It should be clear to us all that nothing the Cincinnati government is doing now is catching fraud or waste. It wasn’t the city, after all, that caught three council members with their hands in the cookie jar. Cincinnati needs a watchdog, an independent, competent presence at City Hall to catch problems before they become scandals.
As a former federal prosecutor, I know this can work because I’ve seen it work. Cincinnati should follow the federal model and create an Office of Inspector General to replace the Citizens Complaint Authority. The establishment and operation of this OIG will be in the city charter and will operate similarly to the federal model for OIGs.
It would be independent but have accountability via regular reporting requirements. It would have authority to investigate everything and everyone in city government, including the mayor and council members − not just the police − for fraud, waste, or abuse. There would be a hotline, and a whistleblower can choose to remain confidential…