Ethics Commitment and Reporting
Learn how the City supports a respectful, ethical workplace and find out how to report concerns like fraud, misconduct, or policy violations—confidentially and securely.
Looking to file a complaint about a member of the Bend Police Department?
At the City of Bend, professional accountability and public trust are foundational values. We are committed to fostering a culture of transparency and integrity, not just within our organization, but across our community. To support this commitment, we’ve partnered with Ethicspoint, a trusted third-party provider that offers a secure and confidential way for both employees and community members to report concerns.
While vendors are encouraged to speak to the Procurement Director directly, and employees are encouraged to speak directly with Human Resources when possible, Ethicspoint ensures that anyone, outside or inside the organization, can share information anonymously and safely. Ethicspoint’s trained professionals will receive your report confidentially and guide you through the process. To learn more or to submit a report, refer to the information below or call 1-855-351-5663.
Please note– Formal procurement processes provide a procedure for protesting specifications or awards and vendors need to utilize those processes to preserve legal rights under Oregon Procurement laws – reporting through EthicsPoint is not a substitute for a protest.
A Message from the City Manager
As City employees, we are all stewards of the public’s trust and aspire to a workplace environment where ethical conduct and integrity are the fundamentals of a strong organization. We are committed to sound, responsible, honest and transparent management of the public’s finances. We are all responsible for preserving the public trust.
The City takes fraud and ethics violations seriously and all City employees are expected to act ethically and responsibly. All employees are encouraged to take an active role in assuring the workplace is free of theft, misuse of City assets, and other ethical or policy violations. It is incumbent upon each of us to speak up so that any violations that arise can be corrected. To continue to ensure this core value is met, it is important to provide a mechanism for employees and vendors to voice concerns when they have a feeling something is not right.
City management wants to provide accessible avenues for a concerned employees and vendors to make a report. Therefore, in line with recommendations from the City’s auditors, the Audit Committee, as well as governmental best practices, the City has partnered with EthicsPoint to provide a fraud and ethics hotline. Through this venue, all employees and City vendors can voice concerns they may become aware of, such as violations of City policy related to theft, waste, or misuse of City assets.
Employees having concerns about issues in their workplace are strongly encouraged to first talk to their supervisor or call Human Resources at 541-388-5502. Employees not comfortable with either of these options, may use the City’s Fraud and Ethics Hotline. All reports made are confidential in nature. We strongly encourage employees to provide their identity, which enables more thorough investigation; however, reporting anonymously is an acceptable option. Serious and credible reports will be investigated appropriately.
The system operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Employees and vendors can make reports using the secure website, or by calling the toll-free number. All reports are treated as confidential. This website is operated by EthicsPoint, and is not under the control of the City of Bend. Phone lines are staffed by EthicsPoint, so if you call, you are not talking to a City employee. The information you provide will be sent to us by EthicsPoint on a totally confidential and anonymous basis. You have our guarantee that your report will be addressed. We appreciate your diligence and efforts to make Bend a great community.
To file a complaint, you may report by phone or select the “Report Online” link at the top of this page. After you complete your report you will be assigned a unique code called a “report key.” Write down your report key and password and keep them in a safe place. After 5 to 6 business days, you may use your report key and password to check on the status of your report or to see if there are follow-up questions.
Sincerely,
Eric King
City Manager
Submitting Reports
You may use either of the following two methods to submit a report:
- Click “Submit A Report” above.
OR - Dial toll-free, within the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico and Canada:
855-351-5663
After you complete your report you will be assigned a unique code called a “report key.” Write down your report key and password and keep them in a safe place. After 5-6 business days, use your report key and password to check your report for feedback or questions.
Please note: The system we use is called EthicsPoint. Be aware that EthicsPoint is NOT a 911 or Emergency Service: Do not use this site to report events presenting an immediate threat to life or property. Reports submitted through this service may not receive an immediate response. If you require emergency assistance, please contact your local authorities.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Ethics Point
EthicsPoint is a comprehensive and confidential reporting tool to assist management and employees to work together to address fraud, abuse, and other misconduct in the workplace, all while cultivating a positive work environment.
- We believe that our employees are our most important asset. By creating open channels of communication, we can promote a positive work environment and maximize productivity.
- Publicly traded companies are required by law to have an anonymous reporting vehicle to address accounting and auditing fraud directly to the audit committee.
- An effective reporting system will augment our other efforts to foster a culture of integrity and ethical decision-making.
Reporting – General
Yes. With EthicsPoint, you have the ability to file a confidential, anonymous report via either the telephone or the Internet.
The EthicsPoint system is designed for employees to report any violation of our stated Code of Conduct, or other concern you may have.
When you observe some behavior that you believe violates our code of conduct, we expect you to report it. Ideally, you should bring any concerns forward to your direct manager, or other member of our management team. We recognize, however, that there may be circumstances when you are not comfortable reporting the issue in this manner. It is for such circumstances that we have partnered with EthicsPoint. We would rather you report anonymously than keep the information to yourself.
We all have the right to work in a positive environment and with that right comes the responsibility of acting in an ethical manner and letting the appropriate people know if someone is not acting appropriately. By working together, we can maintain a healthy and productive environment. Corporate misconduct can threaten the livelihood of an entire company.
We certainly do. In fact, we need you to report. You know what is going on in our company – both good and bad. You may have initial knowledge of an activity that may be cause for concern. Your reporting can minimize the potential negative impact on the company and our people. Also, offering positive input may help identify issues that can improve corporate culture and performance.
Reports are entered directly on the EthicsPoint secure server to prevent any possible breech in security. EthicsPoint makes these reports available only to specific individuals within the company who are charged with evaluating the report, based on the type of violation and location of the incident. Each of these report recipients has had training in keeping these reports in the utmost confidence.
The EthicsPoint system concentrates on being a positive aspect of our overall philosophy, and allows us to assure a safe, secure, and ethical workplace. You are encouraged to seek guidance on ethical dilemmas, provide positive suggestions, or communicate a concern. Effective communication is critical in today’s workplace and this is a great tool to enhance that communication.
We have carefully chosen the best reporting tool to meet our compliance obligations while maintaining a positive reporting environment.
Reporting Security & Confidentiality
EthicsPoint does not generate or maintain any internal connection logs with IP addresses, so no information linking your PC to EthicsPoint is available. In fact, EthicsPoint is contractually committed not to pursue a reporter’s identity.
If you feel uncomfortable making a report on your work PC, you have the option of using a PC outside our work environment (such as one located at an Internet café, at a friend’s house, etc.) through the EthicsPoint secure website. Many people choose this option, as EthicsPoint’s data shows that fewer than 12% of reports generated during business hours.
A report from home, a neighbor’s computer, or any Internet portal will remain secure and anonymous. An Internet portal never identifies a visitor by screen name and the EthicsPoint system strips away Internet addresses so that anonymity is totally maintained. Plus, EthicsPoint is contractually committed not to pursue a reporter’s identity.
The EthicsPoint system is designed to protect your anonymity. However, if you wish to remain anonymous, you – as a reporting party – need to ensure that the body of the report does not reveal your identity by accident. For example, “From my cube next to Jan Smith…” or “In my 33 years…”
Yes. You will be asked to provide the same information that you would provide in an Internet based report and an interviewer will type your responses into the EthicsPoint Web site. These reports have the same security and confidentiality measures applied to them during delivery.
There is a section in the report for identifying yourself, if you wish.
Tips & Best Practices
Our company chooses to promote ethical behavior. All unethical conduct, at any level, ultimately hurts the company and all employees, including you. You only have to consider what happened in recent corporate scandals to see the disastrous effects that a seemingly harmless lapse in ethics can have on an otherwise healthy company. So if you know of any incidents of misconduct or ethical violations, consider it your duty to yourself and your coworkers to report it.
File a report. EthicsPoint can help you prepare and file your report so it can be properly understood. We’d rather you report a situation that turns out to be harmless than let possible unethical behavior go unchecked because you weren’t sure.
The EthicsPoint system and report distribution are designed so that implicated parties are not notified or granted access to reports in which they have been named.
When you file a report at the EthicsPoint Web site or through the EthicsPoint Call Center, you receive a unique user name and are asked to choose a password. You can return to the EthicsPoint system again either by Internet or telephone and access the original report to add more detail or answer questions posed by a company representative and add further information that will help resolve open issues. We strongly suggest that you return to the site in the time specified to answer company questions. You and the company now have entered into an “anonymous dialogue” where situations are not only identified but can be resolved, no matter how complex.
All EthicsPoint correspondences are held in the same strict confidence as the initial report, continuing under the umbrella of anonymity.
You can file an EthicsPoint report from any computer that can access the Internet. You can file from home. Many public locations, including the public library, have Internet computers. If you don’t have access or are uncomfortable using a computer, you can call the EthicsPoint toll-free hotline 855-351-5663 which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.