Jamie Munks
The State Journal-Register
The Springfield City Council on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved establishing an Office of the Inspector General to look into alleged wrongdoing in city government. In a 9-1 vote, aldermen OK’d creating the office to investigate, inspect and oversee city departments, and look into reported malfeasance.
Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin cast the only vote against the ordinance, though he acknowledged that he respected the efforts of its co-sponsors, Ward 6 Ald. Cory Jobe and Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner, for aiming to prevent waste, fraud and abuse.
Jobe has estimated the inspector general post could cost the city $200,000 to $300,000 annually. But Tuesday’s ordinance only changed city code to lay out how the inspector general would function; it didn’t devote any funding to the position.
McMenamin maintained the city “cannot afford” the position, and “ultimately, we don’t need it,” he said, noting that the city council is meant to look out for such abuses. “I don’t think we should delegate that to an inspector general,” he said.
The appointed term of inspector general is one year, and the inspector can be removed for cause by the mayor. The office can be abolished by the city council. The inspector general would be overseen by an “ethics committee” made up of the mayor, five aldermen and a member of the public, whose addition came from an amendment proposed by Ward 2 Ald. Gail Simpson.
Mayoral candidate Paul Palazzolo issued a statement Tuesday morning urging city leaders to reject the inspector general proposal, but said if the office is established, it should be made clear what will be cut or how the money will be raised to fund it. “The city of Springfield needs to be proactive and keep city government honest rather than waiting to be reactive,” he said in his statement.
Ward 5 Ald. Sam Cahnman voted for the inspector general proposal, but said if funding the office means laying off other city workers, he won’t support that.
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Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 