Oakland Audit Finds Unchecked Spending
OAKLAND (CBS/AP) -- An audit of Oakland's workers' compensation program finds city employees accepted $23,000 in inappropriate gifts from a contractor during two training summits in 2007 and 2008.
The audit also finds Oakland's Risk Division spent $10 million more than the $13 million it was allowed under the budget without ever getting approval from the City Council. The Risk Division is the office that oversees the city's workers' compensation program.
"The Risk division was unchecked for years. It wasn't until the audits started to dive into this area that the administration really came in and started to address these issues," said Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby.
Audit Of Oakland's Workers Comp Program Finds Millions of Dollars In Overspending
The audit also identifies inappropriate and questionable spending, as well as inappropriate gifts employees accepted from a contractor.
City Auditor Courtney Ruby says the money was pulled from an "off-the-books account" that "nobody was tracking."
Ruby says the fund was used for operations of the office in violation of city rules.
City Administrator Deanna Santana acknowledged the problems and said the city has already fixed many of the issues.
"This audit is the result of our concern that this program had significant management issues spanning decades of practices which have not been properly administered over time," Santana said.
She added that the city already has begun to correct many of the issues.
(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
