Richmond makes ‘significant progress’ addressing audit recommendations, Mayor Avula says

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The city of Richmond has made "significant progress" in addressing audit recommendations and strengthening operational practices, according to Mayor Danny Avula and Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald, II.

In an emailed announcement on Thursday, Feb. 5, Avula and Donald announced that the city had recently successfully closed 31 audit recommendations, including 20 findings tied to the employee purchasing card program.

This comes months after an audit discovered that city employees likely misspent at least $5 million in Richmond taxpayer dollars during "questionable transactions."

The closed recommendations also come after additional funds -- to the tune of at least $44,000 in city taxpayer money -- were spent on "questionable transactions" through the city's fleet fuel program, according to a different audit.

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“Every day I am focused on creating a thriving City Hall that responds effectively and helps residents when they need it. I’m thrilled with the progress on closing out more than 31 audit findings that were on my desk when I came into office,” Avula said in the press release. “We are fixing gaps, strengthening processes, and continuing this work to build trust with Richmond.” 

“We are fully committed to building a culture of accountability and continuous improvement,” Donald said in the press release. “I’m proud of the progress made by the historic closures of audit recommendations and implementation of stronger controls. We’re building a culture of excellence here at City Hall, and we'll keep going until we achieve the standards Richmonders expect."

More information can be found on the Office of City Auditor's webpage.