SerpApi.Org
The Austin City Auditor's Office has completed eight investigations so far this fiscal year, substantiating allegations in half of them, according to data presented Monday to the City Council Audit and Finance Committee.
The office has 11 additional investigations open across eight departments and expects to publish two or three more investigative reports before the fiscal year ends in September, it told the American-Statesman.
Of the four substantiated investigations, one involved misuse and fraud at Austin Water, and another involved an Austin Public Health employee who accepted outside compensation that was likely to impair the employee's job performance, according to Monday's presentation.
Read More: Austin employee drew city paycheck while working full time for state, audit says
Two others involved Austin Energy. One found fraud, waste and a failure to cooperate, while the other involved misuse. The cases resulted in the employees' separation from the city, except for the Austin Energy misuse case, which remains pending.
The office's open investigations involve allegations of abuse, misuse of city resources, timesheet theft and accepting compensation likely to impair job performance, according to the report.
The auditor's office said it expects to receive about 404 allegations of fraud, waste and other misconduct this fiscal year, matching the total reported in 2025.
Many of the allegations received this year fell outside the office's jurisdiction, including 99 related to human resources matters and 41 involving operational issues.
Among allegations within the office's jurisdiction, misuse was the most common category, with 20 complaints, followed by fraud with 18 and waste with 14.
Read More: Former utility employee routed nearly $1M to fictitious vendors
Most complainants submitted allegations through the city's online reporting form. Twelve percent contacted an investigator directly, 8% emailed the auditor's integrity unit, and 8% used the whistleblower hotline.
Citywide, the auditor's office received an average of 15 allegations per 1,000 employees.
The Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment Department had the highest rate, with 77 allegations per 1,000 employees. It was followed by Facilities Management with 59, Human Resources with 45, Technology Services with 31, Aviation with 27 and the Austin Public Library with 23.
The auditor's office also plans to launch a fraud-detection project early next fiscal year aimed at identifying suspicious city credit card transactions.
The project was developed after the investigation into the Austin Energy employee accused of routing nearly $1 million to fraudulent vendors.
Sign up for the Daily Briefing from the Austin American-Statesman. Start your day with the must-read headlines from Austin's most trusted news source.Read this story on statesman.com
