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Office of the City Controller | ALAN BUTKOVITZ Fall/Winter 2012
Controller
Investigates
LibraryWorkers
Finds Maintenance Employees
Earned Pay for Non-City Work
Page 3
Philly 311
Audit
Butkovitz Says Philly 311 Failed
to Meet Original Goals
Page 4
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E
Controller’s Forensic Investigation
of Sheriff’s Office:
Criminal Charges Filed
Page 2
Police Cameras
Not Working
Controller’s Audit Finds More
Than Half of Police Cameras
Not Working
Page 4
EMS Response
Times Still Not
Meeting Industry
Standard
Page 3
Controller Calls
For Action
Vacant School Buildings Creating
Neighborhood Nuisances
Page 5

Controller’s Forensic Investigation of Sheriff’s Office:
Criminal Charges Filed
After the Sheriff’s Office failed to provide
financial records worth $53 million during
a departmental audit, the City Controller
launched a precedent forensic investigation
that uncovered numerous questionable
financial transactions and fraudulent activity
within the Sheriff’s Real Estate Division.
From 2005 to 2010, the Sheriff’s Office
paid a vendor $206 million for advertising
services, settlement “pass-through”
disbursements, other related services and
fees. The vendor was the brother of the
director of the Sheriff’s Real Estate Division
and brother-in law to the supervisor of
the same division.
Under two near-identical, but different,
signed contracts between the Sheriff’s
Office and the vendor, the vendor
overcharged the Sheriff’s Office between
$7.4 million and $11.6 million for
advertising services.
“The Sheriff’s Office abandoned its responsibility
to protect the public’s interest by allowing
private parties to improperly benefit financially
at the expense of individuals and families
who lost their homes through foreclosure,”
said Controller Butkovitz.
Due to a lack of proper oversight, some of
the Sheriff’s Office overcharges made to
the vendor included the following:
• $2.9 million for posting properties on a
website from 2005 to 2010
• $1.1 million for advertising that was never
paid to newspapers for publishing ads
• $616,728 in 2010 for unpaid gas bills on
273 auctioned off Sheriff’s properties
The investigation also uncovered six suspicious
checks totaling $389,742 to three companies
with little or no connection to the Sheriff’s
Office, which included an antique dealer located
outside the city and a sports and entertainment
management services company that caters to
the needs of high-profile individuals.
The Controller’s forensic investigation was
turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office
where in less than a month criminal charges
were filed against four individuals; one was
an employee in the accounting department of
the Sheriff’s Office. All four were charged
with wire fraud as they operated a scam
that bilked the Sheriff’s Office for more
than $400,000. The U.S. Attorney’s
investigation is still ongoing.
At the onset of the forensic audit, three
upper-staff members responsible for Sheriff’s
sales and overseeing the financial records
for the Sheriff’s Office were terminated.
The vendor was also terminated.
The Controller’s forensic audit was the first
ever conducted for any city department or
agency by the Philadelphia City
Controller’s Office.
page 2

EMS Response Times Still Not Meeting Industry Standard
As a follow-up to a 2007 audit that reviewed the
Philadelphia Fire Department’s Emergency
Medical Services (EMS) response time to
emergencies, the Controller’s latest audit
revealed that minimal improvement has
been made as EMS units are still arriving
at the scene of an emergency on time in
only 60 percent of the time.
It is a widely accepted industry standard for
EMS units to arrive on scene in less than
nine minutes for 90 percent of the time.
Four years ago, Controller Butkovitz found
EMS units were arriving on scene less than
nine minutes about 40 percent of the time.
“It is unacceptable that the response time is
still well below the 90 percent industry standard,”
said Butkovitz. “The City is putting lives at
risk by failing to do all that it can to have
EMS units arrive on time.”
According to the Controller’s follow-up
review, a major factor contributing to the
EMS’ inability to arrive on time was the
overwhelming demand on the EMS system
as well as an inadequate number of paramedics.
Over the last decade, EMS requests have
spiked 36 percent from 165,234 in 1999 to
224,485 in 2009, during which the total number
of paramedics employed by the city decreased
by 28 percent. During this same time period,
the number of positions fell from a high of
291 in 2002 to a low of 211 in 2009.
To improve the City’s EMS operations and
increase the percentage of EMS units that
arrive on scene in less than nine minutes, the
Controller’s audit listed a number of recommendations
which included the following:
• The Fire Department must recruit
more paramedics to keep up with
the increasing demand
• Implement a priority dispatch
system, such as Tele-Nursing, to
eliminate an estimated 50 percent
of non-emergency calls
Controller Investigates Library
Maintenance Workers
• Coordinate efforts with appropriate city
departments to educate the public about
using the 311 System
• Ensure that the GPS system is fully
functional and is being utilized to direct
the closest EMS unit to the emergency scene
• Utilize paramedic-engines that can supply
both fire and paramedic equipment and
cross-train fire fighters to be paramedics.
After receiving information about Philadelphia
Free Library maintenance employees working
on projects unrelated to their jobs, Controller
Butkovitz conducted his own investigation
and found significant opportunities existed
for maintenance employees to fraudulently
report their work locations as well as their time.
Controller Butkovitz’ report revealed that
opportunities existed for Library maintenance
employees to cheat the City of time and
money because there was no oversight of
the maintenance division or its employees.
There was no accountability over employees’
time and work assignments, no policies for
detailing procedures for assigning projects,
supervising employees and reporting when
specific projects were completed.
“Library management clearly failed to
design and adopt appropriate procedures
to monitor the work of its employees and
supervise them,” said Butkovitz. “These
conditions created opportunities for Library
page 3
maintenance employees to abuse and waste
time at work, as well as possibly commit
fraud by working privately at the same
time they were getting paid by the City.”
Auditors selected a test date to account
for a painter who was identified in the
investigative information sent to the
Controller’s Office.
By examining Library’s records for the
selected date, the painter was logged as
having worked 14.5 hours, which included
6.5 hours overtime at the Frankford Library
for a project that required cleaning and
repainting the ceiling of the men’s public
restroom. On the same day that the painter
was logged for having worked 14.5 hours for
the city, it was found that the painter was at
his home on several occasions during this time.
While Library management assigned the
job to the painter, there was no indication as
to the number of hours that were needed to
complete the repair work. The Library had
no system for documenting whether the
work was actually completed or not. There
also was no evidence that spot checks were
performed by supervisors.
“This maintenance worker was allowed to
cheat the City by earning pay that he did not
deserve, and it was pay that he should have
never received,” said Controller Butkovitz.

Butkovitz Says Philly 311
Failed to Meet Original Goals
In conducting the first comprehensive review
of the Philly 311 system since its inception,
the City Controller’s audit revealed that the
service failed to meet any of its original goals.
The main goals of the 311 system include the
following: provide the public with quick,
easy access to all government services; assist
agencies and departments to improve services
and manage their workload efficiently; and
provide recommendations to improve city
government through accurate, consistent
measurement and analysis.
“While the $6 million annual service is supposed
to be a constituent service hotline and a pertinent
tool for City Hall to know what’s happening
in the city, 93 percent of all 311 calls went
unmonitored,” said Controller Butkovitz.
In 2010, only seven percent of the 1.3 million
calls made to the system were monitored, despite
the fact that one of the primary missions
for the system when it was first implemented
was for all calls to be tracked for the time it
took to address the request and for the
category of the call.
The 311 system was also initially implemented
to reduce the number of non-emergency calls
made to 911. Based on statistics available,
as provided by the City’s 911 system, the
reduction in non-emergency calls did not
occur. In addition, 311 staff did not attempt to
monitor if the number of 911 calls had been
reduced, since the inception of the program.
While researching other cities’ results with
implementing 311 systems, the Controller
found that many other cities across the
country were able to reduce the number
of non-emergency calls to 911, including
some cities with double digit reductions.
Cities that realized reductions in 911 calls
included: Baltimore, 50%; San Antonio,
20%; Houston, 14%; and Denver, 12%.
Other findings from the Controller’s
audit included:
• Operators were not available 24 hours a
day, seven days a week as promised
• Little effort on the part of the Administration
to inform or educate the public about the
existence of the 311 System
• 311 management did not provide City
Council or the Administration with
complete programmatic or financial
information for the overall cost of
the program
• No mechanism in place to gauge if
citizens were aware of the System’s
existence or how many calls coming
into City Departments are bypassing
the 311 System.
More Than Half of Police Cameras Not Working
The City Controller’s audit on the Philadelphia's
Video Surveillance program found the
city spent $13.9 million for surveillance
cameras; however, only 102 of the 216
installed cameras were functioning properly.
As a result of only 47 percent of the cameras
working, each operating camera has cost the
city $136,000.
page 4
“The cost is exceedingly alarming, and
outright excessive - especially when $13.9
million is equivalent to the cost of putting
200 new police recruits on our streets,"
said Controller Butkovitz.
According to Butkovitz this project has
been problematic from the very beginning.
The Controller’s audit found unsatisfactory
performance from the camera vendor, causing
the city to terminate the contract, and in
return leaving the city’s limited resources
alone to manage the cameras. There was
also warranty information and maintenance
records missing for cameras and other video
surveillance equipment that was supposed
to be maintained by the Office of
Innovative Technology.
“Without proper documentation, the city
could have paid for services that it already
contracted for," said Butkovitz. "We found
numerous unopened boxes containing
camera equipment at a warehouse and could
not determine if the equipment was even
compatible with the cameras currently installed.”
At the start of 2012, the City awarded
an additional $3.2 million contract for
maintenance, service, supplies and
installation of the video surveillance
cameras, which eventually increased to
$3.6 million. This contract was awarded
without evidence that it was really needed.
“The city needs to fully measure the success
of the video surveillance program against
the original project goals,” said Butkovitz.
“This should be evaluated on a regular
periodic basis and provided to city officials.”
“Providing effective public safety needs to
be our city's number one priority. It needs to
be done in a cost-efficient method to ensure
that every tax dollar goes toward efforts that
properly protect our citizens.”

Controller Calls for Immediate Action to Repair
School District’s Vacant Buildings
As part of the City Controller’s ongoing
assessment of the Philadelphia School
District’s capital assets, as well as an
examination to determine if the District’s
vacant schools are being maintained in a
satisfactory manner, Controller Butkovitz
found the vacant buildings are creating
unsafe and unsanitary conditions for
surrounding neighborhoods.
The Controller’s Office reviewed eight
vacant schools that included the former
Roberto Clemente Middle School, which
has been vacant for 13 years. The others
included the Alcorn Annex, vacant two years;
Beeber Wynnefield, 10 years; Rudolph
Walton, eight years; Simon Muhr, three
years; George W. Childs, one year; Elizabeth
Gillespie, two years; andAda Lewis, three years.
Three of the eight vacant buildings are in
poor condition with one facility, the former
Roberto Clemente, in serious disrepair.
Controller Butkovitz’ report recommends
that the School District, along with the City,
immediately seal and demolish the former
Roberto Clemente.
At both Rudolph Walton and Simon Muhr,
the Controller’s investigators found easy
access to the properties which contained
used hypodermic syringes, numerous needle
caps, tiny plastic “drug” baggies, and used
condoms in areas surrounding the actual
school buildings. Human waste was also
found at these schools.
Other findings from the Controller’s current
review included three of the schools, former
Roberto Clemente, Beeber Wynnefield and
Simon Muhr, are recognized areas for criminal
activity such as robberies, drug possessions,
weapons and assault offenses that all occurred
since the schools became vacant.
Prior to the Controller releasing the vacant
school report, he had been aggressively
demanding that the School District properly
maintain its vacant buildings, such as the
former Thomas Edison High School in
North Philadelphia, which erupted into a
four-alarm fire last year.
Three years prior to the fire, the Controller’s
Office conducted an on-site inspection of
the property and found that the abandoned
school’s open windows and access points
provided easy access for illegal activity and
it welcomed young children who would
enter the school and play on the roof.
Controller Butkovitz recommended that
the School District and the City formulate
action plans to handle both long-term and
short-term corrective actions, especially
with the School District’s proposal to
close up to 40 schools in the future.
$5 Million Owed the City for Police Services
At a time when every city dollar collected
counts, Controller Butkovitz identified $5
million owed to the city by 716 entities for
police services, according to the City Controller's
Police Receivables follow-up report. Those
owing the city included bars, clubs, construction
companies, government agencies and
many other organizations.
Of the total amount owed, almost $1.9
million was more than 90 days past due –
with some balances listed as outstanding
dating back to 2006.
“The longer the city waits to collect balances
owed for city services, the less probable it
becomes that the City will receive the full
payment,” said Controller Butkovitz.
page 5
The $5 million total outstanding balance is
$1.7 million less than what was reported as
owed in the Controller’s 2009 report. The
25 percent decrease is mainly due to the decline
in amounts past due between 61 and 90
days. In 2009, $1.5 million was past due
during this period, compared to only
$19,050 in 2012.
According to Controller Butkovitz, “All
monies owed to the City of Philadelphia
must be collected immediately. Allowing
delinquents to forgo payments for City services
is a trending cycle that cannot continue.”
The City Controller’s current report included
a list of top 20 delinquents with outstanding
balances older than 90 days. The entities included
on the list have past due balances ranging
from $18,549 to $341,329. Nine of these
entities were on the same list in the Controller’s
previous report. About half have outstanding
balances due from September 2006.
To improve collections and generate
additional revenues for the city, Controller
Butkovitz recommends the following:
• The Police Department needs to fully
monitor its policy and current system
for providing police services to
recurring delinquents
• The Police Department and Managing
Director’s Office need to coordinate
efforts to ensure that all deposits for
police services are paid before any
additional services are provided, and
• Engage the Law Department to take
aggressive action on collecting all
delinquent amounts owed.

Controller’s Bank on Philadelphia Continues
Financial Literacy Efforts
Since the City Controller expanded his Bank
on Philadelphia program last year to incorporate
youth financial education, many community
organizations and financial organizations
worked together to provide services to youth
of all ages in-and-out of the classroom.
Some of the programs and services
provided by Bank on Philadelphia’s
partners included the following:
•Recreation Centers – the Controller’s
Office joined efforts with the City’s Recreation
Department to provide youth financial
education to about 150 youths at eight
recreation centers located throughout the city.
•NASDAQ OMX (Philadelphia Stock
Exchange) – Operation HOPE, a Bank on
Philadelphia partner, coordinated a career
day at NASDAQ OMX for seniors at
Olney Charter High School. The students
had the opportunity to learn about the
importance of financial literacy as well
as participate in a mock trading session.
• On-site Learning at the Bank - the Philadelphia
Education Fund's Math+Science Coalition,
Operation Hope and United Bank joined
together to educate Kensington High
School teens about the importance of
personal money management, careers in
banking and accounting and general financial
literacy. The event was held at United
Bank's corporate office and it included
financial education workshops with
interactive activities and learning sessions.
www.philadelphiacontroller.org/bop
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