The Office of the City Auditor's integrity unit reported to the Audit and Finance Committee on April 16 that it has received 209 allegations so far this fiscal year, an increase that would put the office on pace for roughly 400 allegations by year end and about 20% above its three-year rolling average.

Brian Malloy, chief of investigations in the auditor's office, told the committee the allegations cover a range of department areas and types; about 37% of reports so far fall within the integrity unit's investigative jurisdiction and two-thirds are outside the unit's jurisdiction (typically human resources or operational matters) and are referred to department management. The unit accepts anonymous reports and offers multiple reporting channels: about 60% of reporters use the online form, 11% contact investigators directly and about 8% use the hotline.

Malloy said the office now reports allegations by department on a per-1,000-employees basis to allow fair comparison across larger and smaller departments. On that basis, animal services, building services and human resources showed higher rates of allegations per 1,000 employees than the city average; departments that previously appeared larger by percentage often reflected higher counts because they employ more staff.

So far in fiscal 2025 the integrity unit has completed five investigations; all five resulted in substantiated violations and management has taken accountability actions in all but one case (Austin Energy, where an accountability action is pending as part of an ethics-review commission process). The office also completed a detection project on Parks and Recreation rental fees that found collection and assessment issues; Parks and Recreation updated training and some policies in response.

Malloy said nine investigations are open across seven departments, covering fraud, abuse, misuse, conflict of interest and theft. He encouraged anyone with concerns to report them directly using the online form or by contacting investigators to allow follow-up questions.

Ending: The integrity unit will continue triaging reports and investigating matters within its jurisdiction. The unit plans to provide a full fiscal-year report in the fall with department-level trends and any prevention recommendations that arise from completed work.