The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is charged with maintaining and operating a full-time program of audits, investigations, inspections, and reviews of the City’s performance measurement system to provide increased accountability and oversight of the City and to assist in improving programs and operations administered or financed by City operations to detect, deter, prevent, and eradicate fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, and misconduct by appointed officials, employees, contractors, subcontractors, other parties doing business with the City and/or receiving City funds.

Mission

Advance integrity, accountability, transparency, and efficiency and effectiveness within City government by providing professional, independent, and objective audit and investigative services.

Values

Independence - freedom from conditions that threaten the ability of the Office of Inspector General to carry out its responsibilities in an unbiased manner.

Objectivity - maintaining an attitude of impartiality, having intellectual honesty, and being free of conflicts of interest.

Fairness - impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination.

Professionalism – performing duties in a professional manner by exhibiting expertise, honesty, integrity, accountability, as well as self-regulation and self-motivation.

Goals

Enhance the public’s trust in City government.
Improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness of City operations.
Provide value added recommendations that improve the delivery of City services.

Organization and Staff

The OIG, headed by the Inspector General, comprises two divisions - an Audit Division and an Investigations Division. The OIG staff consists of 10 professionals: the Inspector General, the Deputy Inspector General, the Administrative Services Coordinator, the Investigations Director, a Complaint Intake Specialist, three Staff/Senior Auditors, the Audit Manager, and a Senior IT Auditor.

Special Projects

The Citizens Police Review Board (CPRB) was created by Ordinance No. 20-O-31 and adopted on September 23, 2020 to foster transparency, enhance communication, and ensure a relationship of trust and respect between the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) and the community by creating an unbiased panel of citizens to review completed TPD internal affairs reports, cases, and issues relating to law enforcement. The OIG has been designated as the administrator for the CPRB and will provide administrative support for the CPRB as outlined on Ordinance No. 20-O-31. To learn more, visit Citizens Advisory Boards and Committees and search for Citizens Police Review Board.

About Inspector General Dennis Sutton

Dennis Sutton began his professional career as an auditor with the local Tallahassee CPA firm Law, Redd, Crona, and Munroe in 1994. He joined the City of Tallahassee in 1999 and progressed through the ranks of the City Auditor’s Office to become the City Auditor in July of 2019. Mr. Sutton became the City’s first Inspector General in July of 2020 with the passage of Ordinance 20-O-22AA which transformed the City Auditor’s Office into the Office of Inspector General.

As Inspector General, Mr. Sutton leads a team of outstanding professionals providing both audit and investigative services to the City Commission and the citizens of Tallahassee. It is his hope to continue to build on the foundation of excellence built by his predecessors.

Mr. Sutton served in the US Army in the late ‘80s and was honorably discharged in the summer of 1990. From there, he attended and graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Inspector General (CIG).

Mr. Sutton is a member of numerous professional accounting, auditing and inspector general associations including the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Association of Government Accountants (AGA), Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), Association of Local Government Auditor (ALGA), and the Association of Inspectors General (AIG).