(a) Introduction.
(1) White Oak Borough is faced with the risks that come from wrongdoing, misconduct, dishonesty and fraud. As with all business exposures, we must be prepared to manage these risks and their potential impact in a professional manner.
(2) The impact of misconduct and dishonesty may include:
A. The actual financial loss incurred;
B. Damage to the reputation of our Borough and our employees;
C. Negative publicity;
D. The cost of investigation;
E. Loss of employees;
F. Loss of residents;
G. Damaged relationships with our contractors and suppliers; litigation;
H. Damaged employee morale.
(3) Our goal is to establish and maintain a business environment of fairness, ethics and honesty for our employees, our residents, our suppliers and anyone else with whom we have a relationship. To maintain such an environment requires the active assistance of every employee and manager every day.
(4) White Oak Borough is committed to the deterrence, detection and correction of misconduct and dishonesty. The discovery, reporting and documentation of such acts provides a sound foundation for the protection of innocent parties, the taking of disciplinary action against offenders up to and including dismissal where appropriate, the referral to law enforcement agencies when warranted by the facts, and the recovery of assets.
(5) To the extent this Policy conflicts with any other previously enacted provision, or policy resolution, this Policy shall supersede and control said conflicting provision or policy resolution.
(b) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to communicate White Oak Borough’s policy regarding the deterrence and investigation of suspected misconduct and dishonesty by employees and others, and to provide specific instructions regarding appropriate action in case of suspected violations.
(c) Definition of Misconduct and Dishonesty.
(1) For purposes of this policy, misconduct and dishonesty include but are not limited to:
A. Acts which violate White Oak Borough’s Code of Conduct;
B. Theft or other misappropriation of assets, including assets of White Oak Borough, our residents, suppliers or others with whom we have a business relationship;
C. Misstatements and other irregularities in White Oak Borough’s records, including the intentional misstatement of the results of operations;
D. Wrongdoing;
E. Forgery or other alteration of documents;
F. Any similar acts.
(2) White Oak Borough specifically prohibits these and any other illegal activities in the actions of its employees, managers, elected officials, appointed officials and others responsible for carrying out the Borough’s activities.
(d) Reporting.
(1) It is the responsibility of every employee, supervisor, manager, elected official and appointed official to immediately report suspected misconduct to the Borough Manager and/or Acting Borough Manager. In the event that there is suspected misconduct or dishonesty on the part of the Borough Manager and/or Acting Borough Manager, it is the responsibility of every employee, supervisor, elected official or appointed official to notify both the President and Vice President of White Oak Borough’s Council who shall then have the responsibilities and duties assigned to the Borough Manager and/or Acting Borough Manager set forth in this Policy. Any reprisal against any employee or other reporting individual because that individual, in good faith, reported a violation is strictly forbidden.
(2) Due to the important yet sensitive nature of the suspected violations, effective professional follow up is critical. Supervisors, while appropriately concerned about “getting to the bottom” of such issues should not in any circumstances perform any investigative or other follow up steps on their own. Concerned but uniformed supervisors represent one of the greatest threats to proper incident handling. All relevant matters, including suspected but unproved matters, should be referred immediately to the Borough Manager except as otherwise provided herein.
(e) Additional Responsibilities of Supervisors.
(1) Employees with supervisory and review responsibilities at any level have additional deterrence and detection duties. If you have supervisory or review responsibility, then in addition to reporting suspected violations as is required above, you have three additional responsibilities.
A. First, you must become aware of what can go wrong in your area of responsibility.
B. Second, you must put into place and maintain monitoring, review and control procedures which will prevent acts of wrongdoing.
C. Third, you must put into place and maintain monitoring, review and control procedures which will detect acts of wrongdoing promptly should prevent efforts fail.
(2) Authority to carry out these three additional responsibilities is often delegated to subordinates, however, accountability for their effectiveness cannot be delegated and will remain with supervisors and the Borough Manager and/or Acting Borough Manager.
(f) Responsibility and Authority for Follow Up and Investigation.
(1) The Borough Manager has the primary responsibility for all investigations involving White Oak Borough. The Borough Manager and/or Acting Borough Manager may request the assistance of the Solicitor, Auditor or Chief of Police in any investigation including access to periodic examinations and evaluation of internal controls. Council shall have these responsibilities in the event of suspected misconduct on the part of the Borough Manger and/or Acting Borough Manager.
(2) Properly designated members of the investigative teams will have:
A. Free and unrestricted access to all White Oak Borough records and premises; whether owned or rented;
B. The authority to examine, copy and/or remove all or any portion of the contents of files, desks, cabinets and other storage facilities (whether in electronic or other form) without the prior knowledge or consent of any individual who might use or have custody of any such items or facilities when it is within the scope of investigative or related follow up procedures.
(3) All investigations of alleged wrongdoing will be conducted in accordance with applicable laws and Borough’s procedures.
(g) Reported Incident Follow Up Procedure. Care must be taken in the follow up of suspected misconduct and dishonesty to avoid acting on incorrect or unsupported accusations, to avoid alerting suspected individuals that follow up and investigation is underway, and to avoid making statements which adversely affect White Oak Borough, an employee or other parties.
(h) Questions or Clarifications Related to This Policy. All questions or other clarifications of this policy and its related responsibilities should be addressed to the Solicitor, who shall be responsible for the interpretation of this policy.
(Res. 3408. Passed 7-18-05.)