The Richmond official in charge of investigating waste, fraud and abuse at City Hall has been quietly dismissed from his job, according to a member of the City Council who opposed the move.

Councilor Reva Trammell (8th District) said she was absent from Monday’s council meeting to see her grandson graduate from college. 

While she was gone, the City Council held a closed meeting that Trammell says resulted in the dismissal of Inspector General Jim Osuna, who had been in that role since 2019. Trammell said she sent Osuna a text message Monday evening asking what happened in the meeting, and he texted back that he had been “fired.”

The Richmond Times-Dispatch first reported the text exchange Tuesday afternoon.

The reason for Osuna’s departure is unclear. The City Council has held several closed meetings recently to discuss personnel issues, but did not publicly discuss Osuna’s status or take a public vote to part ways with him.

“I said to them at the last meeting that I do not want anybody fired,” Trammell said.

The council didn’t make any formal announcement Monday about a personnel move involving Osuna.

In a brief statement Tuesday, City Council leadership confirmed a change had occurred, without offering much detail.

“The Inspector General’s office is of critical importance to the oversight work of City Council. An interim IG will manage the ongoing work while council oversees the transition in leadership,” the statement said. “No comments will be made on personnel matters.”

The inspector general’s office didn’t respond to a phone call and an email seeking clarity on who’s running things in Osuna’s absence.

The inspector general plays an important watchdog role looking into allegations of wrongdoing in city government.

Last year, Osuna published the results of a major investigation into the city’s elections office that resulted in the resignation of Registrar Keith Balmer. The IG investigation found nepotism, overspending, procurement issues and numerous other management issues in the elections office.

Under state law, the inspector general is empowered to look into allegations of waste, fraud and abuse. But there’s been some disagreement in Richmond over what that means. Last year, the Times-Dispatch reported that Osuna said he had been told he didn’t have the legal authority to investigate allegations the city’s Finance Department had failed to inform taxpayers the city owed them money.

The City Council did not give a timeline for when a new inspector general is expected to be hired.

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org