Gov.-Elect Brown To Axe Inspector General's Office
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- A political shocker at the Capitol today: California's Inspector General has been fired, despite finding millions of dollars in government waste. In an interview with CBS 13, Laura Chick said she was stunned to learn she's losing her job – and that the entire office of Inspector General has been eliminated by incoming Governor Jerry Brown.
"I ruffled a lot of feathers," Laura Chick told CBS 13.
The Inspector General blew the whistle on wasteful spending. She identified millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds bungled by government bureaucrats. Just last month she blasted some local agencies for misspending money designated for sexual assault victims.
And across the board she found plenty of resistance.
"The culture here in Sacramento is we don't air our dirty laundry," Chick said. She criticized some government agencies for taking the attitude that "Our job is to make the governor look good and to keep him from looking bad."
Laura Chick added, "But here (Sacramento), if you talk out loud about something that everybody knows is broken – you are a traitor."
Laura Chick was appointed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, but she's getting the boot from Jerry Brown, who says he's streamlining state government. Brown's office released this statement today:
"In response to the state's multi-billion dollar budget deficit, Governor-elect Jerry Brown will be streamlining operations and eliminating redundancies in the Governor's Office and throughout state government.
The Legislature established the Office of the Inspector General on a limited term basis, and it was set to expire on June 30, 2011. Governor Brown will discontinue the program six months earlier, when he assumes office.
The six pending audits being performed by the Inspector General will be concluded by other state auditing entities, such as the Bureau of State Audits, the State Controller's Office, or the Office of Audit and Evaluations in the Department of Finance.
Ending this redundancy will save the state's General Fund over $700,000 in fiscal year 2010-11.
We thank those who have worked in the Inspector General's Office for their service."
In a twist of fate, it was Jerry Brown who gave Laura Chick the Oath of Office in Los Angeles five years ago. Chick has the picture of that ceremony in her Sacramento office noting, "This is a picture of Governor-elect Jerry Brown, swearing me in as L.A. City Controller."
"And now," Chick said, "ironically he's getting sworn in as Governor and I'm getting a different kind of handshake I guess."
Jerry Brown's office says he's committed to cutting his own budget by 25% - and that by taking this action today, he is leading by example.
