New city auditor outlines office setup, hotline and hiring plan in entry presentation

Tammy Gantzler, the City of Newport News’ newly appointed city auditor, presented her office’s entry plan to the City Council during the Jan. 28 work session, describing steps to establish the office, relaunch a fraud, waste and abuse hotline and staff the audit function.

"The most important part of the work we've done is the office of the city auditor work charter ordinance," Gantzler said. She told council staff had consulted the city manager and city attorney, and that the ordinance language had been submitted to those offices ahead of council consideration.

Why it matters: The auditor’s office will be responsible for independent audits, investigations and follow-up on recommendations; an operational office and a functioning hotline are central to the city’s oversight and accountability framework.

Key elements of the entry plan Gantzler described a multi-part plan that she said is already underway. Actions discussed include creating a shared workspace to accommodate an audit team she hopes to grow from the current four staff to a target of eight, completing renovations in roughly 90 days, and posting job openings for audit staff by the end of the week.

She emphasized institutionalizing a fraud, waste and abuse hotline. The hotline will accept reports via phone, email, a web portal, mail or in person. Gantzler said the portal will issue a case number and passcode that allows reporters to check whether a complaint was authenticated, referred, substantiated or outside the auditor’s jurisdiction. She said the portal will report outcomes in general terms (for example, "substantiated"), but will not disclose names or corrective steps unless a recommendation is issued.

Gantzler also described plans for a citywide risk assessment that will inform an annual audit plan, and said the office is evaluating options for electronic audit-management systems, including in-house development or off-the-shelf products.

Council engagement and next steps Gantzler said she has met with the mayor and several council members and plans to meet other council members and department directors as part of the risk-assessment process. She said the audit office will present an annual audit plan publicly for council approval once it is developed.

Speakers Tammy Gantzler, City Auditor (presenter) City Manager Alan (first name used; City Manager) Vice Mayor Bethany (council sponsor/lead on auditor ordinance) Councilman Long (asked for questions)

Proper names Office of the City Auditor (proposed ordinance/office)

Clarifying details Current audit staff: 4 (present in office at time of presentation) Target audit staff: at least 8 (goal) Workspace renovation timeline: roughly 90 days (presenter estimate) Hotline media: telephone, email, web portal, mail, in-person reports Hiring timeline: job postings expected by end of the week (presenter statement) Risk assessment: meetings with department directors required before audit plan

Meeting context Engagement level: presentation followed by council questions and discussion; item was the second agenda topic Implementation risk: medium (depends on ordinance passage, hiring, workspace renovation and systems acquisition) History: auditor entry date Dec. 3 (presenter provided)

Searchable tags city auditor, hotline, fraud, hiring, audit plan, Tammy Gantzler

Provenance [{"block_id":"transcript_s1196","local_start":0,"local_end":1100,"evidence_excerpt":"Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, members of the city council, city manager. Thank you for this opportunity to present what we've been actively doing since my entry date of December 3rd. Here's a brief agenda of, the areas I will cover. So first, the for 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. And the actions to date, we met with the city manager to discuss the ordinance. We applied his suggested languages. We submitted it to the city attorney. He worked effortlessly with us to make sure it was legal. Then we submitted to the city manager, and hopefully tonight, it passes.","tc_start":"00:19:56","tc_end":"00:20:56","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"transcript_s1562","local_start":0,"local_end":445,"evidence_excerpt":"So in the remaining days, we hope to attend other, demos from outside mark marketing, automated workpapers marketing companies, and then we assess if there is a opportunity for in house development. If so, whatever we choose, a in house development or off shelf purchase, we will roll out to the city for implementation. And, hopefully, in a year, once we got once we issue audits, make the recommendations, the management do the corrective actions. We have follow-up on the recommendations, and this process would work. Any questions?","tc_start":"00:26:02","tc_end":"00:26:47","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]