My take: Need for inspector general’s office grows

 That is where things appear to be  headed in 2025, despite a new governor expressing support for the office. A recent story from WHYY indicated that while Matt Meyer expressed support in his State of the State speech,  no funding has been allocated in a revised state budget.

 Legislators are reportedly balking over the $2.5 million cost of the office, even though the state budget is headed toward the $7 billion mark and a state hospital rate-setting commission may come with a similar price tag.

 In the past, objections have been raised over the office duplicating the functions of the State Auditor and Attorney General.

First, both are elected offices, with the auditor's office having limited resources, which has been a problem for years. In some cases, the AG's office has an automatic conflict of interest,  since the Justice Department serves as the lawyer for state agencies that would come under scrutiny.

Delaware is not alone in struggling with the idea. Despite the effectiveness of the office in neighboring Massachusetts, Rhode Island continues to debate the issue.

It may have something to do with a "not invented here" mentality that may be more common in small states.

Then again, both Delaware and Rhode Island  have shown up on "most corrupt" rankings. A look at various rankings (all outdated)  shows Delaware has dropped in the corruption category,  perhaps due to actions arising from the Veasey Report into campaign finance that was issued more than a decade ago.

 Still, with the state budget increasing above the inflation rate, the need for this office has only grown. - Doug Rainey, chief content officer.