As a result of an investigation spurred by the city’s fraud and waste hotline, 8 workers were from the city of Hamilton were terminated.
The fraud and waste hotline allows city employers, contractors, vendors and members of the public to report alleged misdeeds confidentially or anonymously.
On Thursday the City auditor, Charles Brown’s, presented the second annual fraud and waste report to the audit, finance, and administration committee. The report disclosed that there were about 80 complaints received by the Office of the City Auditor (OCA) between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
The fraud and waste hotline allows city employers, contractors, vendors and members of the public to report alleged misdeeds confidentially or anonymously.
City auditor Charles Brown’s second annual fraud and waste report, presented to the audit, finance and administration committee Thursday, encompassed 80 complaints received by the Office of the City Auditor (OCA) between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
Of the 80 complaints, 23 tips were made directly to the office. Fifty-nine per cent of those reporting self-identified as an employee, there was a 32 per cent substantiation rate for reports and 24 investigations were launched.
Brown said the number of reports received by his office “continue to exceed expectations.”
Brown also admitted that “based on the findings of this report … it is clear that as a city, there is work to do in properly dealing with and improving our response to conflict of interest situations that arise.”
Top five complaint categories:
Multiple categories applicable: 17
Employee time theft/misconduct: 11
Social services — fraud/wrongdoing: 11
Service complaint/tone: 8
Conflict of interest: 5
Improper financial reporting/budgeting: 4
Misuse of city resources: 4
Out of jurisdiction: 3
Theft/misappropriation: 3
Fraud/wrongdoing: 2
Several investigations were initiated by the city. One investigation was related to fraud, 13 were connected to waste/mismanagement, eight were a combination of both fraud and waste/mismanagement and two related to whistleblowers.
As a result of those investigation:
- eight employees were terminated
- one was subject to disciplinary action
- five other actions were taken — including a letter of expectations and a meeting
Data has shown that as of Sept. 30, it’s estimated the city lost roughly $2,000 to fraud and $233,000 to waste; however, the city said it has also recovered $300 of losses and received $4,700 in restitution.
This article was originally sourced by The Toronto Star.
