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Controller’s whistleblower program reports rising complaints and steps to improve investigations and outreach
Summary
City Services Auditor staff reported a year-over-year rise in whistleblower complaints and described training, fraud bulletins and liaison work; commissioners and a public commenter pressed for clarity on case timelines and metrics for effectiveness.
Tanya Lettyshoo, chief audit executive for the city services auditor, and investigator Steve Flaherty updated the committee on the whistleblower program’s activity through Q1 of FY2017–18.
Lettyshoo said the program investigates allegations of misuse of city funds, improper activities by city employees, service-quality deficiencies and wasteful practices, citing statutory authorities in California Government Code and local charter provisions that assign the controller responsibility for the hotline.
Steve Flaherty reported complaint-volume trends: annual complaints increased to 415 in the last fiscal year (a 28 percent rise) and the program received 121 complaints in Q1 — a 17 percent increase from the same quarter the prior year. The majority of complaints arrive through an online web form and many are filed anonymously; the program closed 94 of 112 Q1 complaints (84 percent) within 90 days.
"The web form is an important tool, as not everyone feels comfortable speaking with a live person," Flaherty said, noting that anonymous reports are assigned unique tracking numbers so investigators can attempt follow-up.
Program initiatives include issuing fraud bulletins (insider threat, grant misuse), hosting hotline webinars for peer jurisdictions, and a new training program for departmental liaisons (54 attendees from 50+ departments). Lettyshoo said the office is exploring peer-review options with professional associations such as the Institute of Internal Auditors.
Commissioners asked how the office measures effectiveness beyond complaint counts — for example, the rate of substantiation or corrective/preventive actions. Program staff said quarterly and annual reports include breakdowns by department, substantiation rates and the share of closed complaints that resulted in corrective or preventive action, and they plan to highlight such metrics in future presentations.
A public commenter, Dr. Derek Kerr, said his complaint has been open for nearly a year and asked for better communication on long-running investigations, and he expressed concern about referring complex complaints back to departments being investigated.
"When complaints linger for a long time, people tend to think that they're not being taken seriously," Dr. Kerr said, urging status contact for complainants if a case extends past a year.
Program staff acknowledged complexity in some cases (absent witnesses, employee leave, multi-department coordination) and said they aim to close 80 percent of complaints within 90 days; they will include more of the requested metrics in future committee presentations.
