Whet your whistle: Buncombe opens hotline for fraud reporting

Posted on by Kent Priestley

Buncombe County government is announcing a new “Whistleblower Hotline,” a place for citizens to report suspected incidents of “fraud, theft, illegal or unethical behavior” by county employees. The toll-free number is (866) 908-7236.

The hotline is managed by a third-party network, and allows residents and county employees to make their reports anonymously. Despite the obvious temptation it poses, the County anticipates that the service will be lightly used. “We don’t expect to get many calls because we believe that we have an outstanding workforce,” said Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene. “This is one more way to be open and transparent in the way County Government is run and we encourage all citizens to keep their eyes open for any reportable behavior”.

Incidents worthy of reporting include:

· theft of county property – money, materials, time
· waste or abuse of county property
· inappropriate or unethical behavior by a county employee or employees

Callers with matters involving tax bills, complaints to the Board of Commissioners and child or adult abuse or neglect should not use this line. The latter should report to the Department of Social Services at 250-5500.

— Kent Priestley, staff writer

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Whet your whistle: Buncombe opens hotline for fraud reporting”

  1. Bill Rhodes

    Yeah!
    First call… about those meetings with Progress Energy, you know the ones which led to PE getting 78 acres at $1 a year

    Fraud. Yeah. That’s the ticket.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.