intent to make government transparent was to be overridden by the search fee or the computer department $80 dollar setup fee to program the tape furnished by the persons filing under the FOI.

The cry to make an audit is drown out by those who are to enforce the audit when it is made.  It is well documented by posters on this form that the city only needs more sources to implement fees and taxes, not to restructure an overburden  taxpayer by any reduction in cost.