Thomas Cline was the last person to be interviewed for the job as the city’s Inspector General.
He was the first choice to lead the new independent office charged with combating government waste, fraud and abuse.
A selection panel Thursday selected Cline, the Federal Communications Commission’s deputy inspector general, from five finalists who all had extensive expertise in the area.
“I’ve always sought out new challenges … to apply my skills,” Cline told the panel.
His best skills, he said, are listening and learning. He’ll need to do both fairly quickly.
Cline will start the $155,000-per-year job in July, being asked to effectively lead an office from its infancy.
Former Palm Beach County Inspector General Sheryl Steckler for several months has been laying the foundation for the local office, but she retires today.
She’ll be here part-time through the transition, but Cline will shoulder the responsibility of overseeing 14 areas of Jacksonville’s consolidated government moving forward.
Cline, 57, said he’s never been part of leading an office from the ground up, but he’s ready for the challenge in what he sees as a great opportunity to make a difference.
He’s spent most of his 30-year career in Washington, D.C., in a variety of inspector general and auditing positions with the federal government.
Since 2012, he’s been the FCC’s deputy inspector general and spent seven years before that as the office’s assistant inspector general for policy and planning.
He said he’ll “need to soak up a lot” quickly to hit the ground running. Learning Sunshine Law and other Florida procedures, meeting staff, city officials and department heads — and even just finding a place to live in the next month all are on his agenda.
City Council President Clay Yarborough, chair of the selection committee, said it was an interesting time for Cline to begin. There will be a new mayor, 11 new council members and now a new inspector general all starting within a week or so of one another.
Yarborough had Cline as the first choice on his ballot, saying afterward he brought the right blend of experience, had a good grasp on the needs and presented himself well in the interview.
Others on the panel agreed.
“It wasn’t even close in my opinion,” Public Defender Matt Shirk told his fellow committee members.
Cline was the first choice on Yarborough, Shirk and Taxation, Revenue and Utilization of Expenditures Commmission Chair Patti Anania’s score sheets. He placed second on the remaining score sheets of State Attorney Angela Corey, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Senterfitt and city Chief Administrative Officer Cleve Ferguson.
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