Councillors will be presented an updated whistleblower policy in March that looks to improve anonymous reporting within city hall.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
In March city councillors are expected to review and possibly adopt changes to a whistleblower policy that would allow anonymous third-party reporting at city hall.
Last October former councillor Shila Sharps set forth a motion to introduce an independent third-party mechanism that allows for anonymous disclosure and strengthen anti-retaliation protection for whistleblowers.
Sharps also requested the city adopt an independent hotline portal to receive and triage any disclosures, as whistleblowers can often spot potential issues before they balloon into potentially larger problems.
On Friday, members of the administrative and legislative review and government relations committee heard an update from staff on changes made to the policy that will be presented to council for adoption on Mar. 16.
Proposed changes include:
– Extend eligibility for whistleblower reporting to include contractors, suppliers and members of the public.
– Introduce an independent, third-party reporting mechanism that allows for anonymous disclosures.
– Strengthen anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers.
– Provide to council annual, anonymized reporting on the number and types of disclosures received, and outcomes.
These changes have been identified as “best practices” in municipal government and aim to improve transparency, accountability and protection for people who disclose wrongdoings.
Staff have also determined that an updated fraud policy will also be incorporated into the whistleblower policy since they are closely aligned.
The new policy would be administered by the city’s corporate services division and the audit committee would have oversight of the policy and process.
“So any type of anonymous reporting that would be provided to the city and ultimately to council would flow through the audit committee as the oversight committee,” explained Lola Barta, managing director and CEO of corporate services. “Because the audit committee has oversight of internal controls, audit fraud and risk management, it is the most appropriate committee to have oversight of this police and the related reporting.”
Staff say the draft policy will be reviewed by city administration next week before heading to council for approval in March.
The city will also need to finish negotiations on a request for proposal for an external third party that would receive all information from the whistleblowers.
If approved, staff hope to implement the anonymous reporting mechanism by April, including a website for reporting and information.
