Miami-Dade commissioner wants to rewrite rules on who gets to be county watchdog

Miami-Dade commissioners may rewrite hiring requirements for the county office that investigates corruption allegations against commissioners and county officials.

With Miami-Dade’s current inspector general, Felix Jimenez, still awaiting a reappointment vote more than a year after his contract expired, the commissioner behind that delay wants to broaden the hiring criteria for Jimenez’s position.

Commissioner Oliver Gilbert’s proposed legislation drops the requirement that an inspector general have experience in law enforcement or in the law. Instead, the position would also be open to government administrators who could show experience overseeing investigations into fraud and waste.

The legislation passed a preliminary commission vote in December and is set for a Feb. 2 hearing before the board’s Policy Council before facing a final vote by the full board of county commissioners later this year.

Gilbert argues the change simply opens up the position to candidates with experience in government contracting, budgeting and other fiscal matters that are part of an inspector general’s purview. That, he said, should make an inspector general more alert to misconduct in government.

“It makes sense that candidates for inspector general should have some experience in public administration,” Gilbert told the Miami Herald. “You have to understand something to actually know how it works, when it’s working properly and when something wrong is being done.”

Jimenez, a former Miami-Dade homicide detective who also worked public corruption cases, is pushing back on the proposed criteria.

“While some of the proposed changes reflect recommendations consistent with the County charter and are compatible with the Office of the Inspector General’s mission, I believe the proposed revisions jeopardize the effectiveness of an independent Inspector General (IG) by altering the selection process and diluting the qualifications of a candidate,” he said in a statement to the Herald. “The current ordinance guarantees the IG’s independence and ensures a qualified candidate who has demonstrated the ability to work with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and the judiciary.”

The Gilbert legislation also imposes an eight-year cap on how long an inspector general can serve in the job. Jimenez has been the county’s inspector general since 2020. The contract for his first four-year term expired in 2024. At the time, Jimenez wrote a letter to commissioners saying that Gilbert, who was at that point the chair of the commission, was not acting on his request for a reappointment to a second four-year term.

Gilbert is no longer chair, but he still holds the parliamentary keys to a Jimenez reappointment as the commissioner who has a “hold” on legislation related to voting on an inspector general’s contract. Gilbert told the Herald he wants the commission to settle on hiring criteria and term limits before taking up Jimenez’s contract extension.

Inspector general investigated Joe Martinez — and is looking at A3 Foundation

Jimenez’s 42-person staff produces reports and audits that rarely get public attention, such as reviewing how Miami-Dade awards small contracts for design work and vetting tips about employees stealing sick days.

But the inspector general also usually plays a role in the rare high-profile cases when an investigation involves a county commissioner.

When then-Commissioner Joe Martinez was arrested in 2022 on charges tied to bribery allegations, the investigation started in the Inspector General’s Office. While the office can’t launch criminal investigations, it can refer cases to local prosecutors and usually provides staff if the probes continue.

The Inspector General’s Office recently confirmed it is investigating a charity tied to Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez. The A3 Foundation is a nonprofit that Rodriguez’s office used as a financial clearinghouse for county funds to pay for a rodeo Rodriguez hosts each year in his district in Tropical Park.

After a series of Herald articles raised questions about how the A3 Foundation spent its county funding, the State Attorney’s Office declined to provide records related to the nonprofit, saying they were part of an ongoing investigation and exempt from disclosure.

On Jan. 15, the Inspector General’s Office issued the Herald a similar denial for A3 Foundation records, saying the documents were part of an active investigation.

Should a county commissioner be on the selection committee for inspector general?

While voters in 2020 approved a charter amendment requiring an independent inspector general, county commissioners have final say on who gets the job. County law limits that power, only allowing commissioners to approve or reject an appointment made by a five-member selection committee.

Membership of that committee is laid out in county law, and Gilbert’s proposal would also change the rules on who sits on that panel and expand it to seven members. For the first time, a member of the County Commission would have a seat on the selection committee. Gilbert’s legislation also gives a seat to Miami-Dade’s sheriff and to an authority on ethics appointed by the dean of the University of Miami’s law school.

The current county legislation requires an inspector general candidate to have at least 10 years of experience as a law enforcement officer, judge or government attorney. The Gilbert legislation adds government administrator to the list of acceptable positions.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez said he’s opposed to commissioners rewriting the rules on who should be their watchdog — particularly when it comes to a board member sitting on the committee that appoints the inspector general.

“I don’t think anybody that could potentially fall under an investigation should be on the selection panel,” he said. “It’s not best practices in my opinion. It doesn’t reflect well upon the body.”