DPM – Office of The Inspector General of New Orleans

OIG FOUND GAPS IN CITY HVAC PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

The Department of Property Management (DPM) is responsible for maintaining HVAC systems in all City buildings, with the exception of facilities operated by the New Orleans Public Library and the New Orleans Recreation Department. Over the past few years, there has been concern that excessive heat during the summer could negatively impact City operations. Isolated high-profile cases of HVAC failures at various public buildings heightened these concerns.

Inspector General Ed Michel stated:

“As New Orleans continues to experience extreme heat events, it is critical to the health and safety of citizens and City employees that HVAC systems in City buildings are working properly. While the OIG is encouraged the DPM has taken steps to improve operations by seeking maintenance contracts, the department must also work to mitigate damage through regular preventive maintenance.”

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DPM Evaluations Prop. Mg.Safety & Permits

Job Order Contracting Policies & Procedures

The Office of Inspector General for the City of New Orleans (OIG) conducted an evaluation of the Department of Property Management’s (DPM) Job Order Contracting Policies and Procedures.

Job Order Contracts (JOC) are a multi-layered procurement mechanism in which the City contracts with one or more general contractors to perform small maintenance and repair jobs on city properties. The individual repair jobs may not exceed the value of $150,000 per job; however, the total of these projects over the course of a year could be more than $1M. The DPM was the primary City agency responsible for managing the JOC program. On average, the DPM spent $2.6M per year on projects between 2017 and 2019. The total cost of the DPM’s JOC projects for the period under review was $7.7M.

The purpose of the OIG’s evaluation was to determine whether City departments were utilizing the JOC process efficiently and effectively, and in accordance with City policies and state law. Evaluators also determined whether there were adequate internal and external controls in place to safeguard the procurement process.

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DPM Investigations

ROI-PMD Excessive Overtime

Allegation of Possible Abuse of Overtime by Allegation of Possible Abuse of Overtime by Employees in the Property Management Department in calendar year 2018.

The City of New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) received information that Department The City of New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) received information that Department of Property Management (DPM) employees were paid excessive and possibly unnecessary overtime.

Civil Service Commission, City of New Orleans, Rule IV, 9.7 (a): Civil Service Commission, City of New Orleans, Rule IV, 9.7 (a): Advance approval must be obtained from the Civil Service Department if an employee is expected to exceed 750 hours of overtime in a year, whether regularly scheduled or otherwise.

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Audits DPM PDU

Fixed Asset Internal Controls

The New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) audited the City’s controls over its fixed assets. The objective of the audit was to evaluate the effectiveness of the internal controls related to recording, reporting, and safeguarding the City’s fixed assets.

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