The City of Philadelphia released the Office of the Inspector General’s 2012 Annual Report, which shows that during 2012, the OIG saved or recovered $9.2 million for the City and that OIG investigations have also led to the termination or resignation of 44 City employees and the arrest or indictment of five individuals.
“The Office of the Inspector General is an integral part of our effort to maintain the highest standards in City government and to ensure tax dollars are spent properly,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter.
The $9.2 million in savings and recovery comes from City employees via pension disqualifications, demotions, suspensions and DROP program forfeitures, through fines, assessments and recoveries from business that violated minority-business requirements, and from funds returned to the City through restitution.
“The investment of Philadelphia tax dollars into good government practices has paid off many times over,” said Inspector General Amy Kurland. “The OIG will continue working hard to ensure that City departments, agencies and employees are doing the right things and that businesses are abiding by City contracts.”
Over the last five years, the Philadelphia Office of the Inspector General has helped the City save or recover a total of $34.9 million while working with an annual budget of $1.3 million or less. According to the OIG Annual Report, investigations since 2008 have led to the termination or resignation of 166 total City employees and the arrest or indictment of 44 individuals.
In the last two years, OIG investigations of companies that circumvented the City’s minority, women and disabled-owned business entity (M/W/DSBE) requirements has generated more than $2 million in settlement revenue for the City.
Since January 2008, the OIG’s collaboration with the Law Department and the Board of Pensions and Retirement to identify and disqualify City employees convicted of felonies related to their jobs has saved the City almost $15.5 million, including more than $5.7 million in 2012.
“Collaboration has played a key role in our success,” said Kurland. “It has allowed our small office to have a big impact on how the City operates, and it has helped change the culture that has damaged the reputation of so many honest City employees.”
The report is available online at the OIG’s website at http://ph.ly/_ONVF.
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