JOSEPH M. FERGUSON INSPECTOR GENERAL
CITY OF CHICAGO OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 740 NORTH SEDGWICK STREET, SUITE 200 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60654 TELEPHONE: (773) 478-7799 FAX: (773) 478-3949
FEBRUARY 25, 2021
TO THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, CITY CLERK, CITY TREASURER, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed a follow-up to its March 2020 audit of the Department of Water Management's (DWM) overtime monitoring. Based on the Department's responses, OIG concludes that DWM has fully implemented 7 of 13 corrective actions related to the audit findings, substantially implemented 3, and partially implemented 3.
The purpose of the 2020 audit was to determine if DWM effectively monitored overtime to prevent waste and abuse. Our audit found that DWM had policies and tools to manage overtime but did not use these resources consistently. DWM management could not ensure overtime was offered in accordance with collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and established practices because it was unaware of the full range of overtime processes in use across the Department, did not provide robust oversight, and did not consistently retain overtime records.
Based on the results of the audit, OIG recommended that DWM update and distribute its overtime policies to supervisors and timekeepers; provide training to supervisors; and use existing monitoring reports to inform Department-wide operational decisions about overtime. We also recommended that the Department develop and implement procedures to ensure compliance with the policy; continue developing internal reporting tools to provide a real-time view of overtime within its bureaus; and consider distributing the policy to all DWM employees. Lastly, we recommended that DWM take steps to improve the consistency, transparency, and fairness of the overtime process by identifying, documenting, and standardizing overtime call-out processes; ensuring overtime records are proper...
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