By Brian Zumhagen - WYNC

The City Council considered a package of bills aimed at preventing fraud in city contracting and strengthening protections for the people who expose it during a hearing Monday.

Councilmember Gale Brewer, who chairs the Committee on Governmental Operations, held the hearing on three bills that would renew the city's False Claims Act and extend whistleblower protections to people who work for companies that contract with the city.

"We want to make sure that those employees feel comfortable coming to the Department of Investigations, and making sure they don't get retaliated against, which is the main issue," she said.

Brewer said the changes are necessary because of the city's reliance on private contractors, and in the wake of the multi-million dollar fraud involving the CityTime payroll system.

This article can be found in its entirety on The WYNC website.