AUDIT COMMITTEE SUMMARY
May 15, 2018
Follow-Up Audit of SAFD Hazardous Materials Inspections
Report Issued September 5, 2017
Audit Objective
Determine if prior audit recommendations are successfully implemented and working as intended.
Background
In December of 2015, the Office of the City Auditor completed an audit of the San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD) Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Inspections program. The Office of the City Auditor concluded that controls were not adequate to ensure appropriate and timely SAFD fire inspections of facilities housing hazardous materials. Observations from that audit are summarized below:
• Of the City’s 2,380 active HazMat permitted facilities, 1,788 (or about 75%) have not been inspected.
• SAFD lacks an effective and efficient approach to identifying San Antonio facilities storing HazMat that require inspection and a City permit.
• SAFD does not have procedures for determining if HazMat permit holders have been billed the appropriate fee.
• The Hansen system, the City’s system used for tracking permits and inspections, does not currently have the capability to store HazMat permit holder information vital to SAFD inspectors and the City’s HazMat program.
• SAFD waives late charges and does not pursue collection of past due amounts for HazMat permits.
Audit Scope & Methodology
The audit scope was limited to the recommendations and corrective action plans made in the original report for the time frame August 2015 through March 2017. We interviewed personnel from SAFD; examined documentation relating to the Hansen application and HazMat Inspection unit staffing; analyzed permit data from SAP; reconciled the Tier II list to SAP and to Hansen; tested the issuance of dunning letters and the assessment of late fees; examined account write-offs; and analyzed case data.
Audit Conclusions
We determined that SAFD has completed management actions plans for three prior recommendations. However, two management action plans are still in progress and substantial effort is needed to complete one of them. We determined that while the SAFD has made progress, not all permitted facilities have been inspected. Also, processes for collection of past due invoices and late fees have not been implemented.
We made recommendations to address these issues. SAFD management concurred with the recommendations and developed positive corrective action plans.