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Pittsburgh city controller releases Public Works audit

City Controller Michael Lamb released a performance audit Wednesday of the Pittsburgh's Department of Public Works, facilities division.

Data Erased

The city controller revealed today that computer tracking data containing work orders and costs of repairs to city facilities from 2014 and 2015 had been erased.

He says the city deleted the data when they switched to a new system that wasn't compatible, but he says that left his auditors with no way to track any of the work, especially work done to the mayor's office.  
 
"I'll call that convenient. That's a convenient response because they knew specifically what we were looking for and yet that information was erased," said City Controller Michael Lamb.
 
Lamb says the decision to destroy documentation leaves the administration open to criticism that past activity was being hidden.

Responding to the audit, Public Works Director Michael Gable said the hard copies still remain and he says they aren't hiding anything. 
 
"I contend that it's not. If you want to go through a bunch of paperwork you can certainly do that. That's the idea of entering a bunch of data, you are able to print out a report but we weren't able to do that from switching from one software to another." Gable said.

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Building Never Repaired

Lamb said the city made bad decisions about a city garage that should have been fixed years ago.

Roofing material still remains on a city garage in the Strip District.

Target 11 first told you about $300,000 of material sitting on the roof.

At the time, the city officials said they decided not to fix the roof because they planned to sell the building.

In an audit released Wednesday, the controller took the administration to task.  
 
"It is four years later. The building hasn't been sold, the roof is still leaking, the material still sits up there. They are drawing in it and using it by just another example of some really bad decision making," Lamb said.
 
The city says they used the material on other roof projects and Gable says it hasn't gone to waste.  
 
"I believe that there is a desire to get out of the strip district," Gable said. " I think it's going to come to fruition."

 

Cox Media Group

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