Boston council committee debates nonbinding ballot question on municipal inspector general

Councilor Julie Mejia, the petition sponsor, asked the Committee on Government Operations on June 30 to allow a citizen petition to appear on the November municipal ballot asking whether Boston should establish an independent municipal inspector general to provide governmental oversight.

The hearing centered on process and timing rather than the merits of creating an inspector general. Mejia said the nonbinding question is intended as an organizing tactic to bolster a concurrent Home Rule Petition that would reform the City’s Finance Commission (Fincom) and expand powers for an inspector-general function. "This is not in replace of the work that we're doing," Mejia said, describing the ballot question as a tactical complement to the ongoing legislative work.

Committee members pressed for detail on structure, duplication, budget and timeline. The committee chair (identified in the record as a City Councilor representing District 1) and Councilor Coletta Zapata explained state procedures for advisory ballot questions, including the two pathways for placing a question on the municipal ballot: approval by the city’s governing body and mayor or a petition signed by at least 10% of registered voters. Zapata said the council-and-mayor pathway must be completed no later than 90 days before the election but…