Boston City Council Weighs Creating Independent City Inspector General Office

BOSTON -- May 29, 2024, Boston's City Council held a four-hour hearing on a proposed ordinance to create a citywide Office of Inspector General. The Committee on Government Operations, chaired by Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, heard from Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro, Philadelphia IG Alex DeSantis, and Chicago IG Deborah Witzburg, who collectively described their offices' budgets ranging from $2.1 million in Philadelphia to roughly $10 million at the Massachusetts OIG, which oversees $120 billion in state and municipal spending with 90 staff. Shapiro backed the concept but said the current draft "does not create an IG or an OIG that meets the requirements of the AIG," citing a term coterminous with the mayor and sole mayoral removal power as threats to independence. State Auditor Diana DiZaglio said the proposal "absolutely meets the moment," while Boston Finance Commission Director Matthew Cahill testified that his three-person office on a $320,000 budget already reviews nearly $800 million in city contracts annually and carries subpoena power. Lead sponsor Councilor Julia M. Mejia said the office is intended to complement, not replace, existing oversight bodies, and the committee signaled the matter will advance to working sessions.