The report does stress that the public plays an important role in rat abatement by keeping alleys and other spaces free of garbage, dog waste and additional refuse. It also notes that the sanitation department said it has made improvements to its rat abatement program since the investigation was completed two years ago. While the audit didn’t look at the abatement efforts’ impact on rat populations, rat complaints made to the city have started trending downward after spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic. The city’s sanitation department has criticized the survey as a marketing tactic. The city’s Bureau of Rodent Control was allocated about $12.5 million in 2026, according to the report.