The City of Azusa is committed to conducting its affairs ethically and in compliance with the law. We take pride in the high quality services we provide to the community. Therefore, we offer a 24/7 Fraud hotline, (844) 777-4756, and an online complaint form where employees and members of the community can anonymously report suspicions of violation of the City's Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Policy.

About the HOTLINE

The City has contracted a third party hotline provider, EthicsPoint to collect anonymous reports of fraud, waste and abuse. The Fraud Hotline is designed for reporting suspected cases of fraud, by the City or its employees, officials, contractors or vendors, including but not limited to waste or abuse of City resources. All prohibited conduct to which this webpage applies is referred to by the abbreviated reference “fraud or waste”.

The Fraud Hotline is not a substitute for employment-related grievances or complaints by City employees, as existing City policy and procedures provide channels for resolution of these issues.

While face-to-face reporting is always the best form of communication, it is not always feasible: the Fraud Hotline provides another vehicle to report fraud or waste.

Confidentiality

Complainants can choose to remain anonymous. The Hotline Administrator, the Director of Administrative Services, will maintain the confidentiality of all complaints, including documents (to the extent permitted by law). Complaints submitted online are routed directly to the Hotline Administrator. In the event an Administrator is involved in a complaint, the complaint will be submitted to the City Manager.

Whistleblower Protection

The City will not retaliate, nor will it tolerate retaliation against those who, in good faith, report suspected fraud, or waste or who participate in an investigation of suspected violations. An act of retaliation should be reported immediately to the Director of Administrative Services, who will investigate and report potential violations to appropriate authorities. In addition, those who bring matters to the Fraud Hotline may be protected through the State of California Whistleblower Protection Act or other State or federal laws.

Hotline Process

In order to process your complaint, the more information you provide the better, however, a minimum amount of information is needed to proceed with an investigation. Please try to obtain the following information before contacting the Hotline:

• Names of individuals involved;
• What happened and why you think it is/was wrong;
• When and where the incident happened and names and contact information, if known, of anyone that knows or witnessed what happened;
• The department impacted and the people involved; and
• Any documentation or other evidence you have or know of. 

Reporting Fraud, Waste or Abuse

Call the Fraud, Waste & Abuse HOTLINE at (844) 777-4756 - or complete and submit an online complaint form. The Hotline Administrators will investigate or refer to appropriate authorities all complaints received by the City related to or waste. Complaints pertaining to City employees in the areas of employee relations, discrimination, harassment, safety, workers’ compensation fraud, and related personnel matters will be forwarded to the Director of Administrative Services for appropriate handling and investigation, which may include the Police Department and/or outside investigators, depending on the nature of the issue and whether criminal conduct is alleged.