Internal Audit Commission

City of Hartford Internal Audit Commission Meeting Agenda 12:30 PM - Wednesday, July 15, 2026 City Hall Function Room 212 Page 1. Please Note Time Change of 12:30 For This Meeting Only Microsoft Teams meeting Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/396061873476417?p=SZNeo9LTwBpzPefdBl Meeting ID: 396 061 873 476 417 Passcode: Nc6kf2Mz 2. Call to Order 3. Roll Call 4. Public Comments 5. Approval of June 17, 2026 Meeting MInutes 5.1. Draft June 17 IAC Meeting Minutes 3-5 6. Review of the Internal Audit Department July Activity Report and July Quarterly Report to Council 6.1. July Activity Report 6 6.2. IAC Quarterly Letter to Council 7 7. Reports 7.1. Residency 8 8. FY2027 Audit Plan 9. Old Business 9.1. Internal Audit Department Staffing One Qualified Auditor Candidate 9.2. Audit of Pension Fund Income and Expenses - Monthly update 9.3. Audit of Treasurer's Office - Monthly update 9.4. Sustainability Grant Update 9.5. IAC Bylaws 10. New Business 11. Next Internal Audit Commission Meeting Scheduled for September 16, Page 1 of 8  2026 at 2 PM in the City Hall Function Room 212 12. Adjourn Meeting Page 2 of 8 Agenda Item 5.1. Draft City of Hartford Internal Audit Commission Meeting Minutes 2:00 PM - Wednesday, June 17, 2026 City Hall Function Room 212 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairman Martin John at 2:04 PM. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Chairman Martin John Commissioner Kate Torres Secretary and Chief Auditor Donna Barberi Absent: Commissioner Octavia Rodney Others Present: Deputy Corporation Counsel Lori Mizerak Former Chairman and Hartford Resident Bruce Rubenstein Investigative Reporter Marc Fitch Hartford Resident Alyssa Peterson 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES 3.1 Approve the Minutes of May 20, 2026. Chairman Martin John made a motion to approve the Minutes of May 20, 2026. Commissioner Kate Torres seconded. All were in favor. The minutes of May 20, 2026 have been approved. 4. REVIEW OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT JUNE 2026 ACTIVITY REPORT Chief Auditor Donna Barberi presented the May Activity report. Commissioner Kate Torres asked that the Auditor names be added to the Audits in Progress to be consistent with the FY2026 Audit Status report. 5. FY2026 AUDIT STATUS Page 1 3 of 3 8 Agenda Item 5.1. Draft 6. FY2027 AUDIT PLAN Chief Auditor Donna Barberi gave an overview of the process used to develop the FY2027 Audit Plan. Chairman Martin John asked Chief Auditor Donna Barberi to produce the list similar to the FY2026 Audit Status. Discussion ensued regarding priorities, rotation frequency, and previous audit issues. Chairman Martin John suggested having a separate meeting or a working meeting next month to review audit universe and risk priorities. 7. OLD BUSINESS 7.1 Internal Audit Department Staffing Chief Auditor Donna Barberi presented an overview of the process to change a position, which includes City management and Union President approval prior to posting. Selection of Position - Project Manager or Principal Administrative Analyst Chief Auditor Donna Barberi explained that the process was quicker using an existing job description and was provided possible job descriptions that might fit by Human Resources. Chief Auditor Donna Barberi reviewed the job descriptions and narrowed the list down to two positions. Both Chairman Martin John and Commissioner Kate Torres suggested using the Principal Administrative Analyst position with an emphasis on accounting and finance experience. Updating Auditor job description Chief Auditor Donna Barberi discussed adding additional certifications to the Auditor job description to possibly increase the number of qualified applicants. Chairman Martin John agreed. 7.2 Audit of Pension Fund Income and Expenses - Monthly update Chief Auditor Donna Barberi stated that the audit is in the planning stage, gathering information, reviewing municipal code and is in the process of finalizing the Audit Program. Once finalized, Chief Auditor Donna Barberi will forward a copy to the Commissioners for review. 7.3 Audit of Treasurer's Office - Monthly update Chief Auditor Donna Barberi stated this audit is also in the planning stage and is in the process of finalizing the Audit Program. Once finalized, Chief Auditor Donna Barberi will send it to the Commissioners for review. Page 2 4 of 3 8 Agenda Item 5.1. Draft 8. NEW BUSINESS Hartford Resident Alyssa Peterson recommended that the Commissioners draft a letter to the Mayor and City Council regarding the privacy of information to the City of Hartford to hopefully stop "leaks" to the press. Chairman Martin John stated he was unsure of the authority of the Internal Audit Commission. 8.1 Sustainability Grant Hartford Resident Bruce Rubenstein commented that he felt based on a review of the lawsuit filed by a former Sustainability Associate that the Internal Audit Commission forward the complaint to the FBI for review. Chief Auditor Donna Barberi stated that she met with Chief Operating Officer Shay Ajayi, Director of Management, Budget, Grants & Revenue Julian Freund, and Sustainability Director Cecelia Drayton yesterday afternoon to discuss the Sustainability Grant. Based on that discussion, Sustainability Director Cecelia Drayton stated that all invoices are reviewed with the Department of Agriculture prior to reporting. Chief Auditor Donna Barberi will be reviewing the reporting documentation to determine if any reclassification needs to be made in the upcoming semi-annual report. Chairman Martin John stated that Audit should complete its review and table the notification to the FBI until the next meeting. Commissioner Kate Torres has not seen the lawsuit complaint. Chief Auditor Donna Barberi will send the lawsuit complaint to all commissioners, set up a follow-up action to review IAC authority per the municipal code, and table the FBI notification. 8.2 IAC Bylaws Commissioner Kate Torres suggested drafting procedures (IAC Bylaws) to guide the IAC. Commissioner Kate Torres made a motion to draft IAC Bylaws, Chairman Martin John seconded. All were in favor. 8.3 Hybrid Meetings Commissioner Kate Torres suggested holding hybrid meetings for the public as well as commissioners. Commissioner Kate Torres made a motion to approve hybrid meetings. Chairman Martin John seconded. All were in favor. IAC will research the best way to hold hybrid meetings. 9. NEXT INTERNAL AUDIT COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULED FOR JULY 15, 2026 AT 2 PM IN THE CITY HALL FUNCTION ROOM 212 10. ADJOURN MEETING Chairman Martin John made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Kate Torres seconded. All were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 3:03 PM. Page 3 5 of 3 8 Agenda Item 6.1. CITY OF HARTFORD INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT 550 Main Street, Room 203 Hartford, Connecticut 06103 INTERNAL AUDIT Telephone: (860) 757-9956 DONNA BARBERI, CIA COMMISSION Cell: (860) 461-4418 Chief Auditor www.hartford.gov July 15, 2026 Internal Audit Commission Activity Report for July 2026 General  Certification List received for open Auditor position Continuing Professional Education  Chief Auditor received 2 hours of training for July Audits/Investigations in progress  Hartford Public Schools – Classical HS Student Activity Funds – Testing  Hartford Public Schools – SMSA Student Activity Funds – Testing  Hartford Public Schools – Out of District Tuition – Planning  City of Hartford – Healthcare Eligibility – Testing  Hartford Public Schools - Healthcare Eligibility – Testing  City Treasurer – Pension Fund and Treasurer’s Office – Planning  Reemployed Retirees  Performing follow-up on FY2023 – FY2025 reports –0 issues closed Page 6 of 8 Agenda Item 6.2. CITY OF HARTFORD INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT 550 Main Street, Room 203 Hartford, Connecticut 06103 INTERNAL AUDIT Telephone: (860) 757-9956 DONNA BARBERI, CIA COMMISSION Cell phone: (860) 461-4418 Chief Auditor www.hartford.gov July 15, 2026 Honorable TJ Clarke II, Council President, and Members of the Court of Common Council City of Hartford 550 Main Street Hartford, CT 06103 RE: FY2026 Quarterly Internal Audit Activity Report Dear Council President and Members of Council: Attached is the FY2026 Quarterly Activity Report in accordance with Charter Chapter 2, Article II, Section 2-41(l). The report provides a summary of Internal Audit activities for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. During the quarter, 4 audit reports and 3 special review reports were issued. We currently have 3 audits in the planning stage, and 4 audits in the fieldwork/testing stage. The Internal Audit Department has also updated its Recommendations Follow-up spreadsheet and will continue to contact management to ensure action plans have been implemented. Currently, from FY2023-FY2025 there are 48 issues with 20 issues resolved. Finally, we received a total of 108.5 hours of Continuing Professional Education in FY2026 year to date. The Internal Audit Department welcomes the opportunity to respond to any questions that you may have regarding this report. Sincerely, Donna Barberi Page 7 of 8 Agenda Item 7.1. CITY OF HARTFORD INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT 550 Main Street, Room 203 Hartford, Connecticut 06103 INTERNAL AUDIT Telephone: (860) 757-9956 DONNA BARBERI, CIA COMMISSION Cell phone: (860) 461-4418 Chief Auditor www.hartford.gov July 6, 2026 Honorable Arunan Arulampalam, Mayor City of Hartford 550 Main Street Hartford, CT 06103 RE: Residency Requirements Dear Mayor, Section 2-850 of the Hartford Municipal Code details residency requirements for Mayor appointees employed by the City. The Mayor can request from the Court of Common Council a waiver of the residency requirement by resolution for directors of the following departments: Management, Budget and Grants; Metro Hartford Innovation Services; Emergency Services and Telecommunications; and Finance. If the residency requirement has been waived, the salary shall be reduced by 10%. Based on a review of the Department Heads, the following individuals do not maintain a Hartford residency:  Jeffrey Covello – appointment confirmed by Council on May 13, 2024  Marlene Fleeting – change of address noted on pension application dated May 12, 2025  James Rovella – appointed July 30, 2025  Jeffrey Auker – change of address on file for Hartford address but not updated in Munis  Julian Freund – resolution granting waiver dated January 24, 2023 and salary is reduced by 10% Based on a review of the above, I recommend the following:  The salaries of Jeffrey Covello, Marlene Fleeting, and James Rovello should be reduced by 10% immediately and a plan should be made to recover the salary overpayments.  Determine if Jeffrey Auker is a Hartford resident and if yes, update Munis. If not, reduce salary by 10%.  Determine if other departments can be included in the waiver of residency. If yes, update the municipal code. If not, determine if Council should vote to waive residency or terminate employment. Distribution: City Council Members Internal Audit Commission Members O. Ajayi, Chief Operating Officer J. Harding, Corporation Counsel Page 8 of 8