(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
Auditor Mike Foley took aim at the city of Lincoln over its lack of performance audits, saying the city’s committee responsible for overseeing the audits had not conducted one in over a decade.
Foley sent a 15-page letter on Tuesday to Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Brodey Weber, the chairman of the city council, outlining issues he had with the city’s lack of performance audits as well as lack of oversight in the use of overtime by the Lincoln Fire and Rescue.
“The APA [Auditor of Public Accounts] requested documentation from the City’s Finance Department regarding performance audits completed over the last 10 years. The Finance Department could provide only Performance Audit Committee (Committee) meeting minutes for dates on or before July 27, 2021,” Foley’s report stated. “Additionally, the City’s Finance Director stated that the Committee has not met ‘for a few years.’ A Committee member admitted, moreover, to being unable to remember an actual performance audit being completed since 2015.”
Municipal code requires the Performance Audit Committee to “select at least one subject for an audit by the Committee each year.” The committee is responsible for developing an annual audit program, approving annual audit protocols, making recommendations on the city’s financial and management practices, and assisting the city with audits.
The committee is also supposed to hold quarterly meetings. The auditor’s report found that the committee had been doing none of these things in recent years.
“Without such procedures, there is an increased risk of not only noncompliance with the Code’s provisions but also failure to monitor City departments properly,” the report stated.
In a response to the auditor’s finding, the city of Lincoln admitted the committee had been defunct.
“We acknowledge that the Performance Audit Committee has been inactive for more than five years. The City is committed to reactivating the committee and has already begun taking steps to do so. On August 31, the City Council adopted Resolution 26R 398 to formally initiate engagement with the Performance Audit Committee.”
The city of Lincoln did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Plains Sentinel asking why the committee has not been meeting.
Potential Overtime Abuse
Foley’s report flagged concerns that the Lincoln Fire and Rescue (LFR) had racked up over $7.2 million in overtime pay in 2025 with little oversight. In an examination of a handful of employees in the department, the auditor’s office found a lack of documentation as well as some wrongfully paid overtime by the department.
“Properly staffing and scheduling a top-notch fire department is a complex challenge. During my years in public office, I don’t recall hearing any citizen complaints about the professionalism of the LFR,” Foley said in a statement. “Nevertheless, more than $7.2 million in overtime pay during a single year is not chump change, and an objective performance audit of the department’s scheduling strategy might yield taxpayer savings.”
In response to the auditor, Lincoln Fire and Rescue (LFR) Chief David Engler issued a statement about the department’s practices.
“The use of overtime enables us to maintain required staffing and continuous emergency response when employees are on leave, to complete required training without taking units out of service, and to meet other operational needs,” Engler said. “In some circumstances, overtime is more cost-effective than adding permanent positions or outsourcing specialized work.”
“We recognize that consistently high overtime can also signal a need for additional staffing. Since 2019, the City has approved 33 new firefighter and firefighter-paramedic positions, including positions supported by federal SAFER grants. Those additional positions have significantly reduced overtime costs. LFR continues to evaluate staffing and other strategies to reduce overtime where practical and cost-effective.”
LFR said they “cooperated fully” with Foley’s review.
— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.