MSD Approves Internal Auditing Changes, Prepares Response to State Audit

Tuesday is the deadline for Louisville’s Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) to respond to a state audit that found several problems with the agency’s management. MSD officials say they've already found answers to dozens of the audit’s 150 recommendations.Mayor Greg Fischer requested the audit after MSD’s spending practices and management came into question last year.The agency was given 60 days to respond to recommendations handed down by then-state auditor Crit Luallen. MSD has since made some changes, including adopting a new ethics policy, and this week the board adopted changes to internal auditing policies, which should help create more oversight in the agency.“The board approved charters for our audit committee as well as the internal auditor. Were also reviewing all of our discretionary expenses and looking at all of our travel. So many of the items have either in general or prescriptively been addressed," said interim Executive Director Greg Heitzman.In these first two months, MSD has been able to respond to roughly 40 percent of the recommendations, he said.“What I do expect is that if we go out six months that we’ll have 95 to 100 percent of all of the elements done and that’s six months from when the audit was provided, so we need another four months to be able to tackle the other remaining portions of the state audit," Heitzman said.MSD has until Tuesday evening to send its formal response to the state auditor.To see WFPL's coverage of the MSD audit click here.