FY 2008-09 parks annual report : parks scores citywide increased for fourth year, but disparities remain between districts

2009·2.3 MB·English

by  San Francisco (Calif.). Office of the Controller. City Services Auditor Division

SANFRANCISCOPUBLICLIBRARY
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3 1223 08679 332
FY 2008-09 PARKS
ANNUAL REPORT:
Park Scores Citywide Increased for
Fourth Year, but Disparities Remain
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GOVERNMENT
DOCUMENTS DEPT
DEC 1 7 2009 December 16, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO
PUBLIC LIBRARY

FY 2008-09 PARKS
ANNUAL REPORT:
Park Scores Citywide Increased for
Fourth Year, but Disparities Remain
Between
Districts
GOVERNMENT
DOCUMENTS DEPT
DEC 1 7 2009 December 16, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO
PUBLIC LIBRARY
CONTROLLER'S OFFICE
CITY SERVICES AUDITOR
The City Services Auditorwas created within the Controller's Office through an amendmentto the
City Charter that was approved by voters in November 2003. UnderAppendix F to the City Charter,
the City Services Auditor has broad authority for:
• Reporting on the level and effectiveness ofSan Francisco's public services and
benchmarking the city to other public agencies and jurisdictions.
• Conducting financial and performance audits ofcitydepartments, contractors, and functions
to assess efficiency and effectiveness ofprocesses and services.
• Operating a whistleblower hotline and website and investigating reports ofwaste, fraud, and
abuse ofcity resources.
• Ensuring the financial integrity and improving the overall performance and efficiencyofcity
government.
The audits unit conducts financial audits, attestation engagements, and performance audits.
Financial audits address the financial integrityof both city departments and contractors and provide
reasonable assurance about whetherfinancial statements are presented fairly in all material aspects
in conformitywith generally accepted accounting principles. Attestation engagements examine,
review, or perform procedures on a broad range ofsubjects such as internal controls; compliance
with requirements ofspecified laws, regulations, rules, contracts, orgrants; and the reliability of
performance measures. Performance audits focus primarilyon assessmentofcityservices and
processes, providing recommendations to improve departmentoperations.
We conduct our audits in accordance with the GovernmentAuditing Standards published bythe U.S.
GovernmentAccountability Office (GAO). These standards require:
• Independence ofaudit staffand the audit organization.
• Objectivity ofthe auditors performing the work.
• Competent staff, including continuing professional education.
• Quality control procedures to provide reasonable assurance ofcompliance with the auditing
standards.
Project Team: Peg Stevenson, Director
Andrew Murray, Deputy Director
Natasha Mihal, Project Manager
CSA City Performance and Audit Staff
3 1223 08679 3321
City and County of San Francisco
Office of the Controller - City Services Auditor
FY 2008-09 Parks Annual Report: December 16, 2009
Park Scores Citywide Increased for Fourth Year, but Disparities Remain Between Districts
Purpose ofthe Report
The City Services Auditor CharterAmendment requires that standards be established for park maintenance,
and thatthe City Services Auditor (CSA) issue an annual report on performance underthese standards.
This report provides the results from evaluations ofall open City parks in fiscal year (FY) 2008-09, discusses
the Recreation and Park Department's efforts to use the standards and results to inform operational
decisions, and includes recommendations to improvethe City's performance in these areas.
Highlights Recommendations
Park scores increased for the fourth consecutive year. All open The report includes six
City parks were rated by the Controller's Office's City Services recommendations forthe
Auditor (CSA) and Recreation and Park Department (Rec Park) Recreation and Park
stafffrom July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, using the San Francisco Department to make
Park Maintenance Standards Manual. improvements in the parks
standards program and
Park scores are based on the number of each feature's elements,
incorporate evaluation
such as lawns or trees or children's play areas, which pass the
standard. A score above 85 percent would generally indicate that results into operational
planning.
the park is well maintained and that its features are in good
condition.
Specifically, Rec Park
The citywide average in FY 2008-09 was 87.3 percent, up from should:
86.2 percent in FY 2007-08. Differences between districts
• Incorporate timely
increased - 12.6 points difference compared to 8.8 points last
monitoring of evaluation
year. Fourdistricts averaged over 90 percent, up from one last
results into management
year, and district 10 scored the lowest for the second year in a
activities.
row, dropping to 80.2 percent. Other highlights include the
following: • Improve public reporting.
• More parks received an A grade, though more parks received
• Revise and complete
Ds and Fs than last year. park management plans.
• Low-scoring parks were concentrated in the southeast section
ofthe City. • Address issues with the
Total Asset Management
• Fifty-six percent of all parks scored higherthan last year.
system and identify
The CSA Charter Amendment requires Rec Park to establish and strategies to implement
post maintenance staff schedules. Compliance to these staff improvements.
schedules still received mixed results. Rec Park's scores were up
slightly from last year, from a low of 68 percent in the fourth Consider revising the
park standards.
quarter (April-June 2009) to a high of 81 percent in the third
quarter (January-March 2009). CSA's scores were lower, from 29
Continue to improve
to 52 percent. However, Rec Park and CSA use different
quality of park
methodology for measuring compliance to staff schedules so a
evaluations.
direct comparison is not applicable.
Copiesofthefullreportmaybeobtainedat:
Controller's Office • CityHall, Room316 • 1 Dr. CarltonB. GoodlettPlace • SanFrancisco, CA 94102 415.554.7500
orontheInternetathttp://www.sfgov.pro/controller
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CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
OFFICE OF THE CONTROLLER Ben Rosenfield
Controller
MoniqueZmuda
DeputyController
December 16, 2009
Honorable Mayor Gavin Newsom
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
City Hall, Room 200
San Francisco, CA 94102
President David Chiu
Board of Supervisors
City Hall, Room 244
San Francisco, CA 94102
Dear Mayor Newsom and President Chiu:
The City Services Auditor CharterAmendment requires that standards be established for parks
and that the City Services Auditor (CSA) issue an annual report on performance under the
standards. This report provides the results from evaluations in FY 2008-09, the Recreation and
Park Department's (Rec Park) efforts to use the standards and results to inform operational
decisions, and includes recommendations to improve the City's performance in these areas.
We found that City parks performed better in this year's ratings - the citywide average was 87.3
percent, up from 86.1 percent in last year's ratings. Differences between district scores
increased by 12.6 percentage points, separating the City's highest (District 3) and lowest
(District 10) scoring districts, compared to 8.8 percentage points difference last year.
The report provides six recommendations for Rec Park to improve the parks standards program
and incorporate park evaluation results into operational planning. Rec Park concurs that the
allocation of landscape and maintenance resources can be informed by results from the
evaluations. We will continue to work with Rec Park to find ways to use the data to make these
decisions, such as considering concentrating on areas that need improvement as identified by
the results, though we understand resources are limited.
We thank Rec Park stafffor this year's work on the implementation ofthe standards and
improvement in park scores. We are interested in improving the City's work in this area and
invite your ideas and comments. Ifwe can answer any questions or provide additional
information, please feel free to contact Peg Stevenson, Natasha Mihal or me at [phone].
Respectfully submitted,
^^tfffcl
Ben Rosenfield
Controller
415-554-7500 CityHall• 1 Dr. Carlton B. GoodlettPlace•Room 316•SanFranciscoCA94102-4694 FAX[phone]
cc: Board of Supervisors
Civil Grand Jury
Budget Analyst
Public Library
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 -Introduction 1
Background
1
Methodology
1
Chapter 2 - Park Evaluation Results 5
Citywide Results 5
Park Grades 5
District Results 6
Highest and Lowest Scoring Parks 8
Parks with Greatest Changes from Last Year 11
Features Results 12
Staff Schedule Compliance 13
Chapter 3 - Using the Results 15
Neighborhood Service Areas and Results 15
Park Management Plans 17
Other Reports on Park Conditions 18
Chapter 4- Recommendations 21
Status of FY 2007-08 Recommendations 24
Appendix A- Detailed Methodology A-1
Appendix B - Individual Park Results B-1
Appendix C - District Results C-1
Appendix D - Neighborhood Service Areas D-1
Appendix E - Department Response E-1
LIST OF ACRONYMS
CSA City Services Auditor
NSA Neighborhood Service Area
Prop C Proposition C
Rec Park Recreation and Park Department