Delaware needs inspector general now

The litany of fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement seemingly never ends in the First State!  

From the embezzlement of $181,000 from the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to the lack of fully reporting the embezzlement to the public by the Department of Finance, the Department of Labor and the auditor of accounts more than a year later, and to the current lawsuit over the alleged harassment of and retaliation against a Department of Insurance employee, it could not be more clear that Delaware needs an Office of the Inspector General. 

The OIG would have authority for oversight and investigation of state agencies and offices for fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement. Delaware could have used such an office in the past and would benefit from such an office today. So why doesn’t Delaware have an OIG?

Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 21, a bipartisan bill to create the Office of the Inspector General, was introduced March 12. In mid-April, the Senate Executive Committee quickly and unanimously released SS 1 for SB 21, and it went on to the Senate Finance Committee. But progress on the bill came to a screeching halt, and the OIG bill still has not seen the light of day. 

The bill has floundered in the Senate Finance Committee and Joint Finance Committee – both chaired by Sen. Trey Paradee – for almost two months. Why? What’s the holdup? 

Considering all of the monetary giveaways, Delaware has plenty of resources to fund the office, not to mention the office will pay for itself. Thus, a lack of funds is no excuse.  

Does the reason go deeper? Is the reason an ingrained fear by some state officials that an OIG would open the floodgates on other yet-to-be-discovered or hidden misbehaviors?   

Is the reason that OIG’s whistleblower protection provisions would encourage the disclosure of more state-agency wrongdoing and mismanagement issues?   

Or, is the reason a lack of support by the executive branch, under whose leadership, it appears, addressing fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement in state agencies never was a priority?   

An advantage our state government seemingly fails to recognize is that an OIG takes much of the burden of addressing state problems off its back. 

For example, if the current embezzlement issue had been handled by an OIG, the failure to disclose the embezzlement, the finger pointing by the public, and the state offices’ excuses for not following statutes would have been eliminated. The responsibility largely would rest on the oversight and investigative role of the OIG and its reports to various authorities, state offices and the public.

The ship has sailed on any argument that an existing Delaware state office can function as an independent and nonpartisan OIG. With current reports at the forefront, there is no argument contrary to the need for an OIG that holds water.

Delaware needs an OIG, and the recent drumbeat of state problems justifies creating this office.

Citizens of Delaware, go to delcog.org/oig for the steps you can take to help you speak up, call, or write to your legislators to demand passage of SS 1 for SB 21 before the end of this legislative session June 30.