This letter urges the Jefferson Parish Council to reject proposed limits on the communications of the Jefferson Parish Office of Inspector General. BGR’s December 10 letter analyzes the proposed changes as introduced by the council. Click the button above to download a copy of the letter, or continue reading.
In 2011, Jefferson Parish voters amended the Parish charter, creating the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Ethics and Compliance Commission (ECC) to increase accountability of parish government. As provided in the charter, the Parish Council may adopt ordinances setting forth the entities’ organizational framework, authority, duties, responsibilities and other functions.
The proposed amendments to the ordinances governing the OIG that the Parish Council will consider on December 11 are based on guidelines for prosecutors, whose roles and responsibilities are very different from those of inspectors general. As a result, the amendments do not align with recognized best practices for inspectors general, and risk undermining the OIG’s ability to effectively carry out its mission to identify and deter waste, fraud and abuse in parish government. In particular, the amendments could prevent the OIG from communicating concerns and findings from its activities to the public, stripping the office of one of its core functions as a government oversight body.
The proposed amendments would prohibit the OIG from “making public comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of any individual or entity that may be the subject of an investigation, potential investigation or report.”  Given the office’s purpose – essentially identifying performance or ethical concerns in government operations – any of its investigations or inquiries could cause members of the public to question the capability of a department, agency or public official. The critical nature of the OIG’s work means that public responses to its discussion may often include some degree of condemnation of the actions of the work’s subjects.
The Bureau of Governmental Research urges the council to reject the proposed amendments and ensure that the OIG retains the ability to communicate its work to the public in line with nationally established best practices for inspectors general.