ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A city councilor is criticizing a government committee in Albuquerque for allegedly withholding several reports from the public. The city’s inspector general has stated that these reports indicate the city may be misusing public funds. Councilor Dan Lewis is demanding that the Accountability and Government Oversight Committee (AGOC) release the Office of Inspector General reports, some of which date back several months. He claims that the committee has violated its charter by failing to do so.
The office of the inspector general (IG) has asserted that these documents pertain to the abuse and misuse of public dollars in the current administration. “Those documents are the public’s; they are owned by the public and need to be released,” Councilor Lewis said.
The Office of Inspector General is responsible for investigating the city and its departments for any financial misconduct or wrongdoing. It operates as a non-partisan inspection agency and submits its reports to the AGOC, which reviews these documents and can delay their public release by one meeting. Councilor Lewis says the committee has not released at least nine different inspector general reports. He also says that committee members are appointed by the city council and the mayor. “I’m not saying that they’re hiding documents, but if they continue to hold on to documents after the required timelines, then they’re just not following the intent of the charter of the city of Albuquerque,” he said…