Keefe, Gov. Mgmt. Letters - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Key West, Florida PRIOR YEAR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: (continued) Management's Response: The City of Key West clearly recognizes the value to both internal and external customers in the codification of a centralized fee and charges schedule. The City of Key West has begun accumulating documentation necessary to assemble a City-Wide Schedule of Fees and hopes to have it completed in the near future. The City of Key West has begun to develop written guidelines that will help support the revenue collection and recognition processes. 2007-03: Improve Segregation of Duties - Marinas and Utility Marinas: In prior year audits, it was recommended the City improve its segregation of duties over the billing, collection and account adjustment process at the marinas. During our current year audit, we observed additional steps taken by the port staff at the marinas to ensure that additional segregation of duties are in place. We discussed, the current procedures with the marina staff and the Finance Department and have determined that the additional segregation of duties implemented during the year are reasonable with the current staffing levels. Utility: Account adjustments are made to the utility billing system for several allowable reasons. Controls should be established to ensure that only approved adjustments, initiated by the. customer service department, are entered in the system. During our audit, we noted and were notified that some individuals have system access to both initiate and approve adjustments. We recommend that the City assess its current practices, establish written guidelines and set-up the proper segregation of duties over sewer, stormwater and solid waste receivables. Management's Response: The City of Key West understands the necessity of segregating certain functions that an individual may have access to perform. Staff reductions have caused this to occur in some areas. In most instances the City of Key has implemented certain other mitigating controls and systems in an attempt to minimize exposures from "complete" segregation. The City of Key West will review these areas and make necessary changes to minimize these instances. 2007-06: Review and Adjust the Penalty Calculation for Stormwater The penalty calculation for stormwater is not in compliance with the City's code. The City's code reads as follows: "user fees shall be subject to a five percent per month (not to exceed 25 % late fee)". Our review revealed that the billing system is assessing a "one-time" five percent penalty charge. We recommend that the City brings the penalty calculation in compliance with the code. This could be achieved by either modifying the code or the billing system. Management's Response: The City of Key West's Code will be modified to conform to the systems ability to apply penalty charges. 2007-07: Unmatched Water Meters During our audit, City staff disclosed that unmatched water meters to the sewer billing system continues to be an issue faced by the City. The City should continue its on-going commitment to evaluate and correct these exception reports, prepared by the Revenue Department, and increase its possible additional billing opportunities. We recommend that management quantifies the effect of unmatched meters, and any other related exceptions, and thoroughly reviews the billing process/system to ensure that revenues are being billed to all recipients of the sewer system. 7