Title
City Audit: Review of Concerns Involving an Elected Official
Presenter:
Natalie Lovell, City Auditor, Office of the City Auditor
Body
Summary:
The City Auditor conducted a review pursuant to City Code 1.2.703 following a Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline report involving an elected official. The review examined three actionable allegations: (1) Use of City staff to supervise the elected official’s children during work hours and at official city events. (2) Personal use of a City-owned vehicle, including out-of-state travel. (3) Policy adjustments intended to justify prior conduct.
The review confirmed instances where staff felt implicitly obligated to supervise or monitor the children and did not feel positioned to decline the request. Supervising children required staff to pause or delay their regular work tasks. Multiple employees described these occurrences as recurring and often coinciding with school breaks or holidays.
The review of available telematics data identified out-of-city travel and provided the computation of the imputed income for the trips identified. The review also compared the reported personal-use mileage reports to the telematics and identified personal-use that was not identified in the personal-use reports. A new regulation governing personal-use of City-owned vehicles became effective on May 7, 2026.
Determining whether the policy was developed or adjusted to justify prior conduct is not auditable under the Fraud, Waste, and Abuse framework; therefore, no conclusion was drawn on this matter. However, following the policy’s effective date, we evaluated telematics and identified additional personal-use that were not included in the personal-use report of the related reimbursement calculations.
City Auditor recommended strengthening controls around the reporting and reconciliation of personal-use, specifically through the routine use of telematics data. City Auditor also recommended the elected official consider adopting a policy for elected officials that is similar to the City’s “Visitors in the Workplace” policy for employees.
Background:
City Code 1.2.703 assigns the City Auditor responsibility for ensuring public accountability and evaluating whether City resources are used appropriately and in the public interest. In line with this authority, the Auditor’s Office reviewed two Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline reports that raised concerns involving an elected official. Although elected officials are not considered City employees under the City’s personnel policies, the allegations involved the use of City resources and therefore fell within the scope of the Auditor’s oversight responsibilities.
Previous Council Action:
N/A
Financial Implications:
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City Council Appointed Board/Commission/Committee Recommendation:
None
Stakeholder Process:
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Alternatives:
Option 1: Council may choose to initiate changes that clarify expectations for elected officials. This option allows Council to directly establish standards rather than relying on administrative policy updates.
Option 2: Take no action
Recommended Action
Proposed Motion:
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Summary of Ordinance Language
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