Whistleblower Hotline
Deschutes County’s Whistleblower Hotline is the secure, anonymous way to report fraud, waste, or abuse involving the County government, its employees, or vendors.
Call the toll-free phone number at 833-926-2375.
File a report online at www.lighthouse-services.com/deschutes.
An anonymous reporting system like this can be a useful tool for discovering and reducing losses due to fraud, waste or misuse of County resources, and abuse of position. Having a reporting system reinforces the message that all County employees and contractors are expected to follow the highest standards of ethical and legal behavior and to act as stewards of public resources.
Why should I report fraud, waste, or abuse?
The misuse of County resources impacts services we all rely on, including our public health, community justice, environmental health, and transportation programs.
How do I report?
The County Auditor contracts with an outside company called Lighthouse to take reports. There are two ways you can make a report, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year:
Call the toll-free phone number at 833-926-2375. Calls are not recorded, and caller ID is disabled.
File a report online at www.lighthouse-services.com/deschutes.
You may file an anonymous report or provide contact information.
What should I report?
We would rather you report a situation that turns out to be harmless than let fraud, waste, or abuse go unchecked. But it’s not a bad idea to make sure the report meets our criteria before you report.
Fraud is the act of using dishonesty for personal gain. In the context of this program, the definition includes any misuse of, or attempt to misuse, a County asset for personal gain, or for purposes unrelated to County business. There are three main categories of fraud: financial statement fraud, misappropriation of assets, and corruption. Examples of fraud can include but are not limited to theft, forgery, falsifying records, and bribery.
Waste involves the careless or extravagant expenditure of County funds, incurring unnecessary expenses, or mismanagement of County resources or property on a significant scale. Waste does not have to involve private use or personal gain, but usually signifies poor management decisions, practices, or controls.
Abuse is the intentional, wrongful, improper use, or destruction of County resources. Abuse can include the excessive or improper use of an employee's or official's position in a manner other than its rightful or legal use.
Examples of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
What We Can and Cannot Investigate
What is the investigative process?
The County Internal Auditor’s Office is responsible for the Whistleblower Hotline and takes all reports seriously. For every report received that is within our power to investigate, Auditor’s Office staff will do a preliminary fact-finding to decide how to proceed. We may conduct our own investigation or refer the report to another department or office. In some cases, we may notify and assist law enforcement. Some cases may be closed if they lack merit or we don’t receive enough information to investigate.
More information about how we conduct investigations is available in the Deschutes County Whistleblower Policy and the County Internal Auditor’s Office Whistleblower Program Desk Manual.
How can you communicate results to me if it’s anonymous?
When you make a report to the Whistleblower Hotline, you will receive a unique case identifier. You can use this identifier to check the status of the report online or call the toll free number for updates. We will notify you of the outcome of the report through the online Whistleblower Hotline portal.
