Tip Line Ordinance In Committee

The Louisville Metro Council's Oversight Committee will review legislation next week that would create a government employee tip line.The ordinance calls for the creation of a phone line to report malfeasance.A similar effort faced criticism from the Mayor's office because of the potential for frivolous calls and concerns over the protection of callers' anonymity. Ordinance sponsor Kevin Kramer says hiring a third party to manage the line eliminates those problems."We've talked to 20-plus cities who have tip lines. Many of them, or most of them, with third party tip lines. And that's one of the first questions we ask them is, 'Do you get a lot of bogus phone calls, people complaining about some violation that's not legitimate?' And overwhelmingly the answers come back that no, that's not been a big deal."A spokesperson for the mayor's office says the administration supports the establishment of a tip line. It’s expected to cost about $10,000 per year.