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Inspector General warns staffing gap will limit mandated audits despite $310,558 increase
Summary
Inspector General told the committee her office completed 21 reports this year, issued 33 recommendations, identified over $2,000,000 in questioned costs and handled about 365 complaints, but said staffing shortfalls mean the office cannot meet charter‑mandated audit rotation without more positions.
The committee heard a detailed presentation from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) about workload and capacity during its FY27 budget review. Staff noted the county executive recommends an increase of $310,558 for the OIG as a same‑services budget entry reflecting annualized compensation and nondiscretionary operating changes.
Committee staff summarized the statutory background: Bill 11‑19, adopted in October 2019, expanded OIG duties to require a systematic, risk‑based rotating review of principal offices and to audit high‑risk county contracts and agreements; the county charter and related county code require the council to ensure OIG has sufficient resources to meet that mandate.
Inspector General (referred to repeatedly in the transcript as Ms. Lamarzi) told the committee the office has completed 21 reports so far this fiscal year, issued 33 recommendations, identified over $2,000,000 in questioned costs and handled roughly 365 complaints. She said the office has implemented a real‑time tracker on its website showing the status of open recommendations, a tool the OIG presented to the audit committee in November.
"For the fourth year in a row, there is no new staffing for the audit division," the Inspector General said, and warned the staffing shortfall will push the office into a rotation of every four to six years for principal‑office reviews rather than the charter‑mandated cycle. She said the OIG has contemplated using outside auditors but concluded that the hourly cost for outside auditors was substantially higher and that outside staff lack institutional knowledge of county systems.
The Inspector General added that the OIGprojected staffing complement under its FY25–29 work plan would reach 29 FTEs by FY29; currently the office reported one vacancy and four staff in the educational oversight division. Committee members thanked the Inspector General for the new public tracker and expressed concern about the gap between the office’s mandate and available staff.
The committee recommended the OIG same‑services budget to the full council with the Inspector General’s staffing constraints on record for council consideration.
