How to report corruption in local government
Imagine a small town where the promise of progress and innovation has captured the hearts of its residents. The local council is bustling with activity as new initiatives are proposed to revitalize public spaces and improve community services. However, beneath the surface of these ambitious plans, whispers of unethical practices begin to emerge. A trusted council member is observed accepting favors from a contractor bidding on a major project, raising eyebrows and questions about the integrity of the process. As suspicions grow, citizens start to lose confidence and trust in their local government.
Individuals have many reasons why they might run for office or serve in administration positions, and we want all of them to be the town heroes — driven by commitment to our schools and municipalities, to students and citizens. But whenever individuals have power, temptation can follow it.
Sad to say, our local governments are not immune from bad actors doing harm from within — in other words, engaging in corruption. Citizens should be able to believe that their candidates' motives are genuine and that their tax dollars will be used ethically to support and improve their community. But the news shows that isn’t always the case.
Read on to discover how to identify corruption, how to report it and how local governments can set up protections against future illegal or unethical behavior. In this article, you will learn:
- Early signs of potential corruption within local government organizations
- Best practices for approaching any type of corruption smoothly and effectively
- Why accountability and transparency are integral, and how technology can facilitate both
What is corruption?
Government corruption is when people in power use their position for personal gain instead of serving the public good. Some of the most familiar acts include:
- Taking bribes in exchange for specific acts
- Misusing government or campaign funds
- Making voting decisions influenced by personal interest
- Encouraging or overlooking illegal activities for personal benefit
Essentially, it's when leaders or officials break the law or act unethically to benefit themselves.
How to spot potential signs of corruption
Spotting corruption can be difficult, especially if no one is looking for it. However, history has shown us that there are telltale signs of corruption in local government.
Corruption is more likely to occur when there are few or no watchdogs. If you live in an area where one political party dominates the government, there is less likely to be any objective oversight. Investigations may be light or nonexistent. It's the old adage, “What you don't know won't hurt you” — until it does.
Don't assume corruption doesn't occur in your area. Because Illinois is known for its public corruption, the University of Illinois did a study of local government corruption. Chicago topped the list historically, but, when taking into account a more recent period, the city fell to sixth place, after cities including Richmond, Virginia; Newark, New Jersey; and the Austin/San Antonio area in Texas.
Other signs of possible corruption are when family members get insider jobs, public officials suddenly become wealthier or the local government budget doesn’t seem to reflect the community tax rates.
Why should you report corruption?
Whether you suspect or have hard evidence of corruption, it can be hard to decide to take action. An individual can be unclear on the steps to take, not want to get involved, fear reprisal or feel fatalistic that taking action can do any good.
But — if not you, who? Allowing corruption to continue not only does immediate harm to the community, but it exposes the community to future harm, normalizing the behaviors that work against the common interest. Whistleblowing can be stressful, but it has to be done to uphold the public trust. After all, the resources being wasted or rerouted illegally or unfairly include yours and every other tax payer in your community.
Ethics for publicly elected boards
Download our guide to ethics and compliance for publicly elected boards to discover how you can transform ethical oversight and governance for the better.
Yes I'd like that guideHow to report corruption in local government
Would you know how to report corruption in local government if you suspected it? Smaller cities and towns are actually more susceptible to corruption than large cities. With smaller budgets, smaller locales often lack the budget to employ an official oversight body.
Regardless of the size of a community or the size of its budget, every community can take action to prevent corruption within their local government.
- Gather evidence. As with any reporting, collecting names, dates and times, witnesses and activities is critical. A simple spreadsheet can get you started on documenting what you’ve seen and what you suspect. Blind-copy yourself on any relevant ongoing emails, and preserve older emails that include relevant information.
- Protect yourself. You have protections as a whistleblower, but being cautious up front is necessary. For example, you may retain a lawyer or seek legal counsel — one prudent action out of several a prospective whistleblower can take.
- Choose the right channel. Whom you contact is dependent on the entity experiencing corruption. The FBI is an important entity for investigating public corruption. Contact your local FBI branch. (The Albuquerque branch of the FBI has a helpful document to determine if the FBI is the appropriate channel.) Your state’s inspector general office will also have resources for reporting. At the national level, you can find contact information from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
- File a formal complaint. You should get guidance from the organization you contact on the correct process for filing a complaint.
Accountability and transparency in local government
To prevent future corruption, every town or city should have a known authority to which citizens can report suspicions of fraud or corruption. Each area is at liberty to make their own decisions about who or what body has the authority to investigate and address allegations of fraud and corruption.
If your town doesn't have such an authority, it's a good idea to have some discussions with elected officials about establishing a watchdog authority. Alternatively, it's something citizens can bring up for discussion at a public meeting. You might just find that other citizens are equally concerned.
If your local government doesn't know where to start, it's helpful to share ideas with them on how other small towns and cities have approached the issue. Here's a starter list of ideas that various municipalities have implemented to improve accountability and transparency in their communities:
- Implement an ethics commission
- Hire a part-time or full-time ethics officer
- Combine with other cities and towns and share the cost of a regional ethics officer
- Hire a part-time or full-time local inspector general
- Expand the duties of a city auditor to include local government investigations
- Make sure your council members have ethics training for an ethical boardroom.
Ethics officials should be independent of city positions in order to avoid a conflict of interest. Their job descriptions should include overseeing city officials, management and staff. They should also be responsible for conducting investigations over allegations of ethics violations and make all ethics decisions public via public postings. Ethics officers usually also coordinate ethics training classes and ensure that all public officials are compliant with ethics education.
The use of a city auditor isn't always the best solution, as city auditors usually limit their investigations to allegations regarding financial issues.
For very small communities with extremely limited finances, it may not be possible to hire an ethics officer or an equivalent. In that case, at a minimum, citizens should verify that their local government has a system of internal controls, such as having more than one person open the mail and having more than one person check over the accounting records.
How board management software can help support accountability and transparency
Board management software, including a full-featured solution like Diligent Community, can support your and your team’s efforts to reject corruption and embrace accountability and transparency in several key ways:
- A single tool for all. Enabling the entire governance team, staff and the public to access the same agendas, documents and other resources in a single place shines a light on the local government’s functions and activities.
- Transparent decision-making. Because meeting information is published to your public website, with easy search facilities, citizens can see the history of particular decisions and understand how decisions were made.
- Streamlined communication. Keeping government business to one tool makes it easier to keep official activities and discussion official. It also supports efficient decision-making.
- Strong security with granular permissions. With a high level of security, Diligent Community reduces the risk of unauthorized access and potential corruption. Granular permissions ensure everyone can access the resources they need easily.
- Ensured compliance and best practices. With one tool, the records necessary to report regulatory compliance and show transparency are in one place, reducing the administrative work needed to gather documentation and creating a positive model for other entities.
- Audit trails with a clear record of decisions and actions. Citizens want assurance that their representatives are acting in their best interests. By making the board management solution available to all, they can find answers to their own questions and better understand why the governance team made certain decisions.
Preventing and reporting corruption is everyone’s responsibility, and Diligent Community is a powerful tool to boost the transparency and accountability necessary to support responsible governance, rebuff bad actors and reassure citizens. Sign up for a demo today to learn more about what Diligent Community can do for your team.
