QUESTION
What are the impacts of COIB's staffing and budget reductions on its ability to fulfill its mandates?
0:41:12
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172 sec
Carolyn Miller, the Executive Director of the Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB), explains that the recent budget cuts have reduced COIB's staff from 25 to 22 employees.
- This includes losing an attorney in the enforcement unit, reducing its capacity to pursue complaints by 25%
- COIB has also lost staff in the education unit and legal support
- With just 22 employees, COIB has limited resources to advise, enforce ethics laws, and train over 300,000 city employees
- Miller notes the challenges of having the mayor determine COIB's budget despite its role overseeing ethics compliance, including of the mayor
Lincoln Restler
0:41:12
So just firstly, my understanding is that Cortez is a relatively small staff, just 21 positions currently budgeted.
0:41:20
I think that's down 16% from 25 positions prior to the mayor coming into office in 2021.
0:41:28
Is that right?
0:41:29
You have sufficient resources to meet all of your mandates, your charter mandates, and what impact does the recent peg that the mayor imposed, which would cut 2 positions have on your operations?
0:41:40
We
Carolyn Miller
0:41:45
endeavor right now, we have 22 employees.
0:41:48
The peg is 421.
0:41:50
So when the next employee, whomever he or she might be leave, we won't be authorized to hire that new a replacement for that person.
0:41:58
We've lost someone in our education unit.
0:42:01
We've lost a illegal who supports the legal work of the entire agency and most recently an attorney in our enforcement unit, which an enforcement unit for people losing one person is essentially 25% of the ability of the agency to pursue complaints of violation of the conflicts of interest law.
0:42:21
So we are have always been a very small city agency.
0:42:24
You know, we consider ourselves sort of punching above our weight as it were, but the in an agency that in January 22 2022 was 25 people, and now is just 22 people.
0:42:37
It's very significant to have that few to lose those individuals who work to give advice, to pursue enforce AND TO TRAIN OVER 300,000 CITY EMPLOYEES.
Lincoln Restler
0:42:51
I THINK WE'D ALL AGREE THAT THE COURT TUTOR COUNT HAS LONG PUNCHED ABOVE ITS way.
0:42:57
But I just in all seriousness, you know, as Mister Carey testified, at the beginning of his remarks.
0:43:03
Cord is not technically a Merrill agency, but it's subject to Merrill approval on your headcount.
0:43:08
And and your budget, is that problematic that you're both tasked with kind of ensuring ethics compliance of the mayor, and he's responsible for termining your staff capacity and budget?
Carolyn Miller
0:43:23
The conflicts of interest board has long sought an independent budget in various ways there have been charter revision commissions.
0:43:31
The board has testified seeking an independent budget like the campaign finance board and other similar agencies have the board proposed extensive series of charter amendments back in 2009 and submitted them to the city So at that time, also with the request for an independent budget.
0:43:50
So there are challenges to have the same sort of category of individuals who are subject to the regulation of the conflicts of interest board also decide the staffing and budget of the conflicts of interest board.
Lincoln Restler
0:44:00
Great.
0:44:00
We did read those 2009 recommendations and would certainly support them.