Audit Report on the Payroll, Timekeeping, and Other Than Personal Services Expenditures of the New York City Office of Emergency Management

AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF

This audit of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) determined whether OEM complied with applicable personnel, payroll, timekeeping, and small-procurement policies and procedures established by the agency, and those set forth in the Comptroller’s “Internal Control and Accountability Directives,” City leave regulations for managerial and non-managerial employees, and Procurement Policy Board (PPB) Rules. The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) was established in 1996 to coordinate the City’s efforts to resolve emergency incidents. On January 1, 2002, OEM was elevated to departmental status following a referendum amending the City Charter. In Fiscal Year 2005, OEM trained a total of 7,500 government employees, city residents, and individuals in the private and non-profit sectors. OEM’s actual expenditures totaled $9,104,070, including $3,925,122 for Personal Services (PS) and $5,178,948 for Other Than Personal Services (OTPS).

Audit Findings and Conclusions

OEM generally adhered to the requirements of the applicable personnel, payroll, timekeeping, and small-procurement policies and procedures established by the agency itself, and those set forth in Comptroller’s Directives #6, #13, and #24, as well as City leave regulations, and PPB rules. New hires were approved by OEM management and other authorized individuals in compliance with agency procedures, funding, and budgetary requirements.

However, we found minor weaknesses in OEM’s timekeeping and purchasing practices which have resulted in related deficiencies. Specifically: some employees did not follow City leave regulations regarding lunch, did not take the required lunch break, worked through their lunch periods, and charged the time as paid overtime or compensatory time earned. Employee Time Reports (ETR) were not approved by the authorizing supervisor. Also, OEM improperly paid sales tax on goods and services purchased within New York State.

Audit Recommendations

To address these issues, the audit made the following three recommendations. OEM should:

• Ensure that all employees take a lunch break in accordance with established OEM guidelines.

• Ensure supervisory approval of all Employee Time Reports.

• Comply with Comptroller’s Directive #6, §2.7 and refrain from paying sales taxes for goods and services valued more than $25.00.

Agency Response

OEM agreed with the audit’s recommendations.