Audit gushes praise for Metro operation

The Metro Police Fiscal Affairs Committee this morning accepted a city-funded audit of its books and organizational style.

The DMG Maximus audit, released last month, rated Metro "highly" from a leadership and strategic thinking perspective and stated "there are no indications that the department is top-heavy."

Although the audit was ordered by the Las Vegas City Council during a contentious 1998-99 Metro budget request, auditors found only praise for the department and even decided not to finish their report -- because of a lack of findings.

DMG Maximus Director John W. Heiss even told the city he would only charge about half of the anticipated $180,000 bill for the report.

"I've seen a lot of audits done, but I've never seen an auditor say to the auditee not to spend the money for the second part of the audit because everything looks good," Fiscal Affairs Committee Chairman Peter Thomas said.

Councilman Arnie Adamsen, who serves on the committee, told Sheriff Jerry Keller and his department, "You do an incredible job."

Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone, who also serves on the committee, asked Keller to present the audit report to the county commissioners.

The two-volume report glows with admiration of Metro's current organization, staffing, operations, services and finances.

In 1998, when the audit was ordered, Councilman Michael McDonald said he believed Metro's budget request focused too much on administration and not enough on street cops.

Because the city provided $70 million for Metro that year, McDonald -- who at the time was a Metro officer -- wanted to make sure the city was getting the most bang for its buck.

Already this year Keller is parlaying the praise of his department into a request for a 13.4 percent overall budget increase.

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