Sarpy County seeks to step up trust, transparency by hiring third-party whistleblower contractor

(Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

BELLEVUE — Nebraska’s fast-growing Sarpy County has taken an extra step to provide an anonymous third-party path for its employees and citizens to report harassment, waste and suspected mismanagement.

The county, as of late May, is offering the resource, called IntegrityCounts, which is operated independently by a Canadian company called WhistleBlower Security Inc. 

Under an annual $13,700 contract, the contractor is to confidentially accept information around-the-clock. It is to deliver that information to a committee of county officials, which then is to evaluate the confidential report to determine next steps.

“This platform will help Sarpy County maintain the highest ethical standards in serving the public — and promotes a speak-up culture,” said Sarpy County Board Chair Angi Burmeister.

Jon Cannon, executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials, and Lynn Rex, executive director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities, said they were unaware of another local government in the state that uses an outside company to accept whistleblower complaints.

Cannon considers it worth exploring as a possible suggestion for other counties.

Transparency, accountability

Sarpy County officials said they took the step to “promote transparency and accountability.”

Previous avenues of reporting suspected personnel complaints, mismanagement of funds, fraud, waste or abuse remain options, as well, the county says. Those include raising concerns directly to a county manager, elected official or the Human Resources department.

“This initiative recognizes the importance of providing an additional outlet for reporting these types of concerns,” the county said in a statement.

Ultimately, problems can’t be solved if they don’t see the light of day.

– David Klug, Sarpy County Board member

Sarpy County, the third largest county in the state, has dealt with a few high-profile personnel controversies over the past few years. 

In 2023, the former director of the Sarpy County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program, which helps children who are wards of the state, was sentenced to six months in prison. Paula R. Creps was accused of fraudulently taking about $45,000 in goods and services from county funds funneled to her through a charitable group, Lift Up Sarpy County.

In 2021, the Sarpy County Board fired Brian Zuger as county treasurer three years after he had been elected to the post. The move followed a report by the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts that detailed numerous accounting errors in his handling of the county’s books, including miscalculated tax payments to school districts.

Also that year, the County Board passed a resolution objecting to behavior by County Public Defender Tom Strigenz, following allegations of sexual misconduct with a subordinate employee on county property.

The Omaha World-Herald reported that the board received three anonymous complaints about the situation but that Strigenz rejected all allegations, including that he had intimidated witnesses.

Sarpy County Commissioner David Klug said Thursday that the new outside whistleblower contract was recommended by the county’s audit committee, which said it was viewed as a best practice nationally.

Klug described the move as an effort to promote trust and to operate at the highest standard of government, “to make sure the county is looking at things that need to be looked at.” 

“Ultimately, problems can’t be solved if they don’t see the light of day,” Klug said.

The County Board approved the service agreement earlier this year without public discussion. 

The service launched May 23. 

Reports can be made by phone, email or online via a five-step process. Those who submit a report are not required to provide their name or personal information. The committee that later looks at the anonymous complaint is made up of the county human resource director, chief financial officer and chief deputy county attorney, Klug said.

Elsewhere in the state

The City of Omaha does not have an outside whistleblower service, a mayoral spokeswoman said, but offers the Mayor’s Hotline for citizens to report concerns and an online hotline for city employees to report suspected fraud.

In the City of Lincoln, there is no external contractor for whistleblower complaints either. Concerns would be received by an internal city department or commission, a spokesman said.

On a state level, the Nebraska State Government Effectiveness Act, more commonly known as the state Whistleblower Act, designates the State Ombudsman’s Office as the investigator for alleged wrongdoing at a state government level, said Ombudsman Julie Rogers.

That office’s jurisdiction does not extend to city or county governments, except for county jails, she said. 

State Auditor Mike Foley said his state office offers an anonymous whistleblower hotline as well as an anonymous email link to pass along suspicions of fraud or waste.

Sometimes, he said, those voicing the concern verbally or by email identify themselves, but more often the concern is left anonymously. 

“We take them all seriously and filter them through our own processes to determine legitimacy,” Foley said. “Over the years we have found these ‘tips’ to be enormously helpful in our work.”

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