Authorities, Boards, and Commissions
- djacobs43
- Sep 23, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 25, 2025
Progress Tracker
Discovery | Planning | Field Work | Reporting |
Start Date: 9/23/25
Pre-Audit Report
Purpose
This pre-audit report highlights key risks in how the City of Tulsa's 46 Authorities, Boards, and Commissions (ABCs) operate and interact with City government. These bodies play an essential role in advising policymakers, managing public resources, and delivering services that reflect community priorities.
This report is an early step in the audit process. The Audit Manager will use it to scope and narrow the upcoming audit plan, focusing on the areas of highest risk and greatest opportunity for improvement. It is not a list of audit findings, but rather the issues most worth testing in the full audit.
Methodology
This pre-audit report was created based on information gathered from:
Interviews with City Councilors and representatives from the Mayor's Office
Three focus groups with ABC staff liaisons
Interviews and focus groups with ABC leadership (chairs/vice chairs) and one newly appointed member
Surveys of ABC leadership and newly appointed members
Resident feedback via the City Auditor web form
A review of peer-city ABC audits for comparison
Top Risks
Top Questions to Consider when Determining Audit Scope:
Are responsibilities for handling Open Records Act requests clearly defined and consistently followed?
Is confusion around who's supposed to handle public records requests causing delays and mistakes that lead to complaints?
Cited most often by: ABC Liaisons, ABC Leadership, Residents, Mayor's Office
Are communication practices creating risks around recordkeeping and public transparency?
Is volunteers' use of their own personal devices and channels creating gaps in documenting and possible legal exposure?
Cited most often by: City Councilors, ABC Leadership, ABC Liaisons
Do existing rules around participation create barriers for residents who want to serve or attend meetings?
Do state or city rules that limit remote participation and prevent compensation make it harder for people to serve on boards or attend meetings?
Cited most often by: Mayor's Office, ABC Leadership, ABC Liaisons, Residents
Are meeting minutes and packets being stored and published in a way that ensures long-term transparency and accessibility?
Does not posting and properly storing meeting minutes and packets in one easy-to-find place make it harder for the public to see what boards are doing?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership, ABC Liaisons, Residents
Are recording and streaming practices consistent and accessible to the public?
Does inconsistent recording and streaming of public meetings make it harder for residents to follow decisions and trust the process?
Cited most often by: ABC Liaisons, Residents, ABC Leadership
Is it difficult for the public to find ABC information, meeting materials, and archives?
Are residents having trouble finding board pages, meeting materials, and archives online because the website is hard to navigate and links are inconsistent or broken?
Cited most often by: Residents, ABC Liaisons
Are language access, accessibility supports, and meeting schedules inclusive enough for our residents to participate?
Do limited translation and accessibility options, along with standard daytime meeting hours, make it hard for some people to participate?
Cited most often by: Residents, New Members, ABC Liaisons
Are new ABC members being adequately prepared for their new roles consistently?
Does not having a single, comprehensive orientation for new members make it confusing to understand roles, rules, and boundaries?
Cited most often by: New Members, ABC Leadership, ABC Liaisons
Are conflict-of-interest rules and recusal practices clearly defined and documented across ABCs?
Does not having clear conflict-of-interest rules and consistent recording of recusals make it hard to ensure decisions are fair and unbiased?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership, New Members, City Councilors
Are potential conflicts of interest effectively screened and logged during member appointments and reappointments?
Does not screening conflicts of interest consistently when members are appointed or reappointed make it harder to keep decisions fair and unbiased?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership, ABC Liaisons, New Members
Is ABC onboarding consistent and well-coordinated across boards to ensure new members receive the information they need?
Does having no single owner for onboarding and disorganized paperwork make it harder for new members to get started and participate effectively?
Cited most often by: New Members, ABC Liaisons, ABC Leadership
Do ABC agendas clearly distinguish informational items from actions items to help prevent confusion?
Does having meeting agendas without clearly defined action vs. information lead to surprise votes and leave the public unsure about what's actually being decided?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership, ABC Liaisons
Do leadership selection and rotation practices support effective governance?
Does not rotating board members limit fresh ideas and make governance less resilient?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership
Are ABCs maintaining appropriate oversight roles?
Are boards using meetings to handle day-to-day complaints in ways that blur the line between oversight and management?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership
Is there a clear and accessible way for residents to submit and track concerns related to ABCs?
Does not having a clear way for residents to submit or track complaints about boards reduce public trust?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership, Residents
Do agreements and reporting structures with partner-managed entities provide sufficient oversight and transparency?
Does not having clear agreements, regular reporting, and public access to records make partner-managed entities less transparent?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership, Mayor's Office
Are governance and operation boundaries between the City and its trusts clearly maintained to reduce legal exposure?
If the City's trusts aren't clearly run as separate from the City itself, could a lawsuit treat them like part of the City (effectively removing legal limits on how much money could be owed in damages)?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership
Are appointment and vacancy-filling processes timely, transparent, and effective in maintaining ABC functionality?
Are delays and unclear rules for filling board vacancies weakening public trust and leaving some boards unable to meet or make legitimate decisions?
Cited most often by: City Councilors, ABC Leadership, Mayor's Office
Do ABCs have clear goals and performance measures to assess whether they are achieving intended outcomes?
Are boards and commissions operating without clear goals or progress measures, making it hard to tell whether their work is actually making a difference?
Cited most often by: ABC Leadership, City Councilors
Are staff liaison practices consistent enough to support effective ABC operations and recordkeeping?
Are differences in how staff liaisons manage meetings and records—especially when roles change—causing inconsistency and lost knowledge across boards and commissions?
Cited most often by: ABC Liaisons, ABC Leadership
Conclusion
The top ABC risks converge around transparency infrastructure, clarity of legal and ethical boundaries, onboarding and continuity practices, and public accessibility. Addressing these areas will enhance accountability, reduce compliance risk, and strengthen public trust in how Tulsa's boards and commissions serve the community.
About this Audit
Focus of the Audit
Evaluate the governance, oversight, and financial management practices of the City's authorities, boards and commissions to determine their effectiveness in ensuring transparency, accountability, and alignment with City policies and objectives.
Why audit this topic?
Authorities, Boards, and Commissions were identified as a risk in the Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Audit planning process based on input from city councilors and surveys of residents, employees, and auditors.
Help Shape Our Audit
Residents play a crucial role on the City of Tulsa's Authorities, Boards, and Commissions. Tell us what you think about how these groups operate and help guide the focus of our audit.