The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved $240,000 for the creation of a waste and fraud unit within the office of City Controller Laura Chick.

The unanimous council step will allow Chick’s office to hire two investigators who will look into whistleblower complaints about fraud and abuse within city government agencies. So far, the controller’s office has received about 60 such complaints.

“This waste and fraud unit will act as a very focused strike force to investigate credible whistleblower tips,” Chick said in a statement.

As an outgrowth of audits of several city agencies conducted by her office, Chick last year approached councilmembers Wendy Greuel, Jack Weiss and (now Mayor) Antonio Villaraigosa about setting up a waste and fraud unit as a way to crack down on corruption and to save taxpayer dollars at a time when the city is confronting huge budget deficits.