§ 4.09. Inspector General.

(A)

There shall be an office of inspector general which shall provide a full-time program of investigation, audit, inspections and performance review of parish government operations to assist in improving operations and deterring and identifying, fraud, waste, abuse, and illegal acts and to provide increased accountability of parish government, its departments, agencies, special districts and entities receiving funds through the parish, in order to preserve public trust.

(B)

The office of inspector general shall be headed by an Inspector General who shall be appointed by the ethics and compliance commission in accordance with procedures established by ordinance. The Inspector General shall be qualified by special training and experience in the administration and managing of programs for prevention; examination, investigation, audit, detection, elimination and prosecution of fraud, corruption, waste, mismanagement, or misconduct in the operation of government or organizations and such other qualifications as may be established by ordinance. The Council by ordinance may also provide a term of office and other responsibilities and duties of the office.

The Inspector General may only be removed for cause and after a public hearing by the ethics and compliance commission.

(C)

The office of inspector general and the ethics and compliance commission may retain special counsel notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4.04 of this Charter.

(D)

(1)

In order to assure the independent operation of the office of inspector general, the office, in conjunction with the ethics and compliance commission, shall receive the proceeds of any special tax levied and approved by the electorate which is dedicated to providing, maintaining, administering and operating an office of inspector general and an ethics and compliance commission.

(2)

Any funds remaining at the end of the fiscal year shall be carried over to future fiscal years. Carryover funds exceeding an amount equal to the proceeds of the most recent annual special tax dedicated to the office of inspector general and the ethics and compliance commission shall be forwarded to the parish general fund.

(3)

The office of inspector general may be abolished by ordinance of 2/3 vote of the Council if the voters fail to approve the levying of a special tax, the renewal of the levying of a special tax, or other revenue source for the operation of the office of inspector general and the ethics and compliance commission.

(E)

An investigation within the purview of the Inspector General shall take preference and priority over any investigation of the same person or activity conducted by the Parish. Should the Inspector General determine that an investigation being conducted by the Parish is interfering with an investigation being conducted by the Office of the Inspector General, and the investigating party does not voluntarily agree to suspend such investigation, the Inspector General may issue a Cease and Desist Order directing that the interfering investigation stop and not proceed until such time as the investigation conducted by the Office of the Inspector General is completed.

(Ord. No. 23989, § 4, 4-6-11, eff. 1-1-12; Ord. No. 24820 , § 8, 9-3-14)