Performance Audit of Mayor's Office

Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb says more city departments have to make greater use of the city's 3-1-1 help line and the performance management system known at PittMAPS. Lamb says a lot of data that is received through many city departments doesn't flow through the 3-1-1 Response line and into PittMAPS and therefore city does not have accurate data to ensure that city operations are effective and efficient.
Lamb today released what he says is the first performance audit that anyone can remember of the Office of the Mayor. Lamb says the city charter requires audits at least once every 4 years of all city departments but apparently his predecessors "didn't consider the mayor's office a department." Lamb says Mayor Ravenstahl's office was very cooperative in the audit.
Lamb says because a lot of the data does not flow through the system a lot of work that is done is not reflected. He says if a resident calls to report a pothole on his street and a public works crew is dispatched to repair it, that information is in the system. But if the crew spots a pothole and fills it, that information does not make its way back into the system.
"If our data is accurate, we can ensure that city services are distributed equally...some neighborhoods are treated differently than other neighborhoods. What we're trying to get to is not just the most efficient way of doing things, but a way that equitably distributes the resources of the city to all neighborhoods in the city."