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.




https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article290811529.html#storylink=cpy