Audit of Landfill Operations - August 2019

5. Monitoring Process for Physical Keys . Observation When an employee or contractor needs to obtain access to the landfill facilities and/or needs to access the facilities after normal operating hours, they are required to complete an acknowledgement form. The acknowledgment form for issuing physical keys collects the key name and number being issued, individuals name, company name, and date. The form also includes a statement that the individual is required to sign to acknowledge receipt of the keys and that the keys are not to be loaned, transferred, misused, modified, or copied. The department has developed a spreadsheet (key log) to track physical key inventory so that they know who the custodian of each key is. During review of the signed acknowledgement forms for physical keys and the department's key log for monitoring physical key access, the auditor identified the following issues: • 31 of the 32 individuals listed as custodians on the key log did not have an authorization form on file, • 11 of the 20 authorization forms on file did not indicate which key was being issued, • Three keys listed in the key log were issued to two individuals that no longer work for the County and management was unable to determine if one of the three keys were returned to inventory or re-issued, • Two keys were not issued to individuals, but rather to a company, and • The authorization forms do not require relevant contact information to be obtained, such as a phone number and/or email address, Although the department has mechanisms in place for issuing physical keys and tracking those custodians, they have not maintained the key log and do not appear to be actively monitoring the inventory of physical keys. Additionally, the department does not consistently utilize the authorization forms when providing keys to employees. After interviewing staff, it was determined there have been instances where keys are received by the previous employee and given to the new employee that is taking over the previous employees responsibilities without completing an authorization form. 13 | A u d i t o f L a n d f i l l O p e r a t i o n s A u g u s t 2 0 1 9