The New Orleans Inspector General alleges the Safety and Permits office dismissed years of official recommendations for reform.
Ed Michel released a new 59-page report Tuesday, outlining 12 recommendations. But Michel highlighted two recommendations he believes are crucial: making operational policies clear and available and creating a manual to organize procedures and information.
The OIG alleges a widespread lack of internal controls, including a lack of formal training and inconsistent inspections.
The 12 priorities are listed below:
- S&P should establish a coherent set of operational policies and procedures documented in a single, integrated policies and procedures manual. The completed S&P policy manual should establish a clear system of internal controls.
- S&P should establish formal training policies and procedures for each division.
- S&P should create a clear workflow process for permitting and inspections through its Land MAnagement (LAMA) platform that cannot be bypassed, up to and including supervisory approval.
- S&P should implement a tracking system in LAMA for permit application and inspection requests that is able to pause the review of certain applications without preventing subsequent applications from moving forward.
- S&P should review and revise LAMA permissions so that employees have access only to the portions of a permit application or inspection request appropriate to their role and responsibilities.
- S&P should restrict permit and inspection approvals to supervisors only.
- S&P should establish a random internal review process to ensure permits and inspections are compliant with S&P policy.
- S&P should establish clear and easily accessible criteria for permit and inspection requests and share checklists with prospective applicants and other external stakeholders.
- S&P should ensure the building code sections of the City Code, including permitting and inspection criteria, fees, and penalties, are easily accessible, and consistently enforce them.
- S&P should work with the City Council to increase fees and penalties for inadequate or inappropriate permit and inspection submissions.
- S&P should establish a tracking system of inadequate permit applications and third-party inspections and institute a sanctions policy for repeat offenders.
The OIG writes: “The absence of a comprehensive internal control system opens the entire permitting and inspections process to potential abuse by bad actors, both internally and externally.”
Those allegations were refuted by the City of New Orleans, who acknowledges room for growth. But the City questions the data used in the report:
“Qualitative methods such as employee shadowing, ride-alongs, or comprehensive permit tracking from initiation to completion were not incorporated into the review. Instead, the report appears to rely heavily on previously published data and recommendations, which may not fully reflect current practices and progress.”
READ MORE:Inspector General alleges Safety and Permits office ignored recommendations for reform
