OIG In Your Inbox – Best Practices for Municipal-Affiliated Nonprofits
Affiliated nonprofit organizations can offer valuable benefits to municipalities. By supplementing appropriated funds, affiliated nonprofit resources can increase the quality and quantity of municipal events and services. Although affiliated nonprofit organizations are not under municipal control, you can and should adopt and follow best practices to mitigate risks that can arise from the interaction of the nonprofit with your government entity.
Read the AdvisoryAn Analysis of Indigent Defense in Massachusetts
Section 82 of Chapter 14 of the Acts of 2025 (Section 82), directed the OIG to review the indigent defense system in Massachusetts, including existing practices, rules and
requirements related to determining indigency, billing by and oversight of private “bar advocates,” attorney caseloads, and best practices from other jurisdictions to provide adequate and cost-effective representation of indigent defendants.
OIG Report: Public Defense System is Broken, Expensive, and Resistant to Oversight
Fiscal Accountability and Oversight Not Inconsistent with Right to Counsel
Read the Press ReleaseOIG Issues Final Report on Sheriffs’ Budgets
IG Concerned about Civil Process and Outside Bank Accounts
Read the Press ReleaseFinal Report on Sheriffs’ Budgets and Expenditures
In a report mandated by the Legislature, the OIG found that the sheriffs’ budget process is chaotic with chronic underfunding and illegal overspending. Poor fiscal practices, increased mandated costs coupled with lost commission revenues, and an inconsistent understanding of the role of the sheriff have all contributed to the chaos.
Read the ReportIG Shapiro Supports Creation of a Rhode Island state OIG
IG Shapiro has testified before the Rhode Island Legislature about the value of a statewide OIG three times over the last two years. On May 19th, he sent letters to the Rhode Island Senate Finance Committee chair and the Rhode Island House Speaker renewing his support for their efforts to create a statewide OIG in the Ocean State.
Letter to RI Senate Finance Committee Chair
Letter to RI House Speaker
OIG In Your Inbox – Whistleblower Hotlines
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), most fraud is uncovered by tips from whistleblowers. The ACFE found that almost half of fraud tips come from within an organization, with roughly a third coming from outside sources. Organizations with fraud hotlines were nearly twice as likely to detect fraud than those without.
Read the AdvisoryOIG 2025 Annual Report
In 2025, the OIG issued 23 public investigatory reports and letters that have been effective in calling out conduct that, while not necessarily criminal, is wasteful or constitutes an abuse of public resources. In addition, IG Shapiro met with 60 municipal leaders and the office fielded over 2000 hotline complaints and responded to over 1100 procurement support requests.
Read the ReportOIG In Your Inbox: Multifactor Authentication
Cyberattacks against local governments are increasing. Such attacks often begin when a cybercriminal gains unauthorized access to systems and data by obtaining an employee’s password through methods such as phishing, malware, or automated guessing tools. An easy and effective way to prevent attacks against your municipality is to enable multifactor authentication (MFA).
Read the AdvisoryOIG Bulletin, March 2026
This edition of the OIG Bulletin includes information on several OIG reports including the Special Education Transportation study, the preliminary report on Sheriffs’ spending, and the Steamship Authority’s website project. Also contains information on prevailing wage misconceptions and the benefits of the CM at-Risk delivery method.
Read the Bulletin