West Price Hill resident urges council to probe ignored fleet audit findings

At the Citizens Forum before council, West Price Hill resident Todd Zinsser urged Cincinnati City Council to investigate why the city's internal audit on fleet services had not prompted visible action.

“On January 24, the city's internal audit manager issued the results of her vehicle purchase and replacement audit,” Zinsser told the chamber. He said the audit “had 12 findings, made 14 recommendations” and that, in his view, the report was “pretty much ignored by just about everybody.”

Zinsser said the report painted a picture of a neglected and under-resourced fleet and that the city manager did not mention the audit during a budget presentation. “It was like you never read the report,” he said, and added that the public should know where the breakdown occurred because the audit “makes clear that it was somewhere above the Department of Public Services.”

The public comment called on council to get to the bottom of the audit findings and for the administration to explain what steps, if any, it has taken in response. Council did not take formal action during the meeting on the audit during the public comment period; the item was presented as a request for investigation and public accountability.