The City of San Antonio, Texas adopted a Code of Ethics but it appears that it may be just window dressing.
Portions of the document describe in detail exactly why the code was published:
Public service is a public trust. All city officials and employees are stewards of the public trust. They have a responsibility to the citizens of San Antonio to enforce the City Charter and the associated ordinances and codes. To ensure and enhance public confidence in City Government, each city official must not only adhere to the principles of ethical conduct set forth in this code and technical compliance therewith, but they must scrupulously avoid the appearance of impropriety at all times.
The code is very specific and leaves little room for doubt with the following provision:
SECTION 2-54 PERSONS REQUIRED TO REPORT; TIME TO REPORT; PLACE TO REPORT
(a) A City official or employee who has knowledge of a violation of any of the provisions of this Ethics Code shall report this violation as provided below within a reasonable time after the person has knowledge of a violation. A City official or employee shall not delegate to, or rely on, another person to make the report. Any City official or employee who has knowledge that a violation of the Ethics Code has been committed and intentionally fails to report such violation is subject to the penalties herein.
Two independent City Auditors have been forced from their positions in the past few years. The City of San Antonio recently asked for and received the resignation of the latest independent City Auditor after a Department Director was less than truthful concerning audits/inspections that were not performed as was required over the past few years. The Department Director couldn't be the only City employee to have knowledge of the missed inspections. Why did not other employees within the department step forward concerning the lack of proper inspections on the City's playgrounds. It couldn't be that much of a well kept secret within the department that problems hadn't been addressed for many, many, many years. Why didn't anyone speak up? Why was the new City Auditor forced from his position because he adhered to the Code of Ethics while others looked away?
The City of San Antonio's new Telecommunications Manager uncovered and reported to internal auditors, the Office of Municipal Integrity, City management, law enforcement and others numerous violations of law. These violations included state/federal grant fraud, State Department of Information Resources contract fraud, padded invoices, personal threats and instructions from superiors to withhold information from auditors or to provide false information and other issues.
After gathering sworn testimony and documents from several current and former city employees the Office of Municipal Integrity abruptly halted the inquiry and declared that they found nothing. Access to reports was blocked and open record requests were illegally denied. Additional official reports of wrongdoing including the falsification of FEMA time records and fraudulent City Council presentations/reports were met with identical findings of unfounded/lack of evidence. The Telecommunications Manager was called an embarrassment for reporting unsubstantiated allegations and was terminated. Why was the City's new Telecommunications Manager as in the case of the two former Independent City Auditors forced from his position for molding his behavior to be in compliance with the Code of Ethics while others looked away?
Instructions from the Attorney General that reports were to be released when completed were ignored by City of San Antonio officials. A copy of an email dated November 29 10:29 A.M. And secreted reports were obtained via a lawsuit filed against the City. The email originates from the Office of Municipal Integrity and is directed to the City's Management and Budget Director, the City's Chief Information Officer and the City's IT Director. The internal correspondence contains statements such as:
Pay for things completely unrelated to City phones
Means for ITSD to balance its own books internally
ITSD trophy case, training for ITSD personnel, remodeling at ITSD, numerous department specific purchases and data equipment
Had nothing to do with shared telephone costs
Unsupervised and unregulated billing of departments across the City under the guise of the telephone variable for the last 25 years
Resulted in them (City departments) being billed for millions of dollars of goods and services that should have been budgeted and paid for by ITSD.
Significant billing problems
The motivation to assure careful internal contract billing processes is compromised by the ability to tap a bottomless pit of money via the variable (s) and at the end of the day pass the costs along to city departments.
The fact is that numerous City employees were well aware of the fraud. Sworn statements taken by Municipal Integrity investigators documented the fact that the fraud was common knowledge among a group of IT Department employees and others for years and possibly decades. Personal notes, emails, etc. Document the fact that internal auditors were well aware of the fraud, threats against the Telecommunications Manager, etc. When they published reports/audits whitewashing the corrupt atmosphere within the City's IT department. Everyone looked away. Many cooperated as good team players and assisted with the illegal cover-up.
The email of Nov. 29 proves that as early as three years ago City officials knew of the misappropriation of funds that covertly drained tax dollars from every city department's telecommunications budget, the contract billing irregularities, etc. The email cites untold amount of goods and services, for the last 25 years and no benefit.
Records show that almost $1 million dollars was misappropriated or misspent during the few short months in 2005 that were reviewed before the investigation was suddenly halted. The City has no means to place an accurate figure on the amount of fraud that occurred over the last twenty-five years. They have no idea as to the extent or impact on city department budgets, city program budgets, state/federal grants, etc. They don't know and they are taking no steps to find out.
After secreted documents were released by the City a letter dated Sept. 3 outlining the ongoing fraud and its impact on City resources was mailed to Directors of every City department, the City Clerk, the Ethics Board and others. Copies of incriminating documents, secreted reports, etc. Accompanied the correspondence. Letters mailed to the City's Ethics Board along with associated documents, emails, audio recordings, reports, sworn testimony, etc. Are ignored. As early as a year ago they all knew of the fraud that had impacted their budgets for up to twenty-five years. I know of no action on their part.
How can the City perform an audit, self-disclose problems to state/federal grantors, restore pilfered funds, etc. If they have already declared that nothing was found, signed off on the investigation with the finding of unfounded/lack of evidence, ignored instructions from the Attorney General concerning Open Records rulings and illegally terminated the whistleblower?
How can the City of San Antonio explain how officials, department heads and employees could ignore the code of ethics and other codes of conduct and still be employed when the officials explaining would be just as guilty as the others?
Is the City of San Antonio's Code of Ethics a code of honor or just window dressing?
Shut up and pass me the curtains and blinds the truth is shining in! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
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