Auditor's Office News

King County’s RapidRide audit selected by ALGA as best of 2018

The Association of Local Government Auditors (ALGA) is a national audit association founded in 1985, committed to supporting and improving local government auditing through advocacy, collaboration, education, and training, while upholding and promoting the highest standards of professional ethics. Each year, local government audit organizations from around the U.S. and Canada submit their best performance audit reports for judging. The purpose of the competition is to improve government services by encouraging and increasing levels of excellence among local government auditors.

Judges from peer organizations determined that this audit—RapidRide Fare Enforcement: Efforts Needed to Ensure Efficiency and Address Equity Issues—was among the best of 2018. 

The report was judged on several key elements, such as the potential for significant impact, the persuasiveness of the conclusions, the focus on improving government efficiency and effectiveness, and clarity and conciseness. Judges noted that our audit scope went beyond the cost-effectiveness of RapidRide’s fare enforcement model—a more traditional audit objective—and included an assessment of how the fare enforcement model aligns with King County’s equity and social justice goals. They also highlighted the fact that our audit conclusions were impactful, and identified that not only could Transit not justify RapidRide’s fare enforcement model in terms of cost-effectiveness, but that the model also likely has unintended consequences for persons experiencing housing instability. They found our report to be clearly written, concise, and employed a clean format and numerous graphics to illustrate important findings and concepts. 

King County Auditor's 2018 Annual Report now available!

In addition to our typical financial savings and customer service enhancements, in 2018 we were able to bring about significant improvements for disadvantaged populations including people experiencing homelessness, low-income bus riders, voters with limited English proficiency, and customers of public defense services. Review the full report here.

Work in Progress

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View King County Council's agendas, minutes, and videos.

Audits and oversight in progress

The 2019-2020 work program  has been approved.

• Analysis of Capital Alternatives
• Courthouse Projects
• Courthouse Security Screening
• FMD Safety
• Jail Safety
• Office of Labor Relations
• Puget Sound Emergency Radio Network
• Sexual Assault Investigations
• Transit Capital Program
• Transit Cybersecurity
• Transit Electrification