[Ord. No. 10516, 9-20-2018; Ord. No. 10681, 9-3-2020; Ord. No. 10776, 10-6-2022; Ord. No. 10803, 4-20-2023]
a.
All employees of the City must observe high standards of business
and personal ethics performing their duties and responsibilities and
fraud in any form will not be tolerated. This Policy is designed to
enable all employees of the City to raise any complaint of unethical,
fraudulent or unlawful conduct in an appropriate manner and to protect
any employee of the City raising such a good faith complaint from
any retaliatory action.
b.
By way of example, conduct which is prohibited by this Policy
and complaints which should be reported pursuant to this Policy include
without limitation:
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Embezzlement, misappropriation or use of City funds or property
for any illegal, improper or unethical purpose;
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Forging, altering, tampering with or destroying any City accounting,
payroll or audit-related records or documents, such as checks, timesheets,
contractor agreements, purchase orders or any other financial documents
of the City, whether in hard copy or electronically stored, except
as otherwise permitted or required in accordance with record retention
policies, as applicable;
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Any violation of the City's Conflict of Interest restrictions
in the City Charter and Code of Ordinances;
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Fraud or deliberate error in the preparation, evaluation, review
or audit of any of the City's budget, accounting or financial statements
or any other purposeful conduct resulting in inaccurate financial
reporting of any sort;
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Obtaining any benefit through deception or fraudulent activity,
such as receiving compensation for hours not worked or services not
performed;
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Unauthorized use of City logos or trademarks; and
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Deficiency and/or non-compliance with the City's internal accounting
controls.
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c.
This Policy is not designed to address financial or business
decisions taken by the City or to provide a complaint procedure for
matters covered by other specific policies in these Personnel Rules
and Regulations, such as under the City's Equal Employment Opportunity,
Anti-Harassment and Non-Discrimination Policy, Workplace Violence
Policy or Policy Regarding Reasonable Accommodations for Qualified
Individuals with a Disability.
[Ord. No. 10516, 9-20-2018; Ord. No. 10776, 10-6-2022; Ord. No. 10803, 4-20-2023]
This Policy is designed to offer protection to any employee
who discloses a complaint, provided the disclosure is made in good
faith. It is a violation of this Policy for any Supervisor, Manager,
Department Head or other employee of the City to retaliate against
any City employee who makes a complaint pursuant to this Policy. Prohibited
retaliation against any employee "whistle-blower" under this Policy
includes disciplining, demoting or suspending the employee or threatening
to do so, terminating or threatening to terminate the employee or
in any other manner intimidating the employee as a form of retaliation
for any complaint made pursuant to this Policy. Any City employee
engaging in retaliatory conduct will be subject to disciplinary action
by the City, which may include termination of employment.
[Ord. No. 10516, 9-20-2018; Ord. No. 10776, 10-6-2022; Ord. No. 10803, 4-20-2023]
The City will treat all good faith complaints under this Policy
in a confidential and sensitive manner to the extent feasible consistent
with the City's obligation to fully investigate any complaint filed
or made under this Policy. A report of a complaint will only be disclosed
to those persons who have a need to know and in order to properly
conduct an investigation of the complaint. Any report or complaint
shall be kept in a file that is separate from the personnel file of
the employee making the complaint and the person or persons to whom
it relates, although any disciplinary action that may be issued due
to a complaint under this Policy shall be part of the personnel file
of the disciplined employee.
[Ord. No. 10516, 9-20-2018; Ord. No. 10776, 10-6-2022; Ord. No. 10803, 4-20-2023]
Any complaint by a City employee pursuant to this Policy must
be made in writing to the Assistant Chief Administrative Officer,
the Chief Administrative Officer or the Audit Committee of the City,
with all factual details supporting any such complaint. The complaint
should be made immediately upon discovery of any facts showing unethical,
fraudulent or unlawful conduct as described in this Policy. Any employee
may also submit a complaint anonymously under this Policy. The City's
Chief Administrative Officer, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer
and/or the City's Audit Committee shall be responsible for investigating
any such complaint. The City's Chief Administrative Officer shall
determine who shall investigate any such complaint depending upon
the nature of the complaint, unless the complaint is against the City's
Chief Administrative Officer, in which event the City's Audit Committee
shall investigate any such complaint. Any such complaint shall be
investigated in consultation with legal counsel or other expert resources
deemed necessary to conduct a full and complete investigation of the
allegations of such complaint, and making decisions for appropriate
corrective action, as applicable, to be implemented. The investigative
action by the Chief Administrative Officer, Assistant Chief Administrative
Officer or Audit Committee may include referral fully or in part to
a law enforcement agency or City law enforcement personnel for appropriate
investigation of any suspected criminal activity. Unless the employee
has submitted or made a complaint anonymously under this Policy, the
complainant will be informed of the final outcome of the City's investigation
as deemed appropriate under the circumstances.
[Ord. No. 10516, 9-20-2018; Ord. No. 10776, 10-6-2022; Ord. No. 10803, 4-20-2023]
If an employee makes an allegation in good faith under this
Policy, which is not substantiated or confirmed by a subsequent investigation,
no action will be taken against the individual making the complaint.
However, if an employee makes a complaint maliciously without any
reasonable factual foundation against another employee of the City,
the employee making such complaint may be subject to discipline by
the City as deemed appropriate.
