COM 1038.004 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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October 16, 2006 Page 3 While a Business Manager position could increase Departmental accountability by providing intra- and extra-departmental coordination, policy, procedural and reporting consistency and administrative monitoring, this can only be accomplished with complete commitment on the part of the Administration and DEM to change this "culture" and focus on the principles of accountability: • Effectiveness and efficiency of operations, safeguarding of public assets. • Reliability of financial reporting. • Compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Contracts Technician and Clerk III While documentation of DEM's analysis to support the need for these positions is not included here, it seems reasonable that these two positions be added. However, additional staffing without a clear, concise plan for improvement will only result in additional cost and not in improvement of accountability. It is not clear, from the documentation included for the (3) fore mentioned positions who will be ultimately responsible for ensuring that departmental contracts will be issued complete, compliant and timely. While the Business Manager position with the aid of the Contracts Technician and Clerk III may develop a system and process for timely initiation of the procurement, the ultimate control, and thus responsibility for content and timely completion remains that of the Division Heads, Deputy Director and Director. The positions requested are to address administrative monitoring deficiencies. How does DEM plan to address operational monitoring deficiencies? In light of the magnitude of the Accountant IV's current responsibilities and the need for focus on procurement issues, the auditor's would like to offer for DEM's consideration, the possibility that the Contracts Technician and Clerk III positions could report directly to the Business Manager providing more focus on the contracting tasks involved without putting an even greater burden on the Accountant IV. We thank you for the opportunity to comment on this matter, and hope that the Council, Administration and DEM will find our input to be helpful.