Spotlight shines on Houston hospitality
Mayor Bill White, County Judge Robert Eckels and Houston civic leaders have established the Houston Katrina Relief Fund (www.houstonkatrinarelieffund.org), a non-profit umbrella organization modeled after the 9/11 Fund to respond to evacuees and to begin transitioning people out of shelters.
The organization will rely on its board and volunteers to ensure donations go to the neediest local service providers.
Anyone wishing to provide local housing may contact the Katrina Housing Task Force at 713-437-6800 (fax 713-437-6946) https://katrina.houstontx.gov .
Earlier in the week, City Council met on Labor Day to allocate $10 million to cover such local costs as police overtime, personnel and housing vouchers. As with Tropical Storm Allison, the city will seek reimbursement from FEMA or through federal housing grants. Hundreds of city employees, both on and off the clock, have worked to make the evacuees feel as much at home as possible.
Katrina's local economic impact uncertain
It's too early to tell what long-term economic impact Katrina will have on Houston. Some economic sectors will get a boost: Many motels are displaying "No Vacancy" signs. Apartment complexes may soon follow. And the port is taking up the slack created by damaged Gulf Coast ports.
City Controller Annise Parker said, however, that the city's ability to pay off projects, such as the George R. Brown expansion, through the hotel-motel tax may be affected by the state's decision to waive collection of the tax from evacuees for 60 days. The city's bond agencies have been notified.
HPD, drainage program top FY06 audit list
The HPD audit was prompted by separate requests from the police chief and the Houston Police Patrol Officers Union.
"The Controller's Office is always eager to comply with departmental requests for assistance as well as initiate our own reviews, " City Controller Annise Parker said.
The HPD audit will assess policies and procedures that govern the amount of time classified officers are allowed to work and compare this to similar law enforcement agencies.
Various divisions, such as the Investigations Command, will be reviewed for productivity by comparing hours worked vs. output factors, such as arrests, charges and cases cleared. Auditors will also review managerial tools available to monitor classified HPD employees' hours and effectiveness.
Revenue enhancement audits
Philadelphia became the second major US city to sue online internet travel sites such as Travelocity for allegedly shortchanging cities on hotel occupancy taxes for online bookings. Last year, Los Angeles filed a class action suit against nine internet travel sites for insufficient taxes dating back to 1999.
Los Angeles officials estimate they are owed at least $10 million a year from Hotels.com and Expedia.com alone. The Houston City Controller's Office and the Mayor's Office will conduct a strategic review to determine the city’s ability to recover such taxes.
Other revenue enhancement audits include Aviation Department parking and car rentals and the Municipal Courts Administration Department's integrated case management system.
Compliance audits
In addition to reviewing travel and the vehicle home storage program, auditors will assess information technology security compliance and electronic mail communications procedures' compliance.
Topping the list of followup audits to be performed in FY06 is the Houston Emergency Center, which received a scathing report a few months ago.
Last year, the Controllers' Office Audit Division performed or oversaw 49 audits. Performance audits of 311 and the Fire Department's Life Safety Inspection Division will be released soon. The audit plan is available on the controller's website.
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Crime lab cost was (and still is) an estimate
Amid gasps about the " rising cost" of the HPD crime lab investigation and threats to postpone a police cadet class, City Controller Annise Parker reminded people the special investigator's original $2.2 million figure was only an estimate for the first year's work.
"It was clear then it was an estimate. The figure was never intended to be an exact amount," she said. "At the end of Phase 1, which determined the scope of work, the investigator was to return and lay out the full implimentation plan. The administration has added two months of unnecessary delay to sorting out this mess."
Parker, who served on the search committee that recommended former U.S. Department of Justice official Michael Bromwich, noted that Bromwich's discovery that HPD crime lab analysts may have actually fabricated some results added significantly to the number of cases that will have to be reviewed, not just sampled. Bromwich will also bring in forensic specialists and bill the city at cost, she said.
"We will closely review any and all invoices, but the city has to spend the necessary funds to restore the crime lab's integrity and ensure that justice is carried out," Parker said.
City Council recently approved an additional $1.6 million for the study's second phase, a sampling review of nearly 3,000 cases from the lab's different divisions. The Phase 1 report can be found at (www.hpdlabinvestigation.org/).
City tracks down "lost" annexation funds
The Kingwood annexation has proven to be as complicated as it was contentious. While much of the controversy erupted publicly – from furious residents to lost ambulances and fire trucks – the complex financial issues that characterize major annexations were sorted out in government offices here and in Austin.
A few things fell through the cracks during sorting.
After a nine-month search, Controller's Office Debt Manager Sue Bailey tracked down $3.8 million in "lost" Kingwood MUD #5 water and sewer bond escrow money.
"Thanks to her, the city has almost $4 million more to pay off bond debt related to Kingwood improvement projects," City Controller Annise Parker said. "She put the puzzle pieces together and, when necessary, badgered the state and Public Works to take action. I'm really proud of her."
The controller also noted that Bailey conducted a similar search last year and turned up $1 million in assets.
"She's the 'Hero of the Day'," Mayor Bill White announced at a council meeting, noting that city officials need to learn from this important discovery.
Admittedly, someone at the city initially fumbled the ball after the December 1996 annexation – no one recorded the MUD's two escrow accounts as assets.
During the city's annual audit, auditors would have been far more concerned about liabilities and recorded assets than unrecorded assets. Bailey also said earlier Controller's Office employees probably thought the funds really belonged to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
The investigation also involved state agency permits, city departments, outside auditors and – in this drawn-out case – mergers and name changes, personnel changes and 20 KPMG auditor's binders.
Deloitte, the city's current auditor, began asking pointed questions two years ago about the unaccounted for asset. Bailey knew the answer lurked somewhere in one of 20 MUD #5 binders compiled by KPMG, former city auditor.
Determining if the city had any rights to the $3.8 million meant following the complicated money trail of numerous projects in 1992 and 1995 Kingwood MUD bond issues.