EDITORIAL: Attacking fraud and waste in New Orleans
Times-Picayune (excerpt)

City departments, as well as agencies like the Public Belt Railroad, will be scrutinized by New Orleans' Office of Inspector General in its efforts to find and fight fraud and waste and promote government efficiency. Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux laid out a four-year plan that includes activities such as fraud awareness seminars for city employees and contractors, screening of new procurements that are worth more than $25,000 and monitoring of high-risk contracts. The Office of Inspector General also outlined an aggressive plan for ferreting out problems. In 2011, for example, the office will focus on the New Orleans Police Department and the city's sales tax collection function. The office will look at police overtime, citing the possibility that claims have been overstated, and off-duty details, which it says could have a corrupting influence on officers. The IG office will begin its scrutiny of so-called satellite organizations next year too, conducting unannounced reviews and audits. Revelations of lavish spending by the Public Belt Railway prompted this focus, and the plan lists 89 such entities, promising to review many of them in the next four years and all of them eventually.