Some might say Tom Cline has been chasing pork his entire life.
Growing up in Mark Twain country, the farmer’s son often was called on to help corral his uncle’s pigs. They had a knack for escaping from their pens and into big farm country.
Most of his career, though, has been looking for waste, fraud and abuse — digging into various programs and contracts with precision for the benefit of taxpayers.
That came first with the Defense Contract Audit Agency, then with the Federal Communications Commission. And finally as head of Jacksonville’s Office of Inspector General, a position he accepted at the end of May.
The first five months or so on the job have been about learning and making do. The office’s budget allowed for four people and what was left of six months’ worth of complaints couldn’t be ignored. The phones don’t stop ringing and the emails don’t just freeze while you play catch-up.
In the next six months, the office will be up to speed when a full staff of seven people are in place. And Cline will be in the middle of what he’s always wanted to do.
Revelation off the farm
Cline, 58, wasn’t someone who knew from a young age what he wanted in a career.
He grew up near Hannibal, Mo., close to the banks of the Mississippi River. Maybe too close.
His father grew soybeans, corn, wheat — “the usuals,” as he calls them.
When he was 12, though, the river took over. The farm was flooded out.
“Dad was out of farming,” he said.
Cline’s uncle owned a pig farm a bit inland, but no one lived there and people were stealing the goods. The price of meat was skyrocketing, Cline said, and rustling was a real crime.
His family being at the farm prevented that from happening. But even if they weren’t being stolen, they weren’t always there.
“Pigs are notorious for breaking out,” he said.
Cline also received his first paying job — shoveling pig manure into wheelbarrows, rolling it far away and dumping it. The job earned him $1 an hour and he did it for a couple years.
“It maybe was one of the reasons I joined the Army after high school,” he said with a laugh.
He spent a few years in the infantry before re-enlisting to become a computer programmer, taking night classes for data processing.
While at Aberdeen Proving Ground, he met his wife, Penny, but also found his calling while taking an accounting class.
“It was a revelation,” he said.
He doesn’t fully understand why, but he thinks it’s the precise nature of it — it’s a process that leads you to the right answer.
It’s a mentality he’s carried ever since.
Jumping ladders
After he switched majors, Cline had the opportunity to work for the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
Like the old Armed Forces slogan, he said, “It’s a great place to start.”
The organization provides audit and financial advisory services to the Department of Defense and other federal entities responsible for acquisition and contract administration.
Westinghouse, now Northrop Grumman, for example had contracts worth millions — “the big stuff” to review as Cline calls it. But there also was the opportunity to look over smaller branches and projects.
There were all kinds of questions that needed to be asked. What are you doing? How do you do it? Is that the way you’re supposed to do it? Are the rules the right rules? Is the right mission being accomplished?
All part of the oversight process Cline enjoys.
After almost 15 years and several roles at the agency, he spent a year at a small federal organization before joining the FCC as director of program audits. Eventually, he worked his way up to deputy inspector general.
It was rewarding, but it was about as far as he could advance. There are 57 statutory inspector generals, per the IG Act of 1978. Turnover is rare and when spots are open, it’s extremely competitive. Specialty backgrounds often are needed.
Cline said as is often the case in careers, advancing requires jumping off one ladder onto a new one. Nearing the federal retirement age, Cline ended up jumping off one, but not to another federal ladder.
Instead, the ladder went to Jacksonville.
Setting up wins
Cline had been to Jacksonville before. When he was in the Army, he was stationed at Fort Stewart in South Georgia.
He and his buddies made the trip some weekends to hit the beach.
Florida was warmer than Virginia, where he spent most of his federal career.
Cline heard about the Jacksonville opportunity from a friend in the inspector general community.
He took the chance, being named one of six finalists who interviewed in May before being named to the position.
It was a successful ladder jump. He was an inspector general.
He reported in July, six months after former Palm Beach County Inspector General Sheryl Steckler had come to the city to lay the foundation for the office.
Since then, his office has grown to four — two investigators, an auditor and Cline. A contract oversight specialist, a director of investigations and intake specialist will be hired in the next six months.
Cline said he hasn’t been able to open the audit or contract oversight programs yet. Most of the focus has been responding to complaints, both new and old.
In the past six months, the office has received 72 complaints. Thirty-eight are still open.
The office has issued one report that highlighted $932,000 worth of funding that could have been used for small and minority businesses but sat unused because of mismanagement. The review was of the Access to Capital program that started a decade ago.
“That was a big win for the office,” said Cline.
There haven’t been other public wins, yet. Much of the work the office does is confidential until it’s completed. Cline said he’s proud of the work he sees his team doing.
He knows City Council and taxpayers want more audits that show cost reductions and savings. Cline does, too.
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