Parking Garage Exempt and Validated Transactions Review (FY 2018-19) 7-3-19MIAMI BEACH MEMORANDUM
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Dr ive , Miami Beach , Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
Office of Internal Audit
Tel : 305-673 -7020, Fax : 305-673-7519
TO :
VIA:
FROM :
DATE :
SUBJECT:
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
Mark D. Coolidge , Interim Internal
Coral V ivolo, Auditor tr4
Jessica Romero, Auditor .:J.rZ · L
July 3, 2019
Parking Garage Exempt and Validated Transactions Review (FY 2018/19)
The Office of lntemal Audit performeEI-aA uAaAneunceEI site visit on June 24th, 2019 to determine whether
SP Pl us Corporation (SP Plus) was following their provided Standard Operating Procedures, specifically
as it relates to exempt and validated parking transact ions .
The City's Parking Department currently has ten (1 0) parki ng garages (an eleventh one will be coming
on line at the end of 2019) equipped with Skidata, an access and revenue parking management system.
On April 18th, 2016, the City entered into a management agreement with SP Plus to administer, manage,
and operate the City's parking facilities which includes all the City owned garages . Among the services
provided by SP Plus are the adequate staffing of the following two positions:
• The central cashier assist/guide customers remotely from a centralized location using the Skidata
video and audio capabilities.
• Ambassadors or security guards are stationed at all garage locations to provide hands on
assistance to customers when needed ; however, they must still always communicate with the
central cashier.
Each day there is a varying number of exempt and validated transactions that require the customer to
contact the central cashier. An exempt transaction is one that requires the SP Plus central cashier to
overwrite the normal entry or exit process by either lifting the gate or adjusting the rate . Examples include
instances whereby a customer loses their parking ticket, the equipment malfunctions, a customer pays
their ticket but exceeds the allowed grace period to exit the garage, etc.
Each exempt transaction requires the SP Plus central cash ier to contact a City Parking Department
supervisor to obtain a unique alpha code which links to a general reason for the request and is randomly
generated by an in-house iPhone application called Parking Authorizat ion Codes . These authorization
codes serve as the internal control mechanism that allows the SP Plus central cashier to override the
transaction and confirms that designated City supervisors approved the exempt transaction . Each
exempt transaction is to be manually recorded by the central cashier on the "Central Cashier Command
Log ," and the supporting documentation is to be attached. Also, every time a unique code is generated
by a City's supervisor, a record is created and the "Parking Authorization Codes " report lists all the codes
created for the day.
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INTERNAL AUDIT MEMORANDUM
PARKING GARAGE EXEMPT AND VALIDA TED TRANSACTIONS REVIEW Julv 3. 2019
Furthermore, there are transactions that require a central cashier validation. Examples of validated
transactions include but are not limited to handicapped/disabled customers who provide an appropriate
permit; authorized contractors and City employees that are working in the area; etc. All validated
transactions are also required to be logged into the "In Lane Validator Tracking Form." Customers are to
provide supporting documentation (handicap permit and corresponding driver's license, contractor ID,
employee ID, etc.) to obtain a parking validation. The Skidata system allows for the SP Plus central
cashier to see live images of the documentation provided by the customer and retains an image of said
documentation.
SP Plus audit personnel perform a daily review of all exempt and validated transactions to ensure that
they were properly approved and documented. For exempt transactions, the auditor reconciles the
"Central Cashier Command Log" to the City's "Parking Authorization Codes" report to verify that
transactions were properly authorized. As it relates to validations, the auditor using the "In Lane Validator
Tracking Form" logs in to Skidata to review the corresponding supporting documentation.
On June 24, 2019, Internal Audit staff performed an unannounced site visit to the SP Plus Audit Office
located on the first floor of the 171h Street and Pennsylvania Garage. All exemptions recorded on June
22, 2019 as well as, selected validated transactions were reviewed to determine their authenticity and
compliance with SP Plus's Standard Operating Procedures. During our review, no deficiencies were
noted, and those mentioned in our prior reviews have been corrected.
F:\OBPI\$AUD\INTERNAL AUDIT FILES\DOC18-19\REPORTS-FINAL\Parking Garage Monitoring FY18-19 07-03-19.docx
cc: Monica Beltran, Assistant Parking Director
Laura Franco-Rubines, Assistant Parking Director
Rocio Alba, Administrative Services Manager
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