1. ALGA Webinar Brian Evans, Principal Management Auditor Office of the Metro Auditor November 19, 2013

2.  What is Metro?  Metro’s Office of the Auditor  Natural Area Maintenance Audit Background Findings Recommendations Management response 2

3. An elected regional government, that serves more than 1.7 million residents in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties and the 25 cities in the Portland region. Annual budget of about $536 million with 741 FTE 3

4. Responsible for the region’s:  Regional parks and natural areas  Recycling and waste disposal system  Land use and transportation planning  Oregon Zoo  Performing arts, convention and exhibit centers 4

5.  Small office Elected Auditor Four staff auditors One administrative assistant  Focus on performance audits Hours per audit range from 200 to 2,500 hours Average about five reports per year Average 680 hours per audit About 2,000 hours spent on this audit 5

6. 6

7. Parks… …are for people. Natural areas… …are for wildlife. 7

8.  1995 Bond Measure: $129 million to purchase 8,203 acres  2006 Bond Measure: $69 million to purchase 3,166 acres 8

9. Scientists do this… Technicians do that… 9

10.  15 site visits to the parks and natural areas in the region.  108 hours with the scientists and technicians who work in the natural areas.  Interviews with Metro’s partners to understand challenges. 10

11. Scope  Three nature parks build by Metro Objective  What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of three approaches to maintenance? 11

12. 12

13. Graham OaksCooper Mtn.Mount Talbert Management System Metro owned, Metro maintained. Metro owned, partner maintained with funding and technical assistance from Metro. Metro owned, partner maintained with technical assistance from Metro. Acres250230220 Park Operations$60,000$383,000$20,000 Maintenance & Restoration $633,000$151,000$137,000 Construction$3.2 million $1.6 million Acquisition & Stabilization $2.6 million$9.1 million$13.8 million 13

14.  Metro’s land management role increased  Land needs maintenance  Maintenance needs increase when parks are built Metro pays someone to maintain the land Metro develops in- house maintenance capacity Costs increase when this… …is turned into this 14

15.  Elements of land management system could be improved Needs work…  Not all done  Unclear 15

16.  Without a plan, priorities were inconsistent at Mount Talbert Use Conflicts: Parking lot built in wildlife corridor 16

17.  Without a plan, priorities were inconsistent at Cooper Mountain Use Conflicts: Parking lot built in wetland Wetland impacts require mitigation… …to build beautiful park facilities! 17

18.  Roles and responsibilities unclear Who does the work? 18

19. Graham OaksCooper Mtn.Mount Talbert Management System Metro owned, Metro maintained. Metro owned, partner maintained with funding and technical assistance from Metro. Metro owned, partner maintained with technical assistance from Metro. Park Operations$60,000$383,000$20,000 Roles & Responsibilities ClearClear, for nowUnclear Maintenance Standards HighHigh, for nowLow  Lack of clarity hinders evaluation 19

21.  Develop site specific plans for land to be maintained  Define the maintenance standard for each site plan  Ensure that plans include all maintenance activities regardless of who performs them  Periodically review prioritization and plans 21

22.  Clarify roles and responsibilities  Develop systems to better track expenditures and estimate future costs  Develop, collect, and monitor performance measures to improve maintenance strategies  Improve management of partnership agreements 22

23.  We agree with the recommendations but… “Detailed planning takes a significant amount of staff time and comes at the cost of addressing some day-to-day needs on the ground.” 23

24.  Local Option Levy 26-152 “Improve natural areas, water quality for fish”  Passed by voters on May 21, 2013 24

25. Report  Natural Areas Maintenance http://rim.oregonmetro.gov/webdrawer/rec/235151/view/Offi ce of the Auditor - Performance Audit Reports - Audit Reports - Natural Areas Maintenance Audit.PDF http://rim.oregonmetro.gov/webdrawer/rec/235151/view/Offi ce of the Auditor - Performance Audit Reports - Audit Reports - Natural Areas Maintenance Audit.PDF Presenter  Brian.Evans@oregonmetro.gov Brian.Evans@oregonmetro.gov 25