HELENA — A survey of state employees has found that many of with firsthand knowledge of fraud, waste or abuse did not report it out of fear of retaliation and that few were aware of a state hotline that takes anonymous reports.
“We believe increasing awareness of the hotline and education about its confidential and anonymous nature will help build confidence in the hotline,” legislative auditors wrote in the report released this week.
The Legislative Audit Division sent the survey to about 6,000 state employees in July. About 1,600 responded. Nearly 1 in 5 who responded said they had witnessed state resources being wasted in the previous two years.
The most frequently perceived type of violation was nepotism, followed by conducting personal business while on state time, fraudulently reporting work hours and not complying with hiring or recruitment policies.
Most survey respondents said they would use the hotline in the future if they became aware of suspected fraud or abuse.
“It’s important for all Montanans to understand that the Legislature wants to know about fraud, waste, and abuse, and that employees won’t be retaliated against if they report misdeeds to us,” said state Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, who chairs the Legislative Audit Committee. The committee will discuss the report on Oct. 30.
The audit said there were 52 reports to the hotline of potential fraud, waste or abuse from July 2018 through June 2019. Agencies reported 20 incidents of theft or suspected theft. But auditors said not all agencies are vigilant about making those reports, which are required by state law.
State government has more than 20,000 employees and a budget of $7.5 billion annually, auditors noted, adding it’s “not unreasonable to assume an enterprise of this scale would suffer from a greater degree of loss and theft than is currently being reported.”
Of the 52 hotline reports, 34 were found to be unsubstantiated, auditors said.
Auditors substantiated allegations that a former University of Montana employee made questionable charges on a state procurement card and that while she has agreed to repay about $6,200, the university failed to report the allegation to the legislative auditor and the attorney general.
Helena police are investigating separate allegations of misuse of a procurement card at Helena College.