Miami ballot measures propose new, more robust inspector general’s office
City of Miami voters will decide this month if they want to do away with the auditor general’s office and install a new, more powerful watchdog office in its place.
Two related items– one to eliminate the existing office and one to create a new Office of the Independent Inspector General – will appear on the city’s Aug. 20 ballot. Both items were sponsored by District 4 Commissioner Manolo Reyes and approved for the ballot unanimously by the Miami City Commission.
“If we want to change that image that we have in the city of Miami and bring more transparency to the city, I’m asking the voters in the city of Miami to vote yes,” Reyes said.
Creating the office, he said, would be a step toward rooting out malfeasance in City Hall and help dispel Miami’s reputation as a “banana republic” rife with corruption.
The new office, which would replace the Office of the Independent Auditor General, would be tasked with investigating legal and ethical violations by city employees, agencies with ties to the city and candidates running for office in Miami. The office could initiate these investigations itself and would be required to report any wrongdoing it finds to the appropriate authorities, Reyes said.
The goals of the new office would be similar to the goals of the existing Office of the Auditor General. But the Office of the Independent Inspector General would have a wider range of responsibilities and powers than the current auditor general position, Reyes said. These powers include the ability to subpoena witnesses, which the existing auditor general cannot do.
The existing office is unable to open an investigation without being directed to do so by the city manager or an elected official. This office can only carry out internal audit functions, and it reports the results of its investigations to the mayor, city manager and city attorney.
The proposed office would be able to review procurement and bidding processes, as well as past, present and future city programs, accounts, records, contracts and transactions.
One limitation of the office, though, is that it cannot make firing decisions based on its findings, Reyes said.
It would not be an elected position. Rather the inspector general would be appointed by a panel that would not include city commissioners. The panel would be made up of representatives of offices including the state attorney’s office, the public defender’s office and the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, Reyes said.
Reyes said he thinks this appointment process would insulate the position from pressure from voters and politicians.
Reyes said when he has spoken to his constituents, they have been in favor of creating this office. He said there has been some confusion about whether this would create a new office in addition to the existing office. Reyes wanted to clarify to voters that the Office of the Independent Inspector General would replace the existing Office of the Independent Auditor General.
This item could be seen as a feather in Reyes’ cap as he prepares for a potential mayoral campaign.
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Miami-Dade County already has an Office of the Inspector General, which has been around for more than 25 years, according to its website. Reyes said much of his research as he prepared this item came from looking at the county’s office. The county office can issue subpoenas, he said.
Reyes told the Miami Herald he had been researching and working on this item for about a year. He added that addressing corruption is among his top priorities.
