Animal Care and Control Follow-up Report

Transcription

1 Animal Care and Control Follow-up Report September 2014 Office of the Auditor Audit Services Division City and County of Denver Dennis J. Gallagher Auditor

2 The Auditor of the City and County of Denver is independently elected by the citizens of Denver. He is responsible for examining and evaluating the operations of City agencies for the purpose of ensuring the proper and efficient use of City resources and providing other audit services and information to City Council, the Mayor and the public to improve all aspects of Denver s government. He also chairs the City s Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is chaired by the Auditor and consists of seven members. The Audit Committee assists the Auditor in his oversight responsibilities of the integrity of the City s finances and operations, including the integrity of the City s financial statements. The Audit Committee is structured in a manner that ensures the independent oversight of City operations, thereby enhancing citizen confidence and avoiding any appearance of a conflict of interest. Audit Committee Dennis Gallagher, Chair Maurice Goodgaine Leslie Mitchell Rudolfo Payan Robert Bishop Jeffrey Hart Timothy O Brien, Vice-Chair Audit Staff Audrey Donovan, Deputy Director, CIA, CRMA, CGAP Marcus Garrett, Audit Supervisor, CIA, CRMA, CGAP You can obtain copies of this report by contacting us at: Office of the Auditor 201 West Colfax Avenue, Department 705 Denver CO, (720) Fax (720) Or download and view an electronic copy by visiting our website at:

3 City and County of Denver 201 West Colfax Avenue, Department 705 Denver, Colorado FAX Dennis J. Gallagher Auditor September 03, 2014 Alice Nightengale, Director Animal Care and Control Division City and County of Denver Re: Audit Follow-Up Report Dear Ms. Nightengale: In keeping with professional auditing standards and the Audit Services Division s policy, as authorized by D.R.M.C , we have a responsibility to monitor and follow-up on audit recommendations to ensure audit findings are being addressed and to aid us in planning future audits. This report is to inform you that we have completed our follow-up effort for the Animal Care and Control (ACC) audit issued July Our review determined that ACC has implemented some of the recommendations made in the audit report. Despite the Division s efforts, auditors determined that the risk associated with the audit team s initial findings has not been fully mitigated. As a result, ACC may revisit these risk areas in future audits to ensure appropriate corrective action is taken. For your reference, this report includes a Highlights page that provides background and summary information on the original audit and the completed follow-up effort. Following the Highlights page is a detailed implementation status update for each recommendation. Although we did not update the status of recommendations that ACC disagreed with, these two recommendations are included in the status update section for reference. This concludes audit follow-up work related to this audit. I would like to express our sincere appreciation to you and to Division personnel who assisted us throughout the audit and follow-up process. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at or Marcus Garrett, Internal Audit Supervisor, at Sincerely, KRM/mg Kip Memmott, MA, CGAP, CRMA Director of Audit Services cc: Honorable Michael Hancock, Mayor Honorable Members of City Council To promote open, accountable, efficient and effective government by performing impartial reviews and other audit services that provide objective and useful information to improve decision making by management and the people. We will monitor and report on recommendations and progress towards their implementation.

4 Members of Audit Committee Ms. Cary Kennedy, Deputy Mayor, Chief Financial Officer Ms. Janice Sinden, Chief of Staff Mr. David P. Edinger, Chief Performance Officer Ms. Beth Machann, Controller Mr. Scott Martinez, City Attorney Ms. Janna Young, City Council Executive Staff Director Mr. L. Michael Henry, Staff Director, Board of Ethics To promote open, accountable, efficient and effective government by performing impartial reviews and other audit services that provide objective and useful information to improve decision making by management and the people. We will monitor and report on recommendations and progress towards their implementation.

5 City and County of Denver Office of the Auditor Audit Services Division REPORT HIGHLIGHTS Animal Care and Control Follow-up Report: September 2014 The Animal Care and Control Division is still in the process of addressing recommendations made in the July 2012 audit report. Background The Animal Care and Control (ACC) Division provides services for animal welfare and control and public health and safety in the community. ACC emphasizes public health and animal safety, encourages responsible pet ownership through education and enforcing compliance with animalrelated municipal code requirements, and cares for animals sheltered at the Denver Animal Shelter. ACC s primary activities include animal control and ordinance enforcement; animal care and shelter; veterinarian services for spaying, neutering, and pet vaccinations; adoptions and animal transfers; pet licensing; and a volunteer program. Purpose The purpose of the audit was to determine whether: ACC s fees and fines are effective and appropriate ACC s overall budget, fees, and fines are comparable to other similar organizations in the state and around the country There are opportunities for ACC to increase revenues and reduce expenditures Highlights from Original Audit Finding 1: Denver s Dog and Cat Licensure Requirement Should Be Replaced with Optional Registration The City and County of Denver requires that dogs and cats six months or older be licensed, but we found that this policy is redundant, ineffective, and creates a public perception risk regarding the revenue generated by enforcing an ineffective licensure policy. Consequently, the Manager of the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) should recommend that the City Council repeal the requirement that all dogs and cats be licensed, which some other Colorado jurisdictions have already done, and instead identify incentives to encourage Denver residents to obtain an optional pet registration. Finding 2: ACC Should Identify Opportunities to Increase Revenues and Reduce Expenditures through Enhanced Operational Efficiency While cost recovery is not a requirement or primary responsibility of ACC, the Division should assess methods for increasing revenues and decreasing costs especially during a period when the City is experiencing fiscal duress. An analysis of ACC s operating revenues and expenditures shows that ACC recovers a minimal percentage of its total operating costs. ACC should identify opportunities for increasing revenues and reducing expenditures, which may include increasing fees, evaluating the efficiency and efficacy of the current ACC organizational structure, or a combination. Findings at Follow-up Our follow-up review determined that ACC has fully implemented seven of fifteen recommendations. ACC has taken positive steps towards the continued review and implementation of six outstanding recommendations. As of this report release, the Division disagreed with two recommendations (1.3, 1.4). ACC believes licensing requirements must remain in effect to ensure continued public health efforts. For a complete copy of this report, visit Audit Contact Person: Dawn Wiseman dawn.wiseman@denvergov.org

6 Recommendations: Status of Implementation Recommendation Auditee Action Status Finding 1: Denver s Dog and Cat Licensure Requirement Should Be Replaced with Optional Registration 1.1 The Director of Animal Care and Control should reconcile licensing data with inoculation certification data to identify owners that have not yet inoculated their pets and follow up with delinquent owners accordingly. 1.2 The Director of Animal Care and Control should establish a process to ensure citizens who have attested that they will obtain a rabies certification within thirty days have actually done so. 1.3 Since the City s requirement to license dogs and cats is not contributing to public health and safety, is not the most effective means of reuniting pets and owners, and is ignored by about 80 percent of dog owners and 99 percent of cat owners, the Manager of the Department of Environmental Health should recommend that the City Council repeal the licensure requirement. 1.4 In place of the licensure requirement the Manager of the Department of Environmental Health should implement a voluntary pet registration system. This reconciliation will be completed more effectively through outsourcing with an animal licensing contractor. ACC has the ability to send a citation to the owner if the rabies vaccination has not been confirmed after thirty days. ACC continues to work on a process for confirming compliance (outside of the normal collections process). Although ACC originally agreed with recommendation 1.3 in July 2012, the Division changed its response to Disagree as of December 2013, noting, licensing is contributing to public health and safety. Through this licensing program people are required to have their animal vaccinated. Many people do not routinely access services from veterinarians. Requiring licensing, and with it proof of rabies vaccination, the program is reaching people who would not normally vaccinated their pets. Although ACC originally agreed with recommendation 1.4 in July 2012, the Division changed its response to Disagree as of December 2013, noting that this initiative is no longer planned. / Not July 2014 Update: Disagree July 2014 update: Disagree P a g e 1 Office of the Auditor

7 Recommendations: Status of Implementation Recommendation Auditee Action Status 1.5 The Director of Animal Care and Control and the Manager of the Department of Environmental Health should identify and implement cost-effective benefits for pet owners. 1.6 The Director of Animal Care and Control and the Manager of the Department of Environmental Health should work to identify methods of successfully marketing voluntary pet registration to help mitigate potential loss of revenue from repealing the licensure requirement. 1.7 The Director of Animal Care and Control should engage the Animal Care and Control Advisory Committee in discussion regarding proposals for creating incentives for Denver pet owners to register or license their pets. 1.8 The Manager of the Department of Environmental Health should work with the Budget and Management Office to assess the feasibility of using a dedicated City fund for the purpose of receiving registration or license revenues and directing them to animal welfare. 1.9 The Manager of the Department of Environmental Health should work with the Budget and Management Office to determine if registration or license revenues can be placed in the Environmental Health Donation Fund or if a separate dedicated fund should be created. ACC and the Manager of the Department of Environmental Health are continuing to look at value-added services and products for license holders. ACC and the Manager of the Department of Environmental Health have contracted with an animal licensing contractor to more effectively market and reach Denver citizens. This includes gaining the approval of area veterinarians to offer licenses to their clients from their offices. This continues to be a topic of discussion with the ACC Advisory Committee. The Manager of the Department of Environmental Health is continuing to talk with BMO about allowing the Division to have a license-specific Special Revenue Fund (SRF) for the Division s use and to demonstrate value to Denver citizens. Specifically, this proposal was included in ACC s 2015 budget proposal. The Manager of the Department of Environmental Health is continuing to talk with BMO about allowing the Division to have a license-specific Special Revenue Fund (SRF) for the Division s use and to demonstrate value to Denver citizens. / Not / Not / Not / Not City and County of Denver P a g e 2

8 Recommendations: Status of Implementation Recommendation Auditee Action Status Finding 2: ACC Should Identify Opportunities to Increase Revenues and Reduce Expenditures through Enhanced Operational Efficiencies 2.1 The Manager of the Department of Environmental Health should work with the Controller s Office to ensure that Animal Care and Control can identify revenues attributable to individual sources, such as dog licenses, microchipping, adoptions, spay and neuter, vaccinations, and euthanasia. 2.2 To facilitate a more dynamic staffing model for animal control, the Director of Animal Care and Control should work with the Mayor s Peak Performance program to perform an assessment of the degree to which Animal Care and Control staff levels may need to be addressed to account for seasonal workload changes. 2.3 The Director of Animal Care and Control should assess raising the daily shelter boarding fee to offset actual animal care and shelter costs and better align with other jurisdictions, based on benchmarking. 2.4 The Director of Animal Care and Control should charge pet owners when, upon intake, an animal accepted at the shelter requires shots or other veterinarian procedures due to injury. The Manager of the Department of Environmental Health is working closely with the Controller s Office to identify ACC s revenue streams specific to individual sources. ACC has completed a Strategic Resource Alignment through the Mayor s Office as of November 2012 and has identified areas of focus going forward. Additionally, the Division has added a seasonal staffing option. ACC has completed a third-party study and is having internal discussions about the Division s current fee and fine structure. Owners of impounded animals are now being charged a medical fee for vaccinations and medical needs upon impoundment and while in the facility. / Not P a g e 3 Office of the Auditor

9 Recommendations: Status of Implementation Recommendation Auditee Action Status 2.5 The Director of Animal Care and Control should ensure that Animal Care and Control implements clear and concise written policies and procedure that categorize hardship cases in order to identify and normalize requests for waivers of fees for ownerrequested euthanasia. 2.6 After completing a feasibility assessment, the Manager of the Department of Environmental Health should decide whether Animal Care and Control will partner with a 501(c)3 organization to enhance revenue for animal welfare activities and receive tax-deductible donations on behalf of Animal Care and Control. Conclusion ACC has implemented a new fee waiver policy, which includes owners that have an unforeseen/natural disaster or circumstance (hardship cases). The Manager of the Department of Environmental Health is currently reviewing options and working with the City Attorney s Office on this project. Denver Animal Foundation has agree to partner with ACC to provide 501(c)3 flexibility to the Division. Additionally, ACC is working with a 501(c)3, but it may not be an exclusive arrangement, such as a friends of partnership. While the Division has implemented some recommendations made in the Animal Care and Control (ACC) audit report, others have yet to be acted upon or fully implemented. ACC management believes that the animal licensing program should not be eliminated as recommended in the initial audit report. Specifically, management asserts that the licensing program assists efforts to ensure public health in the City. In order to obtain a Denver animal license tag, ACC requires that dogs and cats be vaccinated. This compliance requirement helps ACC ensure Denver pets are healthy and not spreading disease. Additionally, the Division asserts that the program helps combat pet overpopulation by requiring pets be spayed or neutered. While Denver s dog licensing compliance rates are around 19 percent, the national dog licensing compliance rates are around 20 percent. Denver s program is in line with national trends, although ACC continues to look at ways to enhance the value of the licensing program to the public. Despite the Division s efforts, auditors have determined that the risk associated with the audit team s initial findings has not been fully mitigated. As a result, the Audit Services Division may revisit these risk areas in future audits to ensure appropriate corrective action is taken. On behalf of the citizens of the City and County of Denver, we thank staff and leadership from the Division for their cooperation during our follow-up effort and their dedicated public service. City and County of Denver P a g e 4