Jenny Wong, City Auditor
Promoting transparency and accountability in Berkeley government.
Audit News
from the City Auditor
July 2024
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Audit of the Environmental Health Division’s Food Inspection Program Released Today
Our audit “Berkeley Restaurant Inspections: Chronically Understaffed Program Did Not Meet Targets” finds that the Environmental Health Division did not meet targets for food facility inspections or response to complaints involving alleged foodborne illness. We audited Berkeley’s Food Safety and Inspection Program because food inspections play a vital public health role in preventing foodborne illness for the many residents and visitors who dine in Berkeley. We found that food inspectors’ assigned workloads exceeded recommended levels and impacted their ability to meet inspection targets. Almost half of permitted food facilities (45 percent) were not inspected at least once in 2023, and this includes 193 restaurants.
Berkeley restaurants made up the largest group of facilities not inspected in 2023.
Source: Auditor analysis of Berkeley’s Environmental Health Division database, Environmental Health Division
Berkeley’s inspections were behind other jurisdictions like Alameda County, where officials stated that only 3 percent of food facilities were not inspected at least once in 2023. The Environmental Health Division only met its target response of one business day for complaints involving alleged foodborne illness for 6 out of 23 such complaints. The food inspection program had two persistent vacancies in a supervisor role and a food inspector role. The City did not recruit for the supervisor position for over 4 years.
We also found that information on the food inspection program was limited. The Environmental Health Division did not have an established practice of tracking program revenues and expenses, and could not distinguish between revenues from the food inspection program and its other inspection programs. As a result, they could not provide detailed information on program spending unlike Alameda County and the City of Pasadena, where officials reported that their fees cover most of their program costs. This underscores the need for greater transparency over public funds and accountability for fees paid by food facilities.
Short staffing made it harder to manage inspection data and monitor program performance. We found a lack of reliable data needed to effectively manage food inspections. For example, two preschools were not included in the Division’s database and, as a result, were not inspected in 2023. Further, the public has limited access to complete information about food safety in Berkeley through the Open Data Portal and Berkeley does not require food facilities to post placards with a food safety score unlike the rest of Alameda County and other jurisdictions.
To overcome these challenges, we recommend the Environmental Health Division develop a plan to improve inspection coverage and its response to alleged foodborne illness complaints, track program spending, and take steps to address staffing needs. We also recommend the Division provide more accessible and complete information to the public about food inspections, for example by making inspection history more widely available online and developing a plan to implement placarding once staffing levels are stable.
The Environmental Health Division agreed or partially agreed with our recommendations. We look forward to working together during the audit follow up process to ensure the food inspection program can meet its public health goals and keep the public better informed on food safety.
I will present this report to City Council on July 30, 2024. You can provide comments during this meeting.
Audit Plan For Fiscal Year 2025
We would like to share with you our Audit Plan for FY 2025. We developed this plan in part based on input about issues and risks of high importance to members of the Berkeley community. We also gathered input from community members, elected officials, department staff, and city management. In FY 2025, my office will initiate work related to the Rent Stabilization Board, affordable housing, and the City’s contracting process. We will continue our audit of homelessness. We also plan to conduct a follow-up audit of our previous audit of the City’s leases. Along with producing these reports, we are also designating resources to complete implementation of our Whistleblower Program. This program will include a confidential hotline and website for city employees, contractors, vendors, and residents to report fraud, waste, and abuse in city government. Finally, we will continue to track the implementation of audit recommendations through our dashboard, and work with city departments to report out on the status of these recommendations through council reports.
Budget
On June 25, 2024, the City Council voted to pass the FY 2025-FY 2026 biennial budget. My office received funding to train staff, address increased workload in the Payroll Audit Division and manage ongoing Whistleblower program needs – including the 24/7 Whistleblower Hotline and case management software. View the full proposed budget book here.
National Night Out
National Night Out is coming up on Tuesday, August 6. National Night Out is an annual community-building event that takes place on the first Tuesday of August. This is a great opportunity to connect with City staff and elected officials. Sign up and invite our Office to attend your block parties and gatherings! If you haven’t already, register to host a party here. Please contact Sheila Soo at Ssoo@berkeleyca.gov to invite us to your National Night Out event.
Do you have an idea for an audit? We want to hear from you! Please fill out our audit topics survey.
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