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Newport News city auditor outlines office setup, fraud hotline and staffing plans
Summary
City Auditor Tammy Dantzler presented an entry plan on Jan. 28 that describes an ordinance to create the office, a fraud/waste/abuse hotline, a shared workspace, hiring goals and an approach for an annual audit plan and electronic tracking of recommendations.
Tammy Dantzler, the city auditor, presented an entry plan to the City Council on Jan. 28 describing steps taken since her Dec. 3 entry date and the next tasks for a newly established audit office.
Dantzler told council the office charter ordinance that will formally establish the office has been drafted, revised with the city manager’s suggestions and submitted to the city attorney; she said staff hope the ordinance will pass. “The most important part of the work we've done or the efforts that we made is the office of the city audit of work charter ordinance. This ordinance will establish the office of the city auditor,” Dantzler said.
Dantzler described operational steps underway: creating a shared workspace to accommodate an eventual staff of eight (currently four), planned renovations (carpet, paint, furniture) intended to finish within roughly 90 days, and institutionalizing a fraud, waste and abuse hotline that will go live after the ordinance is approved. The hotline will accept reports via telephone, email, a portal, mailed letters or in-person visits; each report will be assigned a case number and passcode in the portal, and the portal will show whether a report was substantiated, referred or outside the office’s jurisdiction, Dantzler said.
On staffing she said human resources and budget staff have been working with her and that job postings should be published by the end of the week. Dantzler said the office will complete a citywide risk assessment by meeting department directors, using that assessment to develop an annual audit plan, and present that audit plan publicly to council for approval.
She also emphasized the need for an electronic tracking system to monitor whether departments implement corrective-action plans. Dantzler said she has met with the city’s innovation office, attended demos and researched other localities; she will consider an in-house solution or an off-the-shelf product and then rollout an approach for implementation and follow-up.
Council questions focused on the hotline’s confidentiality and process. Councilman Long asked how public and city employees would use the hotline and what feedback they would receive; Dantzler explained the reporting options, anonymity and the portal’s case-status feedback.
Ending: Dantzler introduced two team members present at the meeting and invited other council members to meet with her as she finalizes the risk assessment and audit plan.
