Your Views: Alexandria needs an ombudsman

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Your Views: Alexandria needs an ombudsman
Photo/Cody Mello-Klein
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To the editor:

Former Mayor Allison Silberberg tried during her term in office to establish a permanent ethics commission. However, her city council cohorts refused to support her initiative. It is highly unlikely that the current mayor will entertain a citizen’s ethics commission, or even better, an ombudsman, so how will Alexandria provide ethics oversight?

Other jurisdictions have faced up to this challenge, yet Alexandria remains mired in timidity, indifference and hesitation concerning oversight of ethics.

It is unfathomable that city council, city staff and various boards and commissions have never encountered ethics dilemmas, especially concerning the management of new developments. As an example, although there are zoning laws that have been in existence for years, a developer need only make a quid-pro-quo proffer of $100,000 or so to Bikeshare in order to build a structure that is at variance from the originally enacted zoning layout of the community.

This practice raises potential ethics concerns, yet no one curbs this practice. As the late civic activist Tom Witte once said, “it is not that the City Council sells out, it is that they sell out so cheaply.”

For many years, I have stated that Alexandria needs an independent ombudsman to investigate potential fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement and corruption.

The head should be elected to this non-partisan job for at least five years. The ombudsman should demonstrate a high degree of integrity, and have professional credentials in accounting, auditing, investigations and public administration.

I would envision that the ombudsman would be audit, inspect and conduct in-depth investigations of the city’s programs. There is no doubt that millions of dollars of taxpayer money could be saved annually.

The website of the Toronto, Canada ombudsman says it all: “We promote fairness in City services. We help the public resolve problems with the City. We help the City serve the public better. We investigate, we mediate, we find solutions and recommend system improvements. We help the City to hold itself accountable in its duty to provide services that work for people. Our work makes Toronto a better place to live, work, play and do business.”

Is there any reason why we deserve less?

-Townsend A. “Van” Van Fleet, Alexandria

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