he City of New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a performance audit of the City of New Orleans’ (City) Department of Safety and Permits (S&P). The objective of the audit was to determine if S&P inspectors (City inspectors) conducted their inspections in accordance with S&P policies and procedures. The scope of the audit was all building, mechanical and electrical permit inspections conducted by City inspectors during the period April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020.

The audit resulted in the following major findings:

• City inspectors did not perform in-person inspections for 20% of the inspections selected for review
• City inspectors did not spend adequate time conducting inspections, spending ten minutes or less for 40% of the inspections reviewed.
• City inspectors did not upload required documentation into LAMA in violation of S&P policies and procedures.