On June 6th, City Council will vote on a Whistleblower Program. The goal of the program is a “more accountable Berkeley government through the prevention and investigation of suspected fraud, waste, and abuse.”
The author of the item, which appears on the consent calendar, is City Auditor, Jenny Wong. It is co-sponsored by Mayor Arreguin; and Councilmembers Kesarwani, Harrison, and Wengraf.
To implement the program, the auditor has requested the hiring of a new employee, whose salary and benefits will cost taxpayers in the range of $219,000 to $287,000. Given the city has lost an estimated $21.4 million in revenue each year over the last 10 years due to fraud (the actual loss is unknown), the cost of a whistleblower program manager should be viewed as a wise investment.
In the item, Wong outlines an implementation plan for the program, which consists of five phases. Briefly, they are:
1. Hire a Whistleblower Program Manager (Audit Manager).
2. Determine methods and platforms for whistleblower reporting for employees and the public (which will be available 24/7).
3. Design a process for responding to and referring complaints.
4. Develop and disseminate written procedures and educational materials including how potential whistleblowers will be supported.
5. Launch program.
This is an important initiative and is long overdue. As some may remember, Ann-Marie Hogan, Berkeley’s previous auditor, detailed the “pervasive fraud” throughout the City’s ranks in a 2014 audit entitled,...
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