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Auditor: whistleblower substantiates $2.286 million ambulance purchase made without required approvals
Summary
Berkeley’s auditor released the city’s first public whistleblower report, finding a former employee committed the city to a $2,286,000 ambulance purchase without council approval and without required purchasing steps, creating an unapproved $286,000 commitment; the auditor recommended clearer rules, escalation steps, training, and improved transparency.
The Berkeley City Auditor on March 24 publicly released the city’s first whistleblower report, finding that a former employee committed the city to a $2,286,000 ambulance purchase without the authority to do so and without required purchasing steps, including prior council approval for purchases over $100,000 under the Berkeley Municipal Code.
Auditor staff described the sequence: the ambulance order proceeded without requisition or purchase order and when the vehicle arrived the vendor withheld title because the city could not immediately pay. Council later approved the purchase retroactively but the auditor said the retroactive approval was not clearly disclosed to council at the time and that the lack of required steps reduced transparency and oversight.
The report quantified the immediate unapproved commitment as $286,000 that bypassed internal controls. Based on the findings, the auditor recommended four measures: clarify that no purchases proceed without a requisition/purchase order or required council approval; create escalation steps so bypassed procedures are raised earlier; provide targeted training to clarify authority in the purchasing process; and improve transparency by notifying counsel when standard purchasing steps are bypassed.
Councilmembers thanked the auditor at the meeting and praised the utility of the whistleblower program. City staff said they agreed with the recommendations and indicated some changes had already been implemented. The City Manager noted the administration will bring stronger steps to prevent recurrence and that the audit illustrates the value of whistleblower protections and oversight.
The auditor also reported two closed-session settlements earlier in March related to workers’ compensation claims (claim numbers and WCAB case numbers were read into the record). The auditor’s release marks the first time the office has published a whistleblower investigation report and the office said it expects to issue additional public reports from the hotline in the future.
