Controller: L&I was sloppy with book-keeping
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Controller: L&I was sloppy with book-keeping
David Gambacorta
Update: In the interest of clarity, the City Controller's report makes clear that the book-keeping problems occurred before the current L&I administration -- including Commissioner Fran Burns -- were in power.
PHILADELPHIA – City Controller Alan Butkovitz today released the FY07-09 audit of the Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) that found $11 million of demolition costs that were not reported on the City’s books. As a result, the City Controller’s Office was unable to determine whether these costs were ever billed and/or collected.
In the years covered under the audit, the Controller’s Office estimated that a total of $55.5 million of expected demolition billings should have been reported on the books. However, the audit found that only $44.5 million was actually recorded in the City’s receivable system. According to Butkovitz, the $11 million difference is a result of untimely billings coupled with a poor record keeping system, all of which were found in the City Controller’s previous audit.
"There are millions of dollars that were not being properly recorded on the City’s books,” said Butkovitz. “As a result there is no way of knowing who owes what.
“We have raised this issue in previous audits. It’s unacceptable for L&I to continue failing to collect millions in outstanding revenue, especially in our current financial state.”
Butkovitz continued, “Moreover, it appears that, again, L&I didn’t even bill for some of the work it completed.”
During a test of five billable demolition expenditures, auditors identified two invoices totaling $23,964 for work that was completed at a property on the 2700 Block of N. Taylor St., but the owner was never billed for the City’s demolition services.
“When L&I fails to send an invoice to the property owner for work it completed, it's almost certain that the money will never be collected," said Butkovitz. “The City ends up straining more of its resources while spending significant amounts of its revenues."
In addition to finding millions of dollars in unpaid demolition work, the audit also found an unexplained shortage of $2.8 million between revenues for licenses and fees recorded in the City’s primary accounting system and the related amounts recorded in L&I ‘s database.
According to Butkovitz, a difference in revenues is partially due to bounced checks not reflected in L&I's database.
"Improperly recording bounced checks allowed individuals to have licenses and permits to which they were not entitled," said Butkovitz. "L&I must reconcile the data it maintains with the amounts being recorded on the City's system."
To view a copy of the Department of Licenses and Inspections Auditor’s Report for Fiscal Years 2007 - 2009, please visit the Controller’s website at www.philadelphiacontroller.org
Comment removed.
wow - the philly administration has been caught cheating again. that's front page news !— the_chief- FY07-09 were well before Ms. Burns. Go in another direction if you want to play the blame game. Instead, lets ask how these issues have been rectified to correct the problem.— POD
- No wonder this city is crying the poor blues, it seems every agency or department that has been audited, MILLIONS are unaccountable!!! And our taxes keep going up to cover some of the losses!!! If this was a private business, everyone in City Government would be fired by now!!!— Dadair1
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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