Report 2011-131 Recommendation 12 Responses

Report 2011-131: City of Vernon: Although Reform Is Ongoing, Past Poor Decision Making Threatens Its Financial Stability (Release Date: June 2012)

Recommendation #12 To: Vernon, City of

To better control contract expenditures and ensure that it receives the best value for the services it purchases, the city should require that all city contracts be entered into its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system so that the contract managers and the city can more efficiently and effectively track the city's contract expenditures.

1-Year Agency Response

All City contracts are now required to be entered into the City's ERP system, EDEN, which assigns each contract a unique contract number for effective tracking of expenditures under a particular contract. The ERP system limits aggregate payments under a particular contract to the total contract amount. As of October 2012, contract managers for each department have been trained to run queries to track contract expenditures. On June 25, 2013, the Finance Department issued the City of Vernon Purchasing Manual to all City departments, as adopted by the City Administrator pursuant to the City's Competitive Bidding and Purchasing Ordinance (Ordinance No. 1200). The Purchasing Manual was prepared by the Finance Department, with significant input from the City Attorney's Office and all City departments. The Purchasing Manual sets forth all of the requirements of the Purchasing Ordinance as they apply in a practical manner to the day to day operation of the purchasing system. It includes a method of contract routing (Contract/Amendment Signature Routing Form) that ensures every affected department receives information about each contract before it is signed or approved pursuant to the City's good governance contract requirements.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

The city indicates that all city contracts are now required to be entered into the ERP system and that each contract is assigned a unique contract number. Further, it reports training contract managers about how to use the ERP system to track expenditures. The city states that by the end of June 2013 the city administrator will adopt a purchasing manual, which will set forth requirements for the day-to-day operation of a purchasing system and will include a method of contract and invoice routing that will ensure every affected department receives information about each contract and invoice before payment.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The city states that a top priority for its recently appointed city attorney will be to develop a comprehensive contracting policy resolution for city council approval, but it did not give a time frame for completion. (See 2013-406, p. 192)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2011-131

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.