Thursday, March 26, 2009

Ulster Comptroller wants whistleblower policy

KINGSTON – Ulster County Comptroller Elliot Auerbach Wednesday recommended that the county legislature adopt a whistleblower law to promote “a systematic approach to communicating suspected improprieties while protecting the complainant from retaliation.

Auerbach’s recommendation is part of his Internal Controls Baseline Report, which is based on a survey of departments with the goal of establishing a baseline of internal control measures against which future progress can be gauged.

Auerbach said he has already received comments from county employees that may warrant a look-see.

“Informally we’ve had several folks come to us and we feel that it does warrant a firm whistleblower policy for the legislature to adopt.”

Among the other recommendations of Auerbach’s baseline report are individuals in leadership positions should focus on creating a culture of internal control; that the county executive develop a continuing education program for staff designed to disseminate information essential to understanding internal control and engage participants in continuous improvement of international control implementation; and to provide an orientation on the scope and implementation of the internal controls with the state comptroller.

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/March09/26/UC_whistle-26Mar09.html