Recommendations issued
5 topics
AUDIT FOLLOW-THROUGH
What changed after the audit?
Twelve topics, with findings, management responses and the latest published follow-up kept distinct.
This guide covers all 12 topics on the County Auditor’s issued-report index checked October 15, 2026. It summarizes each topic’s latest listed report. A status describes that document’s evidence as of its date; it is not a new compliance audit.
Partially implemented
2 topics
Implemented
4 topics
Closed
1 topic
Recommendations issued means the report contains findings and management responses but no later follow-up was listed. Partially implemented means the latest report leaves at least one recommendation incomplete. Implemented means the auditor verified corrective action. Closed can also mean the auditor accepted a justified decision to retain an existing policy.
A promised deadline passing does not prove either completion or failure. A contract value is not automatically a loss. Follow-up corrections matter: the EMS entry revises the original billing analysis, and Fire’s latest listed follow-up describes one item as still in process.
12 of 12 audit topics shown.
DMF2026PF001
Decentralized procurement
Recommendations issued — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- FY2026 purchases sampled across eight of twelve departments; includes five Small Purchase Negotiation (SPN) procurements in Parks and Recreation.
- What the auditor found
- All five sampled Parks and Recreation SPN solicitations did not clearly define contract terms or anticipated quantities. The report also identifies one procurement file lacking documentation that a disqualified bidder was notified of the reason and a purchase outside an authorized scope. Other tested procurement areas were generally effective. The finding concerns control failures, not a quantified loss.
- Recommended action
- Review active procurements, provide targeted training and improve controls before and after purchase approval.
- Management response
- Management agreed to corrective work and training. Parks and Recreation described the transition from older procurement practices to PRISM+ as part of the context.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- No follow-up for this report was listed on the County Auditor index checked October 15, 2026. Management commitments above are not verified completion.
The report’s $10,000 X10 limit for purchases without competitive quotations applies to its review period; SPNs covered $10,001–$200,000. It says the X10 limit increased to $15,000 on July 1, 2026.
PSE2026FL001
Emergency Communications Center overtime
Implemented — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- Latest follow-up on the last remaining recommendation from an original set of thirteen.
- What the auditor found
- The remaining concern was whether training could be shortened while maintaining effective preparation for emergency communications work.
- Recommended action
- Implement and assess revised training to reduce the time before staff can contribute independently.
- Management response
- Management introduced a revised training program in January 2026. The first stage was reduced from fourteen to six months; the full course was expected to take twelve rather than eighteen months.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- The auditor marked the final recommendation implemented; twelve had been addressed earlier. The projected full-course duration is not a measured completed cohort result or a verified overtime saving.
Latest published follow-up checked October 15, 2026.
DCH2025PF001
Community benefits from development
Recommendations issued — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- Eight completed site plans in seven neighborhoods; 94 benefits, including 63 installation-related and 31 financial commitments.
- What the auditor found
- The county obtained 90 of 94 benefits, including all financial commitments totaling $47.2 million. Four facility benefits remained unreceived or at risk. Five findings address unapproved changes, unclear definitions, inconsistent records, continued monitoring and public access. The $47.2 million is not a loss.
- Recommended action
- Document changes and benefit delivery, define measurable requirements, strengthen monitoring and improve public information.
- Management response
- CPHD agreed to documentation, guidance, software and website improvements, with several summer/fall 2026 targets. It disagreed with some proposed ordinance changes, ranking and monitoring arrangements; the auditor maintained its concerns.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- No follow-up for this report was listed on the County Auditor index checked October 15, 2026. Management commitments above are not verified completion.
Two benefit changes within one reviewed site plan lacked required approval. The sample does not measure every development agreement in Arlington.
DTS2026PF001
IT architecture and governance
Recommendations issued — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- County software, applications and cloud-service governance; seven technology acquisitions sampled from the preceding two years.
- What the auditor found
- Inventory did not fully capture departmental and cloud applications. Two of seven sampled acquisitions lacked a required documented exception. Incomplete information makes duplication and retirement decisions harder; the report does not establish a countywide dollar loss.
- Recommended action
- Build a comprehensive central inventory, define accountability, improve acquisition reviews and use periodic checks.
- Management response
- DTS agreed to phased inventory work using existing tools, clearer roles and policy, annual self-review and an FY2027 resource request. Report targets are plans, not proof of delivery.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- No follow-up for this report was listed on the County Auditor index checked October 15, 2026. Management commitments above are not verified completion.
This technology-governance audit is separate from the contract-management follow-up listed below.
DTS2026FL001
Technology contract management
Implemented — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- Latest follow-up on the last of nine original recommendations. The prior review could not verify three of six sampled contract files.
- What the auditor found
- Earlier reviews found inconsistent contract records. One recommendation remained after the January 2025 follow-up.
- Recommended action
- Bring contract files into line with the County’s contract-administration requirements and maintain them as agreements change.
- Management response
- DTS updated procurement policy, oversight responsibilities, file standards and its central documentation and training site.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- The auditor concluded that the remaining recommendation was addressed and no further action was required.
Original audit: May 2021. Follow-ups: May 2022, January 2025 and November 2025.
DES2025PF001
STAR paratransit oversight
Recommendations issued — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- FY2025 billing, vendor performance, service standards, scheduling systems and oversight of STAR paratransit.
- What the auditor found
- Four findings cover performance data and ADA-related feedback, billing rates, verification of trip manifests and fragmented scheduling. The report contains inconsistent printed billing subtotals, so AFP does not combine them into one loss estimate.
- Recommended action
- Improve performance measures and complaint tracking, verify invoices against contract rates and trip records, and coordinate scheduling and vendor oversight.
- Management response
- Management reported revised billing procedures in March 2025 and a scheduling-system rollout beginning June 2. On May 29 it requested $108,557.92 in reimbursement for five years of rounding charges. A request is not confirmed repayment. It also reported correcting $26,256 on a December invoice before payment.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- No follow-up for this report was listed on the County Auditor index checked October 15, 2026. Management commitments above are not verified completion.
The report records management resource and contract concerns. Its corrective steps and proposed timetable should not be read as an independently verified recovery or completed follow-up.
DHS2025FL001
Nonprofit funding
Implemented — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- Follow-up on the May 2022 review of funding practices for nonprofits providing human and social services.
- What the auditor found
- The earlier audit sought clearer funding priorities and reconsideration of noncompetitive nonprofit contracts.
- Recommended action
- Set clear, measurable funding priorities and reconsider noncompetitive procurement with documented justification.
- Management response
- The Board supported a competitive funding reform in February 2023. Management developed an equity-based evaluation model and performance measures. The auditor also reviewed and accepted a documented sole-source justification; implementation does not mean every nonprofit award became competitive.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- The auditor concluded that management had implemented corrective actions addressing the finding.
Original audit: May 2022. Follow-up report issued May 21, 2025; its filename uses May 20.
DHS2025PF001
Housing Grants Program
Recommendations issued — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- FY2024 application intake, renewals, performance measures, outreach and the Yardi Voyager system.
- What the auditor found
- Five findings concern outcome measures, undocumented procedures, personal information sent by email, unclear decision letters (9 of 19 tested) and missing review of a vendor controls report. Other testing found missing renewal records and a notice gap. These recordkeeping findings do not establish that recipients were ineligible.
- Recommended action
- Align measures with housing goals, document procedures, protect sensitive information, clarify letters and review vendor controls.
- Management response
- DHS committed to revised measures, letters, control reviews and checklists by July 1, 2025, and a procedures manual in the first quarter of FY2026. It also described secure intake and stronger record retention.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- No follow-up for this report was listed on the County Auditor index checked October 15, 2026. Management commitments above are not verified completion.
The auditor’s index lists March 10, 2025; the PDF cover says February 2025 and the filename includes February 28. AFP retains that date distinction.
DES2025FL001
Fleet vehicle utilization
Closed — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- Latest follow-up on the last of eight original recommendations; the auditor reviewed September 2024 mileage data and subsequent actions.
- What the auditor found
- The remaining recommendation asked whether the low-mileage threshold was effective and should change.
- Recommended action
- Reassess whether the low-utilization threshold reduces underused vehicles and whether the threshold should increase.
- Management response
- DES reviewed mileage and user feedback and retained the threshold of fewer than 1,500 miles over two consecutive years.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- The auditor accepted the policy review and supporting justification, closed the remaining recommendation and required no additional follow-up.
Original report: November 2021. Follow-ups: May 2022 and February 2025.
FRD2025FL002
Emergency medical services billing
Implemented — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- Follow-up review of billing and controls, considering FY2018–FY2023 activity.
- What the auditor found
- The follow-up revises the original analysis: only ambulance transports were billable, and the earlier analysis had not accounted for the FY2021 billing-vendor change. The original implied missed-revenue comparison should not be reused.
- Recommended action
- Strengthen billing reports and supervisory review so billable transports and follow-up are accurately tracked.
- Management response
- Management put billing reports and review controls in place.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- The auditor found both remaining recommendations implemented. This is a dated assessment of the controls, not a new estimate of current collections.
Report issued October 21, 2024. The follow-up’s correction is material to interpreting the original audit.
FRD2025FL001
Fire Department overtime
Partially implemented — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- Five remaining recommendations from an original set of twenty-three; eighteen had been addressed earlier.
- What the auditor found
- Four of the five remaining items were implemented. Recommendation 1.5 on TeleStaff automation remained incomplete.
- Recommended action
- Finish automating the relevant scheduling and overtime controls in TeleStaff.
- Management response
- Management’s remaining automation work had a first-quarter FY2026 target.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- The auditor described recommendation 1.5 as having remediation activities in process and planned to monitor and verify it after Q1 2026. No later follow-up was listed as of October 15, 2026. A passed target does not prove completion or failure.
No later follow-up listed in the index checked October 15, 2026.
FY19-01
Police Department overtime
Partially implemented — latest listed report:
- What was reviewed
- Latest listed follow-up on nineteen original recommendations; this is evidence from 2021.
- What the auditor found
- Seventeen recommendations were implemented; two remained partly implemented, concerning system interoperability and a staffing calculation.
- Recommended action
- Complete the remaining system and staffing-analysis work.
- Management response
- Management described ongoing work, including an expected FY2023 staffing-calculation milestone.
- Latest follow-up and limits
- The report records two partial items. No newer follow-up was listed when AFP checked the index; AFP has not established their present-day status.
The index and filename use September 23, 2021; the PDF states public release September 24, 2021. This is not a 2026 compliance finding.
Who audits what?
- County Auditor: performance audits and follow-ups for the County Board; this is the index covered here.
- DMF Internal Audit: a separate management-focused internal audit function.
- Independent financial-statement auditors: examine the county’s financial reporting; an opinion on statements is different from a performance audit of an individual program. See the county’s budget and finance records.
- APS Internal Audit: school-system oversight, separate from this county-topic inventory.
This page does not claim to review every report issued by all four functions. For later documents, consult the original indexes.
Sources checked October 15, 2026 (Eastern). These are dated summaries; follow the original records for later changes.