Auditor General DePasquale Launching Immediate Audit of Philadelphia Parking Authority’s Rules, Procedures on Sexual Harassment, Employment
Auditor General DePasquale Launching Immediate Audit of Philadelphia Parking Authority’s Rules, Procedures on Sexual Harassment, Employment
HARRISBURG (Oct. 3, 2016) – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today issued the following statement in response to allegations of multiple sexual harassment incidents at the Philadelphia Parking Authority:
“As the commonwealth’s fiscal watchdog, I was pleased to learn of the PPA’s statement last week that it welcomes an outside audit. Given that the courts have recognized the PPA as a commonwealth agency for purposes of its rule-making authority, we immediately begin a limited performance audit focused on its rules and procedures on sexual harassment and employment.
“The PPA will be notified today of our initial audit objective to:
• Determine the adherence to and the effectiveness of PPA’s employment policies and procedures, including policies and procedures related to prohibiting sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
“Our initial audit will bring some much-needed transparency and openness that will benefit the entire Philadelphia region, in particular students in the Philadelphia School District which is supposed to receive tens of millions of dollars from the PPA each year.
“We are prepared to dig deeper, assuming that PPA officials were being honest when they said they welcome an outside audit.
“We are willing to do an even more comprehensive audit focused on the authority’s finances if given a go-ahead by the Attorney General’s office.
“Throughout the entire audit process, we will keep the public informed of PPA’s cooperation and compliance.
“The Philadelphia Parking Authority is just the latest example of municipal authorities across the commonwealth that need independent state-level oversight.
“The situation at the PPA further illustrates the need for the General Assembly, in its final legislative days of this session, to give the Department of the Auditor General, along with the Office of the Attorney General, the statutory authority to conduct performance and financial audits of all municipal authorities in Pennsylvania.”
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