Integrity Line
The Integrity Line is a telephone hotline to report unethical, fraudulent, or illegal acts by City of Atlanta officials, employees, and contractors. Written complaints are also accepted at www.tnwinc.com/webreport.
Annual Report
In its third year of operations, the City received 129 calls on the Integrity Line and investigated 47 of them. Allegations were sustained in four cases, resulting in an employee's demotion in one case, supervisory counseling in one case, and changes in departmental practices in the two remaining cases. As in previous years, three-fourths of all calls related to four areas: employee relations, policy issues, customer relations, and theft of time. To read the full report, go to Integrity Line Annual Report -- 2008
What to Report
The Integrity Line accepts calls about the following issues:
- conflicts of interest
- theft and fraud
- accounting and audit irregularities
- misuse of city property
- inappropriate gifts and gratuities
- improper dealings with customers and vendors
- illegal harassment and discrimination
- threats or violence
Cases involving employee relations or customer service complaints will be referred to the appropriate department for handling.
Call Center
The City has contracted with an independent company, The Network, to operate the call center. The call center is based locally in Norcross, Georgia, and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Network sends a written report on each call and written complaint within 24 hours to the Ethics Officer, City Auditor, and Compliance Manager.
City Investigation
The City conducts a thorough analysis of each complaint. Depending on the information available, the case is investigated by audit, ethics, or compliance staff; referred to law enforcement agencies; or referred to the relevant city department. Enforcement actions may be recommended to the Board of Ethics or appropriate city management staff.
Anonymous Complaints
Callers are encouraged, but not required, to give their name. Each anonymous caller is given a case number and asked to call back in 10 days to answer questions raised by the preliminary investigation.