Report on Whistleblower Activity
– As of September 30, 2023
City Auditor’s Office
Whistleblower Hotline Report – As of 9/30/23
About the Whistleblower Hotline:
The City Auditor’s Office administers the City’s Whistleblower Hotline program. The primary objective of the Hotline is to provide a means for any City employee to confidentially report any activity or conduc t related to, or involving City personnel, resources, or operations for which he or she suspects instances of fraud, waste, or abuse.
The City’s Hotline is operated as approv ed by its Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Policy pursuant to California Government Code §53087.6. The Statute defines fraud, waste, or abuse as “any activity by a local agen cy or employee that is undertaken in the performance of the employee’s official duties, including activities deemed to be outside the scope of his or her employment, that is in violation of any local, state, or federal law or regulation relating to corruption, malfeas ance, bribery, theft of government property, fraudulent claims, fraud, coercion, conversi on, malicious prosecution, misuse of government property, or willful omission to perform duty, is economically wasteful, or involves gross misconduct.”
The Statute also requires that investigat ions conducted pursuant to its authority be confidential, except to issue any report of an investigati on that has been substantiated, or to release any findings resulting from a completed investi gation that are deemed necessary to serve the interests of the public. In any event, the identity of the individual or individuals reporting the improper government activity, and the subject employee or employees, shall be kept confidential.
An independent third-party provider accepts hotline allegations from employees through an online reporting module available on the City’s CSI or via web address of the provider.
Whistleblowers can choose to remain anony mous and all information provided via the hotline will remain confidential. The Auditor’s Office can investigate claims, or they can be turned over to another City department for investigation.
On the following pages, Table 1 summarizes the types of claims received during Fiscal Year 2023 while Table 2 summarizes the status of the hotline investigations including the incident type, claim number, date the r eport was received, a general description of the report, claim status, and final resolution date.
Whistleblower Hotline Report – As of September 30, 2023 (continued)
Table 1:
Reported Cases Qtr 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4
City Auditor Investigations
Abuse - - - -
Waste 1 - - -
Fraud - - - -
Subtotal City Auditor Investigations 1 - - - Other City Department Investigations
Abuse - - 1 -
Waste - - - -
Fraud - - - -
Subtotal Other City Department Investigations - - 1 - Reports not in Purview of Hotline - - - - Total Reports Received in Purview of Hotline 1 - 1 - Reports Received in Fiscal Year 2023
Table 2:
No. Incident Type Report # Date Received Status/Outcome Res. Date Allegtion/Outcome
1 Waste 0001aa22 11/30/2022 Unsubstantiated 1/20/2023
2 Abuse 0001aa23 7/21/2023 Unsubstantiated 9/5/2023
Status of Auditor Hotline Investigations
An allegation of waste regarding use of City vehicles was investigated and determined to be unsubstantiated.
An allegation of abuse of discretion by a department's management was investigated and determined to be unsubstantiated.