Yukon council approves ethics hotline contract, outlines internal rollout

Yukon City Council voted Jan. 14 to approve a services agreement with Lighthouse Services LLC to operate an ethics hotline for city employees. The vote followed a presentation from City Manager Mike Castro describing how the hotline will be used, the committee structure and safeguards to limit access to sensitive information.

Castro said the product demonstration met staff expectations and recommended an initial internal-only launch (city employees) with the potential to expand externally later. Under the plan the city will: define what constitutes an ethics violation; form a small ethics committee to receive and triage reports; randomly assign internal investigators for initial reviews; maintain communication with complainants through the vendor portal; and protect complainants from retaliation.

Castro told council the hotline should not replace the city's existing grievance process but would supplement it by providing a confidential route for reporting misconduct and tracking trends. He emphasized staff will be explicit about open-records implications and will maintain compliance with personnel and records law.

The motion to approve the services agreement passed unanimously. City staff will return with an implementation timeline and recommended policies and will operate the system under administrative oversight while the council reviews any proposed expansion to external audiences (vendors or the public).