After a two-month search, a Palm Beach County panel selected Kalinthia Dillard to lead the Inspector General’s Office, where she has worked for a decade.
Dillard competed against Jim Kirdar of the U.S. Capitol Police for the job. Kirdar has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement and federal work, while Dillard has decades of experience in Florida, particularly in Palm Beach County.
She served as an attorney for many agencies, including the Palm Beach County School District, and has worked in the IG’s office as general counsel and deputy inspector general.
The seven-person panel interviewed the two finalists after two others dropped out in an hour-long round-robin format on March 5. Each panelist asked questions, giving one candidate three minutes to respond, followed immediately by the other finalist, alternating who answered first.
The panel included State Attorney Alexcia Cox and public defender Daniel Eisinger, along with local representatives from bar associations, the Association of Chiefs of Police, the League of Cities and Florida Atlantic University.
READ MORE: Palm Beach County inspector general search narrowed to 4
Initially, the panel selected four finalists. Matthew Dove, with the U.S. Department of Energy, withdrew, and Anthony Zakel, formerly with the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., was unavailable until April because of a medical issue, Palm Beach County recruitment manager Paul Mattedo said.
Panelists filled out paper ballots and committee member and former Lake Worth Beach Mayor Rodney Romano counted the votes.
“I thought they were both highly, highly qualified,” Romano said after announcing Dillard as the appointee.
Salary negotiation is next
Committee Vice Chair Peter Cruise, the county’s Human Resources Department and the county attorney will work together to negotiate Dillard’s contract, including a starting salary of $260,000 to $280,000. Once the contract is finalized, Dillard will work alongside Inspector General John Carey until he retires in June.
“He’s been an amazing mentor to me,” Dillard told Stet News about Carey. “He’s been an amazing leader for our office, and I’m just looking forward to continuing all the work that he’s done.”
Carey told Stet News that he thinks the transition will be smooth, as the two have worked together for the past decade and he trusts her ability to succeed. “I am confident that she will take the office farther than we are today,” he said.
The Inspector General’s Office is an independent agency that monitors the county’s 39 municipalities, the Solid Waste Authority and the Children’s Services Council. Established in 2009, the office conducts audits and investigations aimed at preventing fraud, waste and mismanagement.
Dillard will be the county’s third inspector general, following Sheryl Steckler and Carey. She said she wants the office to be “good stewards of taxpayer dollars” as budget challenges arise. In the interview, she also said she would like to address artificial intelligence’s benefits and limitations in local government affairs.
“I want the community, and I want our staff to know that leadership is changing, but the mission isn’t,” Dillard said. “We will continue to do the hard work of rooting out fraud, waste and abuse, and building trust in our government.”
This story was originally published by Stet News Palm Beach, a WLRN News partner.
