The number of complaints made to the City of Winnipeg’s fraud and waste hotline doubled over the last two years, according to a new annual report by the city’s auditors.
The fraud and waste hotline is a confidential, anonymous service that’s available to city staff and residents 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In 2016, 56 complaints were lodged through the hotline. The next year, 84 complaints were made. In 2018, that number jumped to 114.
Of the complaints last year, 62 were made in reference to theft, embezzlement, or fraud, and 25 were made in over violations of laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
The city says every complaint is investigated.
The auditors found that a number of investigations were carried over from 2017, and of the 127 total reports, 112 were unsubstantiated, five had merit, and 10 were pending conclusions.
The report noted that some action was taken following investigations last year.
One employee was suspended for time theft and the city recovered about $2,500 in time. Other departments were reminded of lunch and coffee break scheduling policies and warned about time theft.
City property that was stolen was also recovered as a result of the fraud and waste hotline.
