Conseil
25 February 2009 / le 25 février
2009
Submitted by/Soumis par : Alain Lalonde, Auditor General/Vérificateur
général
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Alain Lalonde, Auditor General
(613)
580-2424 x14226, Alain.Lalonde@ottawa.ca
SUBJECT:
|
OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL -
EVALUATION OF THE FRAUD AND WASTE HOTLINE |
|
|
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OBJET :
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BUREAU DU
VÉRIFICATEUR GÉNÉRAL - ÉVALUATION DE LA LIGNE DIRECTE DE FRAUDE ET D'ABUS |
That
Council direct the Office of the Auditor General to continue operating the
Fraud and Waste Hotline.
That Council direct the City to provide the general public with access to the Fraud and Waste Hotline, the cost of which to be absorbed within the Office of the Auditor General’s current budget of 0.08% of the City's total operating budget.
Que le Conseil donne instruction que
le Bureau du vérificateur général continue d'opérer la Ligne directe de fraude
et d’abus.
Que le Conseil donne instruction que la Ville rende la Ligne directe de
fraude et d’abus accessible au grand public et que le coût soit absorbé dans le
budget courant du Bureau du vérificateur général, qui représente 0,08 % de
l’ensemble du budget de fonctionnement de la Ville.
The City's Fraud and Waste Hotline was launched on November 1, 2005, in order to facilitate the reporting of suspected fraud or waste by employees. Council approved an increase in the Office of the Auditor General's budget to 0.08% of the City's total operating budget, representing an additional $200,000, which would cover the cost of operating the Hotline as well as conducting more indepth investigations arising from the Hotline where further examination is deemed necessary. The Fraud and Waste Hotline is a confidential and anonymous service that allows any employee to report incidents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Hotline is operated independently by a third party and is accessible either by phone or the Internet.
Upon its launch, the Fraud and Waste Hotline was set
to run for a period of three years, at which point an evaluation would be
undertaken to measure its value to the City and determine if continued
investment in the Hotline is warranted.
Accordingly, in May 2008, an evaluation of the Hotline was undertaken by
the Office of the Auditor General (See Document 1 attached).
Some concerns have been raised that offering the Hotline to the public would significantly increase the number of calls received. The cities of Toronto and Calgary currently offer their Hotlines to the public. In 2007, Toronto received a total of 523 calls, while Calgary received 15 calls in the six months its Hotline was operational. In 2008, Calgary received a total of 59 calls. It is not anticipated that offering the Hotline to the citizens of Ottawa will significantly increase the total number of calls received. Also of note is that the Office of the Auditor General already receives calls from the public directly. The Hotline would provide a more appropriate vehicle for these calls as well as a mechanism to better track and manage responses to issues raised.
Consultation with staff and management was a key component of the evaluation process.
There are no financial implications should Council
decide to continue the Hotline and provide the general public with access. Any incremental costs would be absorbed
within the existing budget of the Office of the Auditor General.
Should Council decide to discontinue the Hotline entirely, there would be a savings to the City of $200,000 annually and the budget of the Office of the Auditor General would be reduced to 0.07% of the total operating budget of the City.
Document 1 - 2008 Evaluation of the Fraud and Waste Hotline
The Auditor General will proceed as directed by Council.