(A) The "Accountability in Government Oversight Committee" is created and shall oversee the City Auditor and the Inspector General. The independent Committee shall consist of five members who are residents of the city. To be independent in fact and appearance, the Committee must be free from conflicts of interest and not employed by the city, or in a direct contractual relationship or similar business relationship with the city. No member of the immediate family of the Office of Internal Audit or the Office of Inspector General personnel shall be a member of the Committee. At least one Committee member shall be a Certified Public Accountant or Certified Internal Auditor, at least one Committee member shall have a law enforcement or law background and at least one Committee member shall be a professional management consultant. The Mayor and one City Councilor appointed annually by the City Council President shall be nonvoting ex officio members and may attend or send a designee to the Committee meetings where reports for publication are discussed. The Committee may request the attendance of other city personnel, auditees, or investigated parties.
(B) As vacancies on the Committee occur, the City Council and Mayor shall alternatively appoint new members with the City Council making the first appointment. All appointments shall be subject to City Council approval. The existing Committee members may make recommendations to the Mayor and City Council for candidates to fill vacancies on the Committee. If either the Mayor or City Council fails to name a replacement Committee member within 45 days of the vacancy, then the other body shall make the appointment. The Committee members shall be appointed for staggered terms of three years unless an appointment is to fill a vacancy. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the unexpired term. Terms shall begin on the first day of September. The Committee members shall elect the Committee Chair annually.
(C) Any Committee member may be removed from office by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Committee after due notice if such member has missed three consecutive meetings or has been absent from more than 50% of the meetings held during any 12 consecutive months.
(D) Any Committee member may be removed from office by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Committee after due notice if such member has violated any law, regulation or charter provision, or for other good cause such as the intentional failure to carry out the duties of the Committee.
(E) The Committee shall meet at least four times per year, but may also meet monthly or upon the call of the Committee Chair or a majority of its members.
(F) Committee members shall not receive compensation for their service. Voting members of the Committee shall not serve on any other city board, commission or task force.
(G) The Chief Administrative Officer and the Director of Council Services or their respective designee may attend all Committee meetings where reports for publication are discussed.
(H) If an Official is the subject of an investigation, then the ex officio members or their designees shall be recused from all meetings where that particular investigation is being discussed and they shall not have access to the investigative file during the pending investigation.
(I) The Committee is a management committee and not a public board, commission or committee as specified by §§ 2-6-1-1 et seq. and not subject to the Open Meetings Act. The Committee is not formed to formulate public policy nor has authority to formulate public policy been delegated to the Committee. The Committee and its members are subject to the City Charter, Article XII Code of Ethics.
(J) The Committee shall annually review salaries for the City Auditor and the Inspector General. If after such review the Committee determines that a salary adjustment is warranted, the Committee shall notify the Department of Finance and Administrative Services and the Human Resources Department of any salary adjustment, which will be subject to budget sufficiency and city personnel rules and regulations.
(K) The Committee may provide the City Auditor and the Inspector General with guidance, priorities and potential areas for investigations and audits. The Committee may also lend advice to the City Auditor and the Inspector General regarding technical issues that may arise.
(L) The Committee shall review all reports presented at each meeting. If the committee approves a report then the City Auditor or Inspector General shall cause the report to become a published report. If the committee does not approve a report, then the City Auditor or Inspector General shall cause the report to become a published report no sooner than 15 business days from the date of the committee's review or consideration. The committee may draft a cautionary statement for inclusion with the report during this 15 day period which, if provided to the City Auditor or Inspector General within this timeframe, will be made part of the published report. The Committee shall not prohibit the City Auditor or the Inspector General from initiating, carrying out or completing and reporting on the activities of their offices. The Committee may elect to defer taking action on the reports presented for up to one Committee meeting, after which, the City Auditor or Inspector General shall cause the report to become a published report no sooner than 15 business days from the date of the Committee's last review or consideration. When activities are provided at the request of the Citizens' Independent Salary Commission, the Board of Ethics and Campaign Practices, or the City Attorney's Office, the usual requirements concerning Committee review of reports should not be followed to maintain the rights and duties of these entities to direct and limit the work performed. The City Auditor or the Inspector General may informally brief the Committee as to the commitment of resources to any work assigned by the Citizens' Independent Salary Commission or the Board of Ethics and Campaign Practices and the progress being made toward the completion of the work conducted.
(M) The Committee shall prepare a job description, specify qualifications for applicants, work with the Director of the Human Resources Department to advertise for the position and develop the applicant search procedure and make recommendations to the City Council on the selection of the City Auditor and the Inspector General. The committee shall apply human resources best practices to its applicant search relating to advertisement periods, job posting locations including with national industry-oriented groups or associations, application review processes, interview processes, and contacting of references and prior employers as may be recommended by the Director of Human Resources or other reliable sources.
(N) Any discipline of the City Auditor or the Inspector General, as provided by § 3-1-6 ROA 1994, shall be by the Committee. The City Auditor and the Inspector General shall report to the Committee for approval of vacation, sick, emergency and city business leave.
(Ord. 1-2005; Am. Ord. 30-2010; Am. Ord. 2013-003; Am. Ord. 2015-026; Am. Ord. 2016-018; Am. Ord. 2023-020)