A committee with oversight on selection and retention of an inspector general decided it has enough interest to at least hear from seven candidates.
That wasn’t the case in July when the panel said it had five qualified applicants for the job and decided to rebroadcast the position.
Now, the Inspector General Selection and Oversight Committee will interview the candidates Monday with the goal of picking one to replace Tom Cline, the first inspector general. He was in the role for about a year before abruptly resigning in late April.
Steve Rohan, a retired assistant general counsel, has since filled in on an interim basis and guided the office through a transition that included the annual budget process.
The latest call for applicants ended last week and brought in more than 20 possibilities, which the committee whittled to seven.
The candidates who will be interviewed:
• Scott Ando, most recently with the Independent Police Review Authority in Chicago
• Lisa Green, director of investigations for the current Office of Inspector General
• Richard Holmgren, most recently the deputy inspector general for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission
• James Hoffman, general counsel for the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command
• Maxine Person, chief financial officer for the Jacksonville Housing Authority
• Neftali Carrasquillo Jr., director of special investigations and review for the New York City Transit Authority.
A seventh candidate, Kevin Donovan, withdrew himself from consideration, according to city spokeswoman Tia Ford. Donovan is a section chief with the FBI.
“It’s actually pretty good, I think,” said Rohan on the interest level this go-round.
However, he understands why maybe more didn’t come forward.
If anyone interested is in the state inspector general system, their pensions can’t transfer over to the city system — an attribute he sees would not encourage people with more experience from coming.
Another possibility is the time of year, as he notes typically more candidates apply in the spring at the beginning of many fiscal years.
Additionally, Rohan believes the discussions about the office’s location and build-out might have deterred some level of interest.
City Council is reviewing whether to keep the independent office at the Yates Building or move it back into City Hall.
Proponents of staying, like Rohan, believe being away from the majority of government is better for potential whistleblowers of waste, fraud and abuse in the city.
As for a once-proposed $100,000 build-out, Rohan scaled it back after taking over to $25,000-$30,000 to cover security upgrades and minimal upgrades at the Yates location.
That won’t even happen now.
Rohan on Monday said he was notified more than 190,000 — money purposed from the current year budget — for any build-out was being swept back into the city’s general fund by Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration.
“We’ll do with what we have and do our best,” he said.
As for the potential move, the selection and retention committee held off on any decision until candidates are interviewed next week.
Council Vice President John Crescimbeni serves on the oversight group and plans to ask candidates their opinions on the issue. He is the council member who sponsored the resolution to move the office back to City Hall.
The interviews come with a caveat, though. If the committee doesn’t like the slate of candidates, it can go back into the market and advertise the position.
“I can interview 100 people and there not be the right person and I can interview one and it is,” said Crescimbeni. “I want it to be exactly right.”
If the job is readvertised, Rohan said he likely would not continue in the interim role but would talk to the committee about the situation. Still, he’s hopeful the group of candidates will provide a future for the office.
“I’m glad they are moving forward with it,” he said. “I’m ready to give up the reins.”
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