- Office of the Inspector General
Boston, MA — In testimony before the Boston City Council Committee on Government Operations, Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiro acknowledged that there is room for an Office of the Inspector General for the City of Boston but expressed concerns about the details in the proposed ordinance (Docket #0645).
“I am concerned about duplication and waste should an OIG for Boston be created,” Shapiro said. “Before establishing a new entity, the Committee should consider if there are existing agencies in the city that perform a similar function and if they could fill this role.”
Shapiro pointed to the Boston Finance Commission, which was created in 1909 to serve as “an independent watchdog agency” as an example. “[T]his agency is charged with many of the same responsibilities that are envisioned by the new city-wide OIG, but, in my view, does not have the funds, tools, or public exposure necessary to do so,” Shapiro said. “Therefore, I believe creating a city-wide OIG will be duplicative of the Boston Finance Commission. With adequate funding and strengthening of its statute, the Boston Finance Committee might be able to fulfil the role contemplated in this proposal.”
Shapiro expressed concern that the proposed ordinance does not establish an independent Office of the Inspector General and pointed councilors to the Association of Inspectors General model legislation.
“Specifically, the proposal establishes the mayor as the single appointer, the term is coterminous with the mayor and the mayor may solely remove the Inspector General from office. These factors all undermine the independence of the proposed city Inspector General and thus undermine its ability to achieve the stated objective in creating the OIG,” Shapiro said.
