City of Hamilton employees caught golfing, jet-setting and accepting holiday booze from vendors vying for contracts

Thestar.com
Nov. 24, 2021
Katarine Clarke

Golfing with your buddies, international jet-setting with your buddies, accepting free booze at a Christmas party from your buddies.

These things are OK -- unless you are a City of Hamilton employee and your buddies are vendors vying for city contracts. Oh, and your decisions end up costing the taxpayer $233,000.

The above misconduct did in fact take place. It was revealed last week in an annual City of Hamilton fraud and waste report, released by the office of the city auditor. The report included several examples of city employees misusing taxpayer dollars and city resources, with eight people being fired as a result.

The golfers, who were among those fired, were by far the most expensive example. All but $2,000 of the $235,000 in costs the city incurred due to fraud and waste between July 2020 and September 2021 was tied to the golfers, according to the report. The cost included time theft and unapproved payments to vendors, among other things.

The city would not identify the employees involved nor the vendors handing out the perks.

The report says the scandal came to light after a city councillor got a tip from a citizen about two city employees golfing during business hours. The tipster alleged the duo’s golfing buddy was a “city vendor who was in the process of submitting a proposal for a live, competitive city of Hamilton procurement (Request for Proposal, RFP) that was worth about $2M in services over three years.”

The office of the city auditor investigated, uncovering more wrongdoing. Among their findings:

• The duo were indeed golfing during work -- engaging in time theft -- and accepting gifts from vendors;
• A third employee was also participating in “a high level of golfing with vendors noted”;
• One of the three employees, who was a member of the RFP evaluation committee tasked with selecting the successful vendor, wrote a reference letter for the firm they were golfing with, supporting their RFP submission, and then assessed the vendor as part of the evaluation;
• Another of the three went on five international trips with vendors in recent years, including one where they claimed to represent the city without receiving authorization. The employee didn’t tell their bosses and used vacation time for the trip;
• The same employee “unilaterally increased the rates paid” to one vendor, costing the city “substantial” additional fees and charges;
• The same employee hired and paid a vendor’s executive “to provide advice on contract terms and specifications for the very RFP the vendor would be bidding on”;
• Some vendors were “sponsoring” a Christmas party for the employees’ team by paying for their alcohol.

Upon learning of the auditor’s findings, management brought in a new evaluation team to reassess the RFP submissions and committed to implementing better processes and procedures to manage vendors.

The three employees were fired.

The city won’t provide more details, citing “personnel matters.”

Another notable example of fraud/waste from the report: a city employee arranged for city employees to complete “unnecessary” work on the curb and sidewalk in front of their home. The matter was referred to the employee’s managers for discipline.

Presenting the report to councillors on Thursday, city auditor Charles Brown called on the city to clarify its conflict of interest policies. Speaking generally, he said sometimes people don’t realize they have a conflict of interest and that conflicts “are just not being reported.”

City spokesperson Matthew Grant confirmed senior leadership plan to review the city’s conflict of interest issues at an upcoming meeting.