Inspector General Committee approves job description, moves to a focused recruitment campaign

PALM BEACH COUNTY — The Palm Beach County Inspector General Committee on Jan. 8 approved a draft job description for the county’s next inspector general and agreed to a condensed, industry-focused recruitment process intended to yield a smaller pool of highly qualified applicants.

The committee approved the minutes from its Nov. 6, 2025 meeting and then took up the inspector general hiring process. Paul Matioto, recruitment manager for Palm Beach County Human Resources, presented the draft job description and said it was vetted by HR’s compensation and records section. "We’ve created an email account, which is igrecruitment@pbc.gov, where they’ll simply send in their resume, their cover letter, and their salary requirements too," Matioto said, explaining that HR would accept materials by email to streamline submissions.

Matioto proposed a condensed advertising period compared with the 2014 recruitment, which ran about a month and drew 69 applications, many of them lacking relevant experience. He recommended focusing outreach on industry-specific outlets — notably the Association of Inspectors General — while also posting on the county website and general job boards.

Public Defender Daniel Eisinger asked whether the minimum qualifications matched the 2014 posting. Matioto confirmed the advertised minimums remain in place, including a bachelor’s degree and roughly 10 years of relevant experience in law enforcement, the judiciary, or government legal work. County Attorney David Behar advised keeping higher credentials in the "preferred" section rather than moving them into the minimums to ensure compliance with the county ordinance: "I would recommend that that be used as a bonus, not as a minimum to apply to be in compliance with the ordinance," Behar said.

Under the plan the committee endorsed, HR will triage applications into two stacks — one with applicants who meet the stated minimum qualifications and one without — and forward all resumes to the committee to satisfy ordinance and Sunshine requirements. Matioto said HR could start the posting immediately and would send the two stacks of resumes after the advertisement closes at the stated deadline; he told the committee the posting would close on the thirtieth at 5 p.m., and he would review applications as they arrive to expedite the process.

Committee members discussed posting length before settling on a 15-business-day window to balance outreach with the committee’s timeline. The committee noted the current inspector general (referred to in the meeting as Mr. Carey) is expected to leave in June, requiring timely selection, contract negotiation and potential board approval.

The committee set a follow-up meeting for Feb. 5, immediately following the ethics commission meeting, to review the resume stacks and narrow candidates for interviews. Two formal motions recorded in the meeting were: approval of the Nov. 6, 2025 minutes (motion by Commissioner Kugler, second recorded) and approval of the job description (motion by Commissioner Coogler; second by Commissioner Barra Garcia); both measures were carried by voice vote.

No formal vote tallies were recorded in the transcript, and several committee members spoke in favor of a focused recruitment to avoid a very large, less-targeted applicant pool.

The committee adjourned after confirming the advertisement schedule and next steps.