Whet your whistle: Buncombe opens hotline for fraud reporting

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

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

  1. 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.

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