Subcommittee Advances Inspector General Framework to City Council

A City Council subcommittee voted today to recommend establishing an Office of Inspector General with a proposed annual salary of $210,886, advancing a voter-approved initiative to create independent oversight of city operations.

The position, approved by 65% of voters in March 2024, would replace the existing Internal Audit Division and expand oversight responsibilities to include ethics reviews and operational efficiency evaluations.

The three-member subcommittee, led by Councilmember Robillard, unanimously approved the framework during its first and only scheduled public meeting before the full City Council votes Oct. 21. The committee held its first meeting in July, eight months after voters approved the measure.

"The goal of this meeting is to present an outline for the public to view, to give our notes, to have input from the public," Robillard said. "That gives us plenty of time before we meet in October so that we encourage public comment to go over these documents so that we can have the public involved in this process."

The new office would operate with an annual budget of $765,211, approximately $100,000 more than the current Internal Audit Division's $653,494 budget. The structure includes three positions: the Inspector General, a Deputy or Assistant Inspector General and a Performance Analyst who would transfer from the existing audit division.

Human Resources based the salary recommendation on comparable positions at California public agencies including Los Angeles County, San Francisco, Sacramento County and the state Department of Transportation, which average approximately $200,000 annually.

"When we started doing a review of the external data, we didn't come across very many comparables as far as this type of position," said Mariana Gonzalez from Human Resources. "We collected what we could and these were the closest comparables we found."

Under the charter amendment, the Inspector General would report directly to the mayor and City Council while maintaining operational independence. The position would conduct investigations, audits, inspections and performance evaluations.

Councilmember Steve Hemenway proposed adding provisions for independent legal counsel to address potential conflicts of interest, particularly when investigations might involve the city attorney's office.

"I think that one might make sense so that it sort of eliminates any bias that might be perceived if we have internal weighing in there," Hemenway said.

Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes supported the legal counsel provision and suggested budgeting approximately $200,000 for outside legal services.

The subcommittee also discussed establishing a confidential complaint process for staff and residents to report concerns.

"The complaint process for the Office of Inspector General I do believe should be highly confidential," Robillard said. "We need to structure how complaints come to the Inspector General."

Public commenters criticized the limited transparency in developing the proposal, noting the subcommittee held its first meeting in closed session July 22 with no reportable action.

"It's disconcerting to see that a measure or a proposal of this magnitude is given virtually zero transparency and public engagement," said Pete Wilgemuth during public comment. "It seems incredible how poorly advertised this meeting was."

Malissa McKeith urged the subcommittee to hold another public meeting before the October council vote.

"I think to build public trust, particularly given a number of not only the comments made in the session today, but that are floating around other places, perhaps you would consider having one other open public meeting," McKeith said.

The subcommittee declined to schedule additional meetings. Cervantes said further delays would only extend criticism about the timeline.

"I feel that adding, extending this time to send it out essentially I think it only delays it," Cervantes said. "I think we're going to get criticized no matter what with that timeline."

Human Resources expects the recruitment process to take three to four months once the City Council approves the positions and salaries. The department plans extensive outreach to attract qualified candidates.

Minimum qualifications would likely include a bachelor's degree in business administration or legal studies plus eight to 10 years of relevant experience, according to Human Resources research.

The Charter Review Committee first proposed the Inspector General concept in February 2022. The City Council formed a working group led by Hemenway in April 2022 to draft the charter amendment, which the council placed on the March 2024 ballot in October 2023.

The proposal includes a detailed scope of duties and responsibilities that officials encourage the public to review before the Oct. 21 council meeting.

If approved, recruitment for the Inspector General position could begin immediately.