Miami-Dade’s top watchdog loses fight over changing hiring rules for his job

Miami-Dade commissioners on Tuesday voted to widen the pool of people who could be hired as the county’s top watchdog, ending a requirement for a legal or law enforcement background in favor of a broader set of qualifications that includes government administrative experience.

Under the legislation that passed on a 9-4 vote, Miami-Dade now may hire as county inspector someone with accounting or auditing experience, as well as someone who has worked as a government administrator. The current experience options are only law enforcement or work as a judge or government attorney, and those categories of applicants would still be eligible under the new rules.

“We’re bringing a bigger pool and broader qualifications,” said Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, the sponsor of the legislation. “We didn’t remove any of the other qualification” options.

The county’s current inspector general, Felix Jimenez, opposed the changes, saying they would dilute the position’s qualifications and could leave the county with an inspector general less capable of managing investigations.

“The current ordinance ensures a qualified candidate who has demonstrated the ability to work with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and the judiciary,” Jimenez, who did not attend Tuesday’s meeting, wrote in a statement earlier this year.

The dispute set up an awkward conflict between the commission and Jimenez, whose office occasionally launches investigations that look into commissioners themselves. He ran the homicide and public corruption units for county police before moving to the Inspector General’s Office.

His contract renewal for the $270,000-a-year position he’s held since 2020 is being held up by Gilbert, who said he didn’t want the commission to vote on reappointing Jimenez until dealing with what he saw as shortcomings in the county’s hiring rules for the position. He said his expanded hiring criteria reflects qualification language already in place across Florida.

Before the vote, Gilbert said his legislation was not designed to derail Jimenez’s reappointment and that he doesn’t have anyone in mind to take his place. “I think sometimes in politics, everyone is looking for palace intrigue,” he said.

Some commissioners who voted for Gilbert’s legislation took time to praise Jimenez. “I think he’s been doing a phenomenal job,” said Commissioner René Garcia, who voted for the legislation. “I want to put on the record I am very supportive of the inspector general.”

The commissioners who voted against the legislation were Juan Carlos Bermudez, Vicki Lopez, Raquel Regalado and Micky Steinberg.

“I think we are harming the office,” Regalado said before the vote. “I think history will say this was wrong.”

Other changes in the Gilbert legislation include:

• Limiting the inspector general to an eight-year tenure. Under the current system, the inspector general is up for an indefinite number of reappointments to four-year terms by the commission. 
• Adding local law school deans to the board that initially appoints the inspector general. The commission can then accept or reject that panel’s recommendation. The Gilbert legislation states nobody on the appointment board can be in a position that’s subject to oversight by the inspector general.
• Requiring a prospective inspector general to sign an agreement barring them from seeking office for two years after their tenure ends. In the run-up to the 2024 election for Miami-Dade sheriff, Jimenez was mentioned as a potential candidate, but he said he wasn’t interested in the post and did not run.