New Newport News city auditor outlines office startup plan, anonymous fraud hotline and audit tracking

Tammy Dantzler, the newly appointed city auditor, presented an entry plan to Newport News City Council on Jan. 28 outlining steps taken since her Dec. 3 start date to establish the Office of the City Auditor and the work remaining in the first six months.

Dantzler said the office charter ordinance to establish the auditor’s office was drafted, reviewed with the city manager and submitted to the city attorney. “This ordinance will establish the office of the city auditor,” she said. She told council that, if the ordinance is approved, staff hiring and the fraud, waste and abuse hotline will go live.

Why this matters: the office is intended to provide independent audits, a formal mechanism to report suspected fraud and a process for tracking corrective actions across city departments.

Dantzler described several implementation items: the office will share renovated workspace with the city clerk rather than hire separate offices for eight staff; renovations (including carpet, paint and new furniture) are expected to finish within about 90 days. Hiring actions are in process and she expected job postings to go live by the end of the week.

A major early task is operationalizing a citywide fraud, waste and abuse hotline. Dantzler said the hotline is anonymous and will accept reports by telephone, email, postal mail, an online portal and in‑person visits. The portal will assign a case number and passcode so reporters can check whether a matter was substantiated, referred or closed; she said the portal will show a case result but not detailed conclusions or individual names.

Dantzler also described plans to complete a citywide risk assessment, meet with council members and department leaders to develop an annual audit plan, and to implement an electronic system to manage audit recommendations and corrective action tracking. She said she is working with the city’s Innovation Office to assess whether an in‑house tool or an off‑the‑shelf product is most appropriate and that the office has reviewed demos and other localities’ approaches.

Council members asked about the hotline’s anonymity and what reporters would see. Dantzler explained the reporting channels and the portal’s ability to show a case number and a high‑level result (for example, “substantiated” or “referred”). She introduced two members of her audit team present at the meeting, Susie and Jennifer, and thanked city staff who assisted with onboarding.

No formal council action on the ordinance was recorded in the work session transcript.