Steve Rohan isn’t diving back into City Hall — he’s just dipping his toe back in the water.
The longtime city attorney retired in 2012 but will be back to help the Office of Inspector General with a short-term need.
Rohan was named interim inspector general on Monday. It’s a role expected to last just a few months as the group dedicated to selecting and retaining the officeholder finds a long-term solution.
Tom Cline, the office’s first inspector general, resigned in April. His last day will be Friday.
It’s an office dedicated to finding waste, fraud and abuse in city government, which Rohan said was part of his goal during his career. Rohan is the former city ethics chief who was instrumental in in crafting the city’s ethics code.
For Rohan, the short-term assist is a good opportunity to help the city. He’s spent much time with his wife, Louise, and grandchildren, but always wanted to return in some role.
He wasn’t looking for the full-time grind or stress level like that of a city attorney, but a different situation.
“I have had people reach out to me from the city, but I hadn’t found the right one (opportunity) yet,” said Rohan. “Then this phone call came.”
It was from a mutual friend of City Council Vice President Lori Boyer, who chairs the selection and retention committee. The group was seeking someone with Rohan’s background to guide the office over the next four months or so.
Rohan said he turned to his wife and asked for input. She agreed and he accepted.
“It was just sort of time to go back in the water and make a contribution,” he said.
The next several months will mean guiding the office’s budget through council, a familiar task for Rohan from his time in the Office of General Counsel.
It also means working with the independent authorities on Memorandums of Understanding for the office to oversee them.
Rohan realizes there isn’t much that can be accomplished in a three- to four-month window.
But he does want to ensure the office is accomplishing what it set out to do and is in the best shape possible for the next person.
“I can be a wonderful bridge for employees who are there,” he said.
Boyer said she thinks Rohan is a “great solution” for the situation and he’s someone who will provide needed stability in the coming months.
As for the long-term replacement, the goal is to have someone in office by the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.
Boyer has introduced emergency legislation that council could take up tonight that influences that search. The bill would allow people who worked with the city in the past two years to be eligible to apply for the position.
Doing so, she said, would open the candidate pool and possibly attract someone to the position with institutional knowledge.
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