Report 2015-129 All Recommendation Responses

Report 2015-129: King City Police Department: Strengthening Management Practices Would Help Its Efforts to Prevent Officer Misconduct and to Regain the Public's Trust (Release Date: July 2016)

Recommendation #1 To: King City

To provide for a more comprehensive review of complaints and to ensure that the public is aware of the Department's willingness to receive complaints in an open manner, the Department should update its complaint policy by December 2016 to require the chief to review all supervisor decisions related to personnel complaints.

6-Month Agency Response

The Police Department has issued a new policy that sets forth that the Chief will review supervisor decisions regarding personnel complaints. Under the policy, the sergeant handling the complaint shall document the circumstances and resolution in an intake log. The Police Chief or his designee will review the intake log to ensure complaints are being handled in an appropriate manner. The policy was issued and distributed to all Police Department personnel on December 12, 2016, within the recommended timeframe of the Audit.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

A policy update is being drafted but has not been completed. Staff is currently looking at other agencies for similar best practices.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #2 To: King City

To provide for a more comprehensive review of complaints and to ensure that the public is aware of the Department's willingness to receive complaints in an open manner, the Department should modify its website by December 2016 to state explicitly its openness to accepting all complaints, and inform members of the public that complaint forms may be filed at city hall, through its website, or during its community presentations. Similarly, the Department should more prominently display complaint option information in its lobby.

6-Month Agency Response

Both the City's and Police Department's website's have been updated to make forms more readily and visibly available for requests and complaints. The Police Chief also drafted a statement included on the Police Department website emphasizing the importance of citizen feedback.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

In addition to the modifications to the Department's website, the chief of police also informed us that the Department's lobby has complaint forms available in English and Spanish. The chief also placed in the department's lobby a box to receive complaints that is monitored daily.

60-Day Agency Response

King City recently updated its web page for the City. The new website now has a very visible tab to select to make a request or submit a concern. To address the Police Department specifically, draft web pages and best practices from other police departments are being reviewed for appropriate changes to the King City Police website regarding this issue.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #3 To: King City

To provide for a more comprehensive review of complaints and to ensure that the public is aware of the Department's willingness to receive complaints in an open manner, the Department should perform outreach by December 2016, such as through informal surveys, to identify potentially unreported complaints.

1-Year Agency Response

In addition to the community outreach items identified in the prior report, the Police Department conducted a community-wide survey funded through a grant in partnership with the other three South Monterey County cities. The survey was provided in English and Spanish and sent to every household, as well as made available on the City's and the Police Department's website. A follow-up survey will be distributed next year to assess progress. A copy of the survey is provided as Exhibit 1.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

The Police Chief has been conducting a number of public outreach efforts, including speaking at local churches and service clubs, meetings with community representatives, meetings with an informal group of Latino community leaders, and establishment of a "Coffee With a Cop" program. In addition, arrangements have been made to increase participation by Police Officers at youth and other community activities. Several public outreach goals have been established for the next several months, including establishment of a Police Advisory Committee, a District Watch Program, a Citizens' Police Academy, a Police Explorer and PAL program, and increased foot patrol. Funds from a grant in partnership with other South Monterey County cities are being used to establish a "scorecard", which will enable the Police Department to monitor and track the level of community interactions and outreach activities.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

Through its public outreach efforts, the Department may identify potentially unreported complaints. We look forward to seeing the results of the Department's efforts to survey the public.

60-Day Agency Response

The City recently received a 4 Cities United grant in conjunction with the other Salinas Valley cities. A portion of this grant will provide funding specifically for outreach, an informal survey and development of a departmental "scorecard." Planning meetings are under way in conjunction with the other cities.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #4 To: King City

To provide for a more comprehensive review of complaints and to ensure that the public is aware of the Department's willingness to receive complaints in an open manner, the Department should reach out to community organizations by December 2016 to connect with members of the community who may have complaints.

60-Day Agency Response

The Police Chief and City Manager have been meeting with a number of community groups to encourage citizens to share their concerns and become more involved with the City. The City Manager has formed an informal Latino Advisory Group to discuss how to best reach out to the Latino Community. He also spoke at Spanish masses at the Catholic Church and communicated that everyone is welcome to come to City Hall to share any concerns they have. The Chief has spoken to the Rotary Club and other groups. However, the 4 Cities United grant will fund an increased public outreach effort for the entire Police Department.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

The Department provided several examples demonstrating that its staff has provided opportunities for members of the community to ask questions, voice concerns, and get to know officers. Some of the examples included translations in Spanish. Because the Department has substantiated its claim of meeting with community members to hear concerns, we have assessed this recommendation as fully implemented.

Recommendation #5 To: King City

The City should consider whether to establish a community advisory group, ombudsman position, or city council committee as an additional resource for receiving complaints.

1-Year Agency Response

The City Council has approved a proposal by the Police Department to form a Police Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee will be responsible for providing input and feedback on community concerns and complaints, assist in review and implementation of proposals to address neighborhood public safety issues, and advise on public outreach efforts. They will be noticed meetings open to the public. It will be composed of five members selected by the City Council and five selected by the Police Chief and City Manager. The Council has selected their five members. The Police Chief and City Manager are finalizing their appointments and the first meeting with be held in September. An announcement was included in the City Newsletter sent to all households in order to open it up to the entire committee to identify individuals interested in participating. A copy of the staff report approving the formation of the Committee and the announcement in the City Newsletter are attached in Exhibits 2 and 3.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

As previously reported, the City formed a 23-member community task force to develop a comprehensive plan to end youth violence.

That effort has been completed, the plan has been finalized, and implementation is under way. The Plan includes an extensive public outreach effort. As the next community involvement step, a Police Advisory Committee is being formed. A proposal was submitted by the Police Chief to the City Council at the January 10, 2017 meeting, which was approved. The City is now soliciting interest of potential members.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

The City informed us that the city council approved in January 2017 the Department's recommendation to establish an advisory board. The advisory board would help the Department address issues pertaining to community trust and accountability, effectively implement critical policy changes, and address concerns from the community and assist in finding solutions for those concerns. Although these tasks are important factors for the Department to further engage the public, there is no mention of the role of the board as a resource for receiving complaints. We look forward to reviewing the City's one-year response to understand how the board serves in this capacity.

60-Day Agency Response

The City formed a community task force to develop a comprehensive plan to end youth violence. It was appointed by the City Council and includes 23 individuals representing key stakeholders in the community. The task force meets twice per month. Once the plan is developed, the City proposes to create an ongoing advisory committee to provide feedback and support to the Police Department on an ongoing basis, including help with implementation of the plan. Therefore, the committee will be a follow-up step to the planning process and is projected to be formed in February 2017 after the plan is complete. It is anticipated some of the Task Force members will continue to be involved with the Advisory Committee.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #6 To: King City

To better manage its operations related to issuing traffic citations, the Department should implement a process by March 2017 to verify quarterly the accuracy and completeness of the data in its records management system.

6-Month Agency Response

The Police Department has implemented a process to verify at least quarterly the accuracy of traffic citations entered in the records management system. A process and policy was issued by the Police Chief on December 12, 2016. The review consists of a spot check to ensure information entered into the records management system is consistent and accurate when compared to the original citation. Any errors or discrepancies are reported to the Records Supervisor for corrective action and/or training.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The department is currently reviewing its records management and processing systems to formulate a procedure to implement this recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #7 To: King City

To better manage its operations related to issuing traffic citations, the Department should develop a process by March 2017 to conduct a quarterly review of its traffic citation statistics and follow up with its officers as needed to ensure a consistent enforcement strategy.

6-Month Agency Response

The Police Department has established a process to conduct a quarterly review of its traffic citation statistics and follow up with officers to ensure consistent enforcement. A policy and procedure was issued by the Police Chief on December 12, 2016. The Police Chief or designee reviews the statistical data for the types of traffic citations and warnings at least quarterly. The review shall check to see if there is any indications of a severe increase or decrease of the number of overall citations that are issued and if there is a probable indication for any statistical change. Any significant changes will be reviewed in more detail to determine the cause and whether it is inconsistent with current enforcement strategies.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The department is currently reviewing its procedures and developing a policy based on best practices to comply with this recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #8 To: King City

To hold its officers accountable, the Department should implement a policy by September 2016 to document the patrol directives, such as citation and enforcement strategies, that it provides to officers.

60-Day Agency Response

The department implemented the policy for the issuance of Patrol Directives. The policy includes a patrol directive numbering system and issuance response system. Patrol Directive are implemented into the policy manual.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

Recommendation #9 To: King City

To ensure that its policies are consistent with the city council's directives and that it can hold its officers accountable for them, the Department should immediately update its towing policy to reflect the March 2014 city council resolution that officers not tow for minor traffic offenses if the vehicle is legally parked, registered, and insured; that officers must receive sergeant authorization for all tows; and that the Department provide monthly tow reports to the city manager. The Department should also specify in its policy that officers must receive two trainings each year on the updated towing policy.

60-Day Agency Response

Issued Patrol Directive 16-01 with changes to tow policy to include not towing for minor offenses criteria, sergeant approval, and a tow report must be generated monthly for Council and City Manager. Included in the policy was a section for officers receiving training on tow policy twice per year.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

The Department's patrol directive generally reflects the March 2014 city council resolution by requiring supervisor approval to tow or impound a vehicle, providing monthly tow reports to the city manager, and ensuring all patrol staff receive training at least twice each year. Although the patrol directive does not specifically restrict officers from towing a vehicle for minor offenses, it does require the chief to review the monthly towing activity to ensure all tows comply with the intent of the city council tow direction and spirit regarding unlicensed drivers. We believe this component addresses the final element of the city council's resolution, but provides flexibility to officers when determining the necessity of towing a vehicle for minor traffic offenses.

Recommendation #10 To: King City

To address community and city management concerns about its towing of vehicles, the Department should provide additional information in its monthly towing report by December 2016 about the reason that a vehicle was stopped and the reason the Department needed to tow the vehicle.

60-Day Agency Response

This report was changed in conjunction with the policy regarding towing to add the reason for the tow and the reason for the vehicle stop.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

Recommendation #11 To: King City

To address community and city management concerns about its towing of vehicles, the Department should implement a process by December 2016 for the chief to review the monthly tow reports and follow up on any cases related to unlicensed drivers to determine if the reasons for the tows comply with the directives from city council.

60-Day Agency Response

This requirement was added to the tow policy directive.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

Recommendation #12 To: King City

To ensure that gasoline cards are used consistently and appropriately, the Department should develop a formal process by December 2016 for monitoring gasoline invoices and transactions. The Department should implement a policy that includes a requirement for gasoline cards to be issued to patrol vehicles as a means to track gasoline usage against vehicle mileage. The requirement should also include a description of how the Department will identify the officer responsible for each gasoline card purchase, either by assigning a unique identifier to each officer or by using a vehicle assignment log.

60-Day Agency Response

New cards were issued for each department vehicle and each employee was issued a specific pin code. Gas usage can now be tracked by each vehicle and employee. Each usage of the vehicle card requires an employee id number and vehicle mileage entry.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

Recommendation #13 To: King City

To ensure that gasoline cards are used consistently and appropriately, the Department should develop a formal process by December 2016 for monitoring gasoline invoices and transactions. The Department should implement a policy that includes procedures for obtaining explanations for any gasoline purchase that appears out of the ordinary.

6-Month Agency Response

Fuel cards are now issued for each specific Police Department vehicle per the recommendations of the audit. All personnel are issued a unique identifying pin code to be used with the fuel card system. The Police Chief or designee conducts a monthly review of the fuel bill to ensure the accuracy of the charges and ensure there are no anomalies in the amount or type of fuel used overall or for any specific refueling during the billing cycle. The Police Chief issued a policy and procedure outlining the process on December 12, 2016.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

Each vehicle fuel usage is monitored on the monthly fuel statement and reviewed by the chief of police. Any unusual usage is submitted to the officer for a written explanation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

As described in Recommendation 12, the Department has developed a process for assigning fuel cards to vehicles. Although the Department has asserted that the chief is reviewing the gas purchases charged to these cards, it was not able to substantiate its claims of those reviews. We anticipate that the City will be in a better position to provide supporting evidence in its six-month response, given the additional time for these procedures to be integrated within its activities.

Recommendation #14 To: King City

To ensure that it is appropriately maintaining custody of evidence items and complying with POST recommendations, the Department should conduct a comprehensive inventory to develop an accurate list of evidence and property.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From May 2018

A comprehensive inventory of the City's evidence items has been completed consistent with POST recommendations.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2017

A team of temporary part-time staff have been hired to conduct a comprehensive audit. It has been under way for several weeks and is near completion.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

1-Year Agency Response

The City Council has authorized new temporary positions to perform the inventory. Three individuals have been selected and contracts are currently being finalized to begin within the next couple weeks.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

6-Month Agency Response

The City Council has approved a proposal by the Police Department to hire two part-time temporary employees, consisting of retirees from other Police Departments with experienced related to evidence and records, to conduct a comprehensive inventory of the Police Department's evidence and property. Two individuals are in the process of being hired. Background checks are currently being conducted. The inventory is projected to being within the next few weeks.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

The Department is currently considering the use of one of two independent consulting firms to audit its evidence room and policies. Once a firm is selected, audit of the evidence room along with a best practices policy and procedure will be implemented.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #15 To: King City

To ensure that it is appropriately maintaining custody of evidence items and complying with POST recommendations, the Department should update by September 2016 its evidence oversight policies to provide explicit direction, based on POST guidelines, to staff and management who perform evidence oversight activities.

1-Year Agency Response

Attached as Exhibit 4 is a copy of the Policy Directive issued by the Police Chief.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

An independent consulting firm has been selected to audit the Police Department's evidence room and policies. Based on the results of the audit, they will make policy and procedure based on best practices. The audit will begin once the inventory is under way.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

The Department is currently considering the use of one of two independent consulting firms to audit its evidence room and policies. Once a firm is selected, audit of the evidence room along with a best practices policy and procedure will be implemented.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #16 To: King City

To ensure that it is appropriately maintaining custody of evidence items and complying with POST recommendations, the Department should perform its monthly evidence inspections per its policy.

60-Day Agency Response

Inspections are conducted on a monthly basis and a log is maintained.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

The Department provided its evidence room log, which showed that for each month since July 2016, either the captain or commander had conducted an inspection of the evidence room.

Recommendation #17 To: King City

To ensure that it is appropriately maintaining custody of evidence items and complying with POST recommendations, the Department should develop a process by September 2016 for the chief to review compliance with the monthly inspection requirement.

1-Year Agency Response

In addition to the policy provided in Exhibit 4, a copy of the checklist form developed by the Police Chief is provided as Exhibit 5.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

The Police Chief has developed and is issuing a policy and procedure to set forth the process for reviewing compliance with the monthly inspection requirement.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

The Department's policy for inspection of the evidence room provides for a monthly inspection of the evidence storage facility by the supervisor of the evidence custodian. However, the policy does not discuss a process for the chief to review compliance with the monthly inspection requirement.

60-Day Agency Response

The Police Chief is developing a process as recommended.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #18 To: King City

To ensure that it is appropriately maintaining custody of evidence items and complying with POST recommendations, the Department should perform annual audits that are thorough and well documented.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From May 2018

An comprehensive audit of the City's evidence items has been completed consistent with POST recommendations.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

The Department should continue to perform these audits annually.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2017

Proposals were solicited and received and a firm was selected to prepare a comprehensive evidence audit, as well as to provide recommendations for policies and procedures for future audits. The audit will proceed as soon as the inventory is complete.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

1-Year Agency Response

A professional firm has been contracted to perform a thorough audit. However, the audit has been delayed because the auditor identified a number of items that need to be addressed prior to conducting the audit. The Police Department is working to address those items at this time. A copy of the letter submitted to the Police Chief regarding those items is provided as Exhibit 6.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

6-Month Agency Response

An independent firm has been selected to perform the 2017 audit. They will be asked to develop a recommended form, format and procedure for ongoing audits.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

Once the evidence room has been independently audited with a review and recommendation for policy and procedure, this recommendation will be added to the Department's new policy sections for evidence room control.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #19 To: King City

To ensure that it uses consistent standards to evaluate whether information found in assessments of an officer candidate's moral character could lead to conflicts of interest, the city council should establish screening criteria for the types of activities and circumstances it considers to be incompatible with the official duties of an officer, such as in the areas of an officer candidate's past drug use, amount of debt, and number of traffic citations received.

60-Day Agency Response

Policy has been written and is scheduled for formal Council approval on October 11, 2016.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

The Department provided the updated policy and the meeting minutes from the City Council's October 11, 2016 meeting to substantiate the implementation of this recommendation.

Recommendation #20 To: King City

To minimize the potential for conflicts of interest, the Department should develop a written policy by September 2016 that formalizes its practice of preventing officers from being involved in cases associated with their family members.

60-Day Agency Response

Policy Section was added to draft policy manual update and patrol directive 2016-02 released to staff.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

The Department's Interim Directive 16-02 requires officers to notify the supervisor in the event a report involves the officer's relatives or a person with which the officer has a significant relationship, and that the supervisor will determine who is most appropriate to take the report.

Recommendation #21 To: King City

To comply with state regulations, to better assess candidates' ability to interact effectively with the community and other officers, and to ensure consistency, the Department should by September 2016 document its interview questions, including at least one question from each of the six areas in the POST interview guidelines.

6-Month Agency Response

Hiring procedures now include obtaining selection interview questions from the POST website and include at least one question from each of the six POST interview guidelines. A copy of questions utilized for each interview is documented and recorded.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

Hiring procedures now include obtaining selection interview questions from the POST website and include at least one question from each of the six POST interview guidelines.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Although the Department claims to have fully implemented our recommendation to include at least one question from each of the six areas in the POST interview guidelines, it could not substantiate its claim of this implementation. We anticipate that the Department will be in a better position to provide supporting evidence in its six-month response, given that it has signed an agreement with POST to access and use the POST bank of interview questions, and it will have additional time to use these questions in its hiring process.

Recommendation #22 To: King City

To work more effectively with community members, the Department should solicit and incorporate feedback from the community and create a formal community engagement plan that is tailored to meet community needs by December 2016.

1-Year Agency Response

The Police Department has undertaken a comprehensive community outreach effort. Per the recommendations of the audit, efforts are documented in a Community Engagement Plan, which is attached as Exhibit 7.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

The City has been awarded the Four Cities for Peace grant in conjunction with the other South Monterey County cities. Planning meetings are currently under way. This grant will fund a formal community engagement and public outreach program,including development and implementation of a scorecard to measure and track community interaction and outreach. In the meantime, the Police Department, Police Chief and City Manager are proceeding with a number of public outreach efforts, including a Youth Violence Task Force, an informal Latino Advisory Group, presentations to community groups, updated web site, new City newsletter, new emphasis by officers to create positive contacts with citizens, a Citizens' Police Academy, a Police Advisory Committee, and a District Watch program.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

As referenced in its 60-day response, the Department provided documentation of meetings with the Latino Advisory Group and other community groups, the draft Plan to End Youth Violence, and other outreach efforts. These actions will likely contribute to the Department's efforts to create the formal community engagement plan and tailor the plan to meet the community's needs.

60-Day Agency Response

The City has been awarded the Four Cities for Peace grant in conjunction with the other South Monterey County cities. Planning meetings are currently under way. This grant will fund a formal community engagement and public outreach program. In the meantime, the Police Department, Police Chief and City Manager are proceeding with a number of public outreach efforts, including a Youth Violence Task Force, a Latino Advisory Group, presentations to community groups, updated web site, new City newsletter, and new emphasis by officers to create positive contacts with citizens.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

The Department provided documentation of meetings with the Latino Advisory Group and other community groups, the draft Plan to End Youth Violence, and other outreach efforts. These actions will likely contribute to the Department's efforts to create the formal community engagement plan and tailor the plan to meet the community's needs.

Recommendation #23 To: King City

To work more effectively with community members, the Department should implement a process by September 2016 for the chief to review all promotional materials and presentations and ensure they are communicated in both English and Spanish, where appropriate, according to the direction provided by the city manager.

60-Day Agency Response

The procedure has been written and disseminated, which indicates all promotional material issued for public events relating to the Police Department must be reviewed by the Chief and released in both English and Spanish

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

Recommendation #24 To: King City

To provide feedback and information to the Department, the city council should consider the formation of a community advisory group.

6-Month Agency Response

The City Council considered and approved formation of a Police Community Advisory Committee at their January 10, 2017 meeting.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The City formed a community task force develop a comprehensive plan to end youth violence. It was appointed by the City Council and includes 23 individuals representing key stakeholders in the community. The task force meets twice per month. Once the plan is developed, the City proposes to create an ongoing advisory committee that provide feedback and support to the Police Department on an ongoing basis, including help with implementation of the plan. Therefore, the committee will be a follow-up step to the planning process and is projected to be formed in February 2017.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Recommendation #25 To: King City

To ensure that its policy is being implemented correctly and to prevent further inappropriate reimbursements, the City should monitor at least semiannually the implementation of its new policy on expense approvals that it adopted in February 2016.

6-Month Agency Response

In January and July, the City Manager conducts a review of implementation of the policy regarding reimbursements. A form has been created to document the review, which is focused on three areas. Credit card statements are reviewed to confirm that appropriate oversight was provided by the City's accountant. Second, personal reimbursements are randomly selected to confirm they meet policy and procedure requirements. Third, invoices authorized by department leaders for payment are randomly selected to confirm all payments were related to appropriate and budgeted expenses.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The City's Accountant now monitors expenditures on a monthly basis and the City Manager reviews implementation of the policy at least semi-annually.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Although the City claims to have fully implemented our recommendation to strengthen its monitoring of expenses, it could not substantiate its claims of this implementation. We anticipate that the City will be in a better position to provide supporting evidence in its six-month response, given the additional time for these procedures to be integrated within its activities.

Recommendation #26 To: King City

To ensure that the Department appropriately budgets for planned expenses, the City should continue to monitor its new policy on budget development that it adopted in January 2016. Specifically, the chief should monitor the budgeted and actual expenses of the Department each month, paying close attention to any areas where those expenses vary significantly from the amount budgeted, and discuss this analysis with the city manager each quarter to identify any weaknesses in its budget process.

6-Month Agency Response

Accounts and monthly reports have been modified to more accurately track and display ongoing expenses for each account. A mid-year review is conducted in January. At that time, each account is reviewed to determine any accounts where expenses exceed 50% of budgeted funds. For those that do, the City Manager and/or Finance Director review the expense activity with the appropriate department to determine whether the cause is a unique circumstance and can be addressed the adjusting any operational activities. Where necessary, budget adjustments are recommended in February to the City Council. A similar review is conducted in March as part of the budget preparation process, which is used in developing the budget recommendations for the upcoming year.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The City Manager and Finance Director have been working with all lead staff to provide training on monthly monitoring of accounts and expenditures.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Although the City claims to have fully implemented our recommendation to monitor actual expenses as part of its budget development process, it could not substantiate its claims of this implementation. We anticipate that the City will be in a better position to provide supporting evidence in its six-month response, given the additional time for these procedures to be integrated within its activities.

All Recommendations in 2015-129

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.