04012008 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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The City's Safety Programs have been recognized by awards from the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) and the Texas Safety Association (TSA). Activities include a sub - committee formed to assist departments with safety peer reviews. Because this is done with workers and communicated to all levels of management, corrective action occurs quickly and effectively to provide a safer work environment. Risk Management works with departments to address any recommended corrective action. Another project of the Safety Coach Program is conducting random seat belt surveys throughout the City in accordance with the "Buckle Up America" program. The City compliments the mandated Department of Transportation drug testing with a similar program for all positions which have been identified as safety sensitive. The City participates in the National Safety Councils Awards Program which presents achievement awards by category for occupational safety and health, safe worker, safe drivers and a new program award. Twenty -five departments were recognized for maintaining a perfect record or a reduction in frequency of lost time injuries from the National Safety Council. The City's Loss Prevention Manager was the recipient of the 2007 Public Risk Management Associate of the Year Award for the Texas Chapter PRIMA which recognizes one outstanding public risk associate annually. Individual employees who serve in positions that are exposed to hazardous conditions, have a long work history without an accident, and /or contribute substantially to the safety of themselves and /or coworkers are recognized at two levels: safe worker and safe driver. Three employees were recognized in each category for safe workers and safe driving. Cardiac arrest is a major, preventable cause of death in the United States. To help prevent such tragedies in our facilities, the Safety program has placed nine Automatic External Defibrillators (AED's) in various City buildings in addition to training over 125 City employees in their use and CPR. The City held the 13th Annual Safety Expo in October, which provides training and safety awareness to all employees. The event included over 27 Health and Safety vendors in the expo with various safety demonstrations. Over 220 employees participated in the Expo. Other Information Independent Audit The City Charter requires an annual audit of the books, accounts, financial records and transactions of all administrative departments of the City by independent certified public accountants selected by the City Council. This requirement has been complied with, and the independent auditors' report by Pattillo, Brown & Hill, L. L.P., Certified Public Accountants, has been included in this report. Awards The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded a Certificate of Achievement for the Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City for its comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006. The Certificate of Achievement is a prestigious national award - recognizing conformance with the highest standards for preparation of state and local government financial reports. In order to be awarded a Certificate of Achievement, the City published an easily readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report whose contents conform to program standards. That report satisfied both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. A Certificate of Achievement is valid for a period of one year only. We believe that our current comprehensive annual financial report continues to meet the Certificate of Achievement Program's requirements, and we are submitting it to the GFOA to determine its eligibility for another certificate. Vii