HomeMy WebLinkAboutAudit - Other Publications - Public - FY2017 Ethics Hotline Report - 8/21/2017
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City Auditor’s Office 1 FY17 Ethics Hotline Report
Date: August 21, 2017
To: Kevin R. Phelps, City Manager
From: Candace MacLeod, City Auditor
Subject: City Auditor’s Office FY2017 Ethics Hotline Report
The City Auditor’s Office (CAO) administers the City’s Ethics Hotline program. The
primary objective of the Ethics Hotline is to provide a means for employees to report
any activity or conduct related to personnel, resources, or operations for which they
suspect instances of ethical violations, fraud, waste, or abuse.
During FY2017, the CAO received eight ethics Hotline complaints as summarized in
Table 1.
Table 1 – Summary of FY2017 Ethics Hotline Complaints
Date Call
Received
Allegation Investigated
By
Outcome(s) Date of
Outcome
8/22/16 Alleged theft of city
assets: Office furniture
from a locked cage at
Spring City went missing
in August 2016.
CAO and
the Police
Department
(PD)
A loss report was filed
with Risk Management
and a police report was
filed with PD. As of the
current date, the furniture
has not been located.
11/22/16
9/13/16 Alleged employee
absenteeism: An
employee was
reported to arrive late
for work and be absent
from their office during
work hours on a routine
basis.
Human
Resources
(HR)
HR notified the
employee’s supervisor of
the alleged issue. HR
reported that the issue
was addressed by the
supervisor and the
employee.
10/21/16
12/28/16 Alleged avoidance of
taking a contract to
City Council for
approval: An
employee developed
a new contract with a
vendor instead of
renewing the existing
contract with the
vendor to avoid
seeking City Council
approval.
City
Attorney’s
Office
The City Attorney’s Office
reviewed the allegation
with the employee and
did not note any
reportable issues.
2/1/17
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City Auditor’s Office 2 FY17 Ethics Hotline Report
3/2/17 Alleged misuse of
donation funds: CAT
donation funds were
improperly used to
purchase picture
frames.
CAO The CAO issued a report
with recommendations to
enhance controls over
donation funds. The
report was posted on the
CAO website.
5/12/17
4/27/17 Alleged workplace
harassment: A
supervisor was reported
to be harassing an
employee and
displaying
inappropriate conduct
in the workplace.
HR HR conducted an inquiry
and concluded that the
allegations were
unsubstantiated.
7/27/17
5/2/17 Alleged misuse of city
funds: Grant funds
were inappropriately
used to replace
equipment that was
vandalized.
CAO The CAO reviewed the
allegations and
concluded they were
unsubstantiated.
6/27/17
5/2/17 Alleged solicitation
conflict of interest: A
solicitation was
canceled to allow a
preferred offeror to
submit a proposal and
the evaluation panel
was biased.
CAO The CAO issued a report
with recommendations to
strengthen controls over
the solicitation process.
The report was posted on
the CAO website.
7/11/17
5/2/17 Alleged waste of city
funds: Advertising was
purchased at a non-
competitive rate and
was distributed after
time sensitive deadlines
had expired.
CAO The CAO issued a report
with recommendations to
strengthen controls over
the solicitation process.
The report was posted on
the CAO website.
7/11/17
Please let me know if you have any questions.
cc: Michael D. Bailey, City Attorney
Jim Brown, Director, Human Resources & Risk Management
Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager
Rick St. John, Police Chief