Eight City of Hamilton workers fired following fraud and waste investigations: auditor

Thestar.com
Nov. 22, 2021
Fallon Hewitt

A new report from the city’s auditor says eight workers were terminated following investigations spurred by the city’s fraud and waste hotline.

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.

In a statement, Brown said the number of reports received by his office “continue to exceed expectations.”

“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,” said Brown.

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

Of the investigations initiated by the city, one 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 investigations, eight employees were terminated, one was subject to disciplinary action and five other actions were taken -- including a letter of expectations and a meeting.

As of Sept. 30, it’s estimated the city lost roughly $2,000 to fraud and $233,000 to waste. But as of that same day, the city said it has also recovered $300 of losses and received $4,700 in restitution.