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OIG Advisory Examines City’s Policy and Procedure Management

The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released an advisory regarding the City’s documentation of operating policies and procedures. The advisory comes after past OIG investigations and audits found that the lack of documentation or notification of policies and procedures resulted in lost revenue for the City, hampered effectiveness and efficiency, and decreased employee accountability.

The advisory includes OIG’s analysis of responses to a questionnaire it distributed to 32 City departments. Through the questionnaire OIG found that many departments lacked documented, current, and clearly communicated policies and procedures.

OIG suggested that the Mayor’s Office provide guidance to departments on best practices, including periodically reviewing policies and procedures to determine whether they reflect actual operating activities. OIG also suggested that the Mayor’s Office design general policy and procedure templates and make them available to all departments in order to promote greater consistency and completeness in documenting policies and procedures citywide.

In response, the Mayor’s Office committed to establishing baseline expectations for documenting policies, requesting a description of policy creation and notification processes from departments, and requiring that departments submit an annual policy review report.

“The City of Chicago employs 32,059 individuals in various departments, offices, and field locations,” said Inspector General Joe Ferguson. “Ensuring that all staff are familiar with relevant policies and procedures is a necessity, even if a challenging one. The response of the Mayor’s Office is encouraging and is an important step towards promoting compliance and accountability among the City’s workforce.”

The advisory, and the City’s response, can be found online at OIG’s website.

Follow OIG on Twitter @ChicagoOIG for the latest information on how OIG continues to fight waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency in Chicago government.

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About Office of Inspector General

The mission of the independent and nonpartisan City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) is to promote economy, effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity by identifying corruption, waste, and mismanagement in City government. OIG is a watchdog for the taxpayers of the City and has jurisdiction to conduct inquiries into most aspects of City government. If you see misconduct, mismanagement, ineffectiveness, or inefficiency, we need to hear from you.

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