Audit Report on Potential Savings From Civilianizing Positions in the Department of Sanitation

AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF

This audit of the Department of Sanitation (the Department) reviewed opportunities for savings from civilianizing administrative and support positions in the Department that are currently filled by uniformed personnel.

For Fiscal Year 2003, the operating budget for the Department totaled $959.3 million, including $592.3 million for Personal Services and $367.0 million for Other Than Personal Services Costs. For the same year, the workforce of the Department consisted of approximately 7,500 uniformed and 2,100 civilian employees—a total of approximately 9,600 employees.

Based on our review, we determined that the Department of Sanitation could save $5.8 millionannually if 313 positions identified in this audit that are now filled by uniformed employees were filled instead by civilian civil service employees.

These 313 positions—filled by 242 Sanitation Workers, 63 Supervisors, and eight GS-Level 1 employees—were identified as having functions not directly related to sanitation activities per se and, in our determination, not requiring the skills of a trained uniformed sanitation employee. As uniformed personnel resign, retire, or otherwise leave the Department, lower cost civilian personnel could be hired or transferred to these units to begin to assume some of the civilian-type functions that are currently performed by uniformed officers.

The Department of Sanitation should:

• Civilianize the 313 positions identified in this report that have duties not directly related to sanitation activities per se and that are filled by uniformed personnel.
• Conduct a comprehensive review of all other units to identify additional positions suitable for civilianization that could generate cost savings.

The matters covered in this report were discussed with Department officials during and at the conclusion of this audit. A preliminary draft report was sent to Department officials on March 20, 2003, and was discussed at an exit conference held on April 11, 2003. We submitted a draft report to Department officials with a request for comments. We received a written response from Department officials on April 30, 2003.

The Department agreed with both of the audit recommendations, stating: "We will begin to civilianize some positions in our Supervised Sick Leave Unit and assess the impact of this civilianization. We will continue to monitor our job requirements in the coming years, and when the opportunity arises, we will replace uniformed personnel with civilians in titles whose duties, in our judgement, match as closely as possible those of the uniformed staff."