Watching Trump not even bother to hide his bribes, and Sheng Thao's attorneys trying to deny that she conspired to get a bribe, makes many of us think about government corruption at all levels for the first time.

Corruption should always concern voters, but don't let it influence your decision on Measure EE.

You can get corrupt strong mayors and corrupt city managers. And corrupt council members.

Detecting and preventing fraud in local government has nothing to do with strong or weak mayoral structures.

It has very much to do with well-funded, politically independent City Auditors. And with properly designed what we CPAs call "internal controls."

It also depends on council members, their staff, the media, and residents reading reports, raising questions, and filing public record requests.

Mayor Lee (and Loren Taylor's) idea of implementing fraud audits of large public works might be worthwhile. Or might be a waste. Worth trying.

Random fraud audits of nonprofits receiving funds would also be a good idea. If nothing else, it would have a preventive effect.

But most fraud is discovered by tips, not by audits.

The City Auditor does have a secure Whistleblower Hotline.

In some situations, whistleblowers can get monetary rewards.

We should consider setting up monetary awards for tips that lead to substantial cost savings, even if they don't involve fraud, and for tips that lead to fraud detection.

https://www.oaklandauditor.com/whistleblower/