KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A city audit provides a better look at the issue of illegal dumping in Kansas City and changes that could be made to improve the problem.

The Public Works department is responsible for investigating and cleaning up sites that are reported through the city’s 311 Action Center, an illegal dumping hotline and other reports.

The audit found it takes the department an average of 24 days to respond and resolve reports about illegal dumping.

The auditor’s office recommended developing a system to track response times and establish a response time goal for addressing illegal dumping.

It also determined that strategies in the Citywide Business Plan to reduce illegal dumping have not been implemented.

The audit also recommends consolidating service requests and data to make sure requests aren’t duplicated or missed.

The audit only focused on determining how long it takes the department to address illegal dumping reports. Following the report, it is suggested that an audit looking into ways the city works to reduce illegal dumping is needed.

The audit will be presented to the city council Thursday afternoon.