[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6694969,"mediaKeyId","5692198-59c84fa59a8df514dffdb3ae359fb5fd","parentId",5692198,"title","El Paso auditors outline method for selecting 2025–26 audit projects, cite staffing and hours limits","audioSeconds",675,"startMs",690000,"endMs",1365000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5692198-59c84fa59a8df514dffdb3ae359fb5fd&start=690&end=1365","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5692198-59c84fa59a8df514dffdb3ae359fb5fd/thumbnail_690000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6694969/El-Paso-City/El-Paso-County/Texas/El-Paso-auditors-outline-method-for-selecting-202526-audit-projects-cite-staffing-and-hours-limits","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6694969-532151b8f713c96b3ea5ede2810f5d08/orig.mp4?Expires=1771063352&Signature=JTpXzdMjiQCu~CG~6wEI81byhbx-MsASN6-VPHVjW6WJeVzACB6QdgpEZxY55fSL9ePB5FytSK4vQD5vOXoRZJ0iCAN6FYJ6GfYsPWeh-ide4o9rECLyQgpLJsJzqlewqf51-uBf0hx9bf4bT4NE93ri3xWA~NOdjkZYW7Befyz6Z6I8xNt59UjvI-BjaPnnMMp1F0LN4BClGOLvBM7ZsT3JWYA4~mXckfGip32hhSsGVYO4elj7GNYz0~fVQfPP-mz3zyPOdlJv-5NPvL5FgDojH5wEX66k9Gvn9pChWkeXSfBU6Aiu8n1Dql~0MOFNoYo0~y8lnTZOA6rq2PHTwQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of El Paso TX","date","2025-08-28T16:54:32Z","article","The Financial Oversight and Audit Committee heard a presentation on the process the internal audit office uses to prepare the City of El Paso’s 2025–26 annual audit plan, including how staff rank risks, calculate available audit hours and schedule audits.

The audit office described a multi-step process: gather stakeholder input, create a “long list” of candidate audits, score each item across nine risk areas (up to five points each), apply discretionary weight points and then convert the top-ranked items into audit engagements based on available auditor hours.

Miguel, an internal audit presenter, told committee members the office begins with a stakeholder interview phase that included FOAC members, the city manager, deputy city managers, the city attorney, the airport director, the deputy CFO and the city risk manager. “We create a list internally we call a long list,” he said, and then “we rank them by nine risk areas” to produce a shorter list for the committee to prioritize.

The office showed its hour math: 2,080 theoretical annual hours per auditor, reduced by vacation, leave, training and administrative time to an estimated 1,560 available audit hours per auditor in the example presented; multiplied by staff totals, the office estimated roughly 12,480 total available audit hours for the year. Individual full audits were estimated at about 500 hours each, with follow-up audits capped at about 250 hours; the office also reserves quarterly contingency hours (often 300–400 annually for the whole staff).

Committee members pressed for detail on how those non–audit hours were allocated. Representative Maldonado Rocha asked for a breakdown of “office admin time” versus sick leave, holidays and training. Miguel said some administrative duties—ordering supplies, tracking leave and sending emails—are shared among auditors and payroll staff and that the audit plan package to the committee will show the specific hour allocations.

Members also discussed the audit office’s hotel occupancy audits. Representative Nino noted the city has about 100 hotels and that the program currently audits roughly 20 hotels per year. Miguel said an earlier attempt to audit 30 hotels “short-circuited” logistics between the city’s consultant and staff and that 20 per year has been the practical throughput.

Committee members asked for another iteration of the audit plan to be provided before the committee votes on the plan and requested the office show the numeric scores and any bonus weight points used to elevate closely ranked items. The presenter said staff will meet again with committee members and expects to bring a draft audit plan back for review at a future meeting.

The presentation included operational details the committee said it wants published for transparency: the audit office plans to post the risk-assessment slides and the final audit-plan materials on its webpage.

The discussion did not include a formal committee vote or adoption of the audit plan; committee members requested follow-up meetings and the draft plan for formal review and approval.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Financial Oversight and Audi Committee - 8/28/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Internal audit staff detailed the process used to rank risks and convert available staff hours into audit “slots” for the City of El Paso’s 2025–26 annual audit plan, and fielded questions from Financial Oversight and Audit Committee members about administrative time, contingency hours and hotel tax audit capacity.","taxTitle","El Paso City, El Paso County, Texas","taxId",2792,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6694966,"Audit finds City of El Paso budget transfers largely compliant; OMB formalizes procedures",698,2057000,2755000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5692198-59c84fa59a8df514dffdb3ae359fb5fd&start=2057&end=2755","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5692198-59c84fa59a8df514dffdb3ae359fb5fd/thumbnail_2057000.jpg","/articles/6694966/El-Paso-City/El-Paso-County/Texas/Audit-finds-City-of-El-Paso-budget-transfers-largely-compliant-OMB-formalizes-procedures","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6694966-ecc214d77aea0b91cd437968c6a942b7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771063352&Signature=F5QRRb3WdUa9x~nDdtqJXMiCfuEV-JEZuBusvL9BmPpPH1sLFWQUElpsHpBamEYMrfmNMBZfUOQoEJSUlDNdRgG2QMVGkat69EtqAyfXIP4IK0IQE7DCbGInMjVNNfhitkGE-7b1LR0GYeLsMenb3BnJvh9OtVqrMWHyCw8Jd~bokV4fAt0lUiNiks820aRJJdGfIkNHFfM0sz0UYzgjv6e~yH-RtWeu8z9hmA5tyzBEQySGod8iD7qwqz5eP00gvnELdQW2NZnb418NZSyUY6XEnewmx1ROd~ng5lW31VbysBE7DUlcZpz2rpxMXA0FnWf5EvOz7Q9yGa9jBPflGA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Financial Oversight and Audit Committee voted unanimously to accept the audit report on the City of El Paso’s budget transfer process, which found that transfers were generally supported and approved in accordance with established limits but that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had not maintained a single formal standard operating procedure for the process.

The audit, covering Sep. 1, 2024, through Apr. 9, 2025, tested whether OMB had written procedures, whether departments provided required budget-status reports with transfer requests, and whether approval thresholds were enforced. The report found the transfer tiers were handled properly: department/OMB approvals for transfers up to $50,000; city manager/designee approvals for $50,001–$100,000; and city council approval for transfers over $100,000.

Miguel, the audit presenter, said OMB “had the supporting documentation on file” and that the external annual financial audit had not raised concerns about budget transfers. The audit recommended OMB create and publish comprehensive written procedures for handling transfers; OMB responded that budget transfer governance is also set by the annual budget resolution and provided a draft SOP. The audit team reviewed OMB’s draft procedures and concluded the corrective action was in place; the audit office will not schedule a follow-up audit for this finding because OMB already implemented the recommended corrective action.

Representative Maldonado Rocha asked about the audit sampling and counts. The audit team replied that there were 612 budget transfers in the population for the period reviewed: 362 were under $50,000; 64 were between $50,001 and $100,000; and 186 were over $100,000. The team described the statistical-sample calculation used to select items for detailed testing and said the selected sample met standard sampling methodology used by internal auditors.

Representative Chavez moved to approve the audit report; the committee’s vote was recorded as unanimous, 4–0 in favor.

The audit office said OMB’s corrective action target completion date for creating a comprehensive written budget-transfer procedure was Aug. 8, 2025, and that OMB planned to disseminate the procedure to staff and provide training to support compliance.","An audit of City of El Paso budget transfers found supporting documentation and approvals were in place; the Office of Management and Budget created a formal standard operating procedure and the committee accepted the audit report unanimously.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6694962,"Streets and Maintenance follow-up finds permit inspection controls improved; code update still pending",900,2770000,3670000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5692198-59c84fa59a8df514dffdb3ae359fb5fd&start=2770&end=3670","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5692198-59c84fa59a8df514dffdb3ae359fb5fd/thumbnail_2770000.jpg","/articles/6694962/El-Paso-City/El-Paso-County/Texas/Streets-and-Maintenance-follow-up-finds-permit-inspection-controls-improved-code-update-still-pending","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6694962-22cc53ff1d4075746f29b9db31f10137/orig.mp4?Expires=1771063352&Signature=GNz7-R61ZXO2IkifzED1FtMokmkjg8vsHigFA4juuLHDtsmyEKqmYyfns7qGjBZSHh5NJnuZT2HlmpB8ZVubbldwveMOkKKwdgBlk7Je6LWsOCZboW~yfA4CpqnNFrQBwLVCsyxbnjjHeOAGMXMyLe5MVINGrlb6Zxx59ki0s8Vf771SqkDo-l9wyowquGNMtnGXaYeev5KEhoIArKXRTVj1TIxBa4AEJWEPGLF9A0tJFpYqgiBbHmOGm8X4eX25qkQJlutpI3WArGtk2mVNK4fUSE7xBS3S~~aOw7GLdG3JUwAFIlRRC8JZiDEAQrL-p0ECGlwSK6FMZgDyzDjLNw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Financial Oversight and Audit Committee accepted a follow-up audit report on Streets and Maintenance (SAM) permitting practices and voted unanimously to approve the report. The audit found SAM had implemented inspection checklists and weekly inspection-tracking reports but has not yet finalized recommended changes to municipal code and policies with its consultant, AECOM.

The follow-up audit reviewed actions taken since the original Streets and Maintenance permit-review audit dated July 10, 2023. Liz, the audit presenter, said SAM provided draft procedural documents that the department is consolidating into a single manual. The audit also confirmed SAM developed a preconstruction and inspection checklist and a weekly permit-inspection report to track completed inspections, failed inspections and inspector statistics.

The audit noted a standing discrepancy between the municipal code and current operations for certain traffic-control permits. By code, the department had a 24-hour issuance expectation for those permits, but the department reported an average issuance time about four working days longer. Randy Garcia, Streets and Maintenance, told the committee the department and AECOM concluded the 24-hour code standard is not feasible without substantial additional staff or a rework of how traffic-control permits are submitted and processed. He said SAM expects to return with recommended ordinance language and policy changes by December 2025.

Representative Nino asked whether auditors had tested job sites or re-sampled permit files to confirm inspections are being completed. The audit team said the follow-up assessment reviewed the new tracking processes, performed on-site review at the department and determined the checklist and QA/QC steps meant inspectors now complete required verifications before a permit is closed out. Randy Garcia said SAM has added supervisor QA/QC steps to ensure checklists are completed and entered into Acela, the department’s permit tracking system.

Committee members asked that SAM update the reported implementation dates in the audit report to reflect the current December 2025 expectation for code and policy changes. The committee approved the follow-up audit report by unanimous voice vote, 4–0.","A follow-up audit of the Streets and Maintenance Department’s permitting process found the department has implemented inspection checklists and weekly inspection reports but is still working with consultant AECOM and the city to revise municipal code timing requirements; the committee approved the follow-up report 4–0.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

El Paso auditors outline method for selecting 2025–26 audit projects, cite staffing and hours limits

Audit finds City of El Paso budget transfers largely compliant; OMB formalizes procedures

Streets and Maintenance follow-up finds permit inspection controls improved; code update still pending