How and why the audit's scope was scaled down is a matter of dispute between Rendell's office and City Controller Alan Butkovitz, who supervised the audit, which was executed by a local consulting and accounting firm for $122,000.
Limited as it is, the review nonetheless faults the agency for a number of shortcomings, including its lack of long-term fiscal planning and its failure to "consistently prepare business plans" as it adopts new responsibilities.
The Parking Authority also is criticized for its handling of contracts and airport parking privileges.
"Management could not produce a comprehensive list of contracts," the report reads, contending that the agency broke large contracts into smaller pieces to avoid competitive bidding requirements, a violation of state law.
The report says the agency is also forgoing $1 million a year in airport parking revenue by granting all-access "red badge" parking privileges to 82 unidentified employees.
"The audit finds that there's an opportunity for tighter management and increased profitability, leading to higher remittances to the city," Butkovitz said.
The audit has not been officially released, but The Inquirer yesterday obtained a copy of a near-final draft.
The Parking Authority strongly disputed the findings, and an agency spokeswoman said yesterday that it was formally contesting many of the conclusions.
For instance, the red badges for airport parking are used exclusively by authority workers on official business, such as work trucks and maintenance employees, who go in and out of lots to access a maintenance facility, said spokeswoman Linda Miller. The badges do not deprive the agency of a dime of revenue, she said.
Miller also said the authority does keep comprehensive records of contracts.
As for the manager-to-worker ratio, Miller noted that the report does not take into account recent reductions in the supervisory ranks.
