Bart Bevers, the first inspector general for the city of Dallas, is suing the city alleging wrongful termination and to be reinstated to the position.<\/p>\n
The petition was filed in Dallas County on Aug. 28, the day after the Dallas City Council voted to discharge Timothy J. Menke as inspector general less than three months after his hiring because he was not a practicing attorney.<\/p>\n
The office of the inspector general was first created in 2021 with Bart Bevers hired as the first to take on the role<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n Dallas voters approved a proposition last year<\/a> that established an independent inspector general \u2014 previously it was a role that was hired as a division of the cit<\/p>\n Bevers was authorized to conduct \u201cindependent\u201d investigations, however they were overseen by the city attorney. <\/p>\n In January, Bevers filed an official report finding that city funds were spent on a City Council retreat, violating the City Code and administrative directives. According to the petition, Bevers alleges that he faced “retaliatory treatment” from city officials that resulted in the city hiring an outside firm to search for his replacement.<\/p>\n KERA reached out to the city of Dallas for comment and will update this with a response.<\/p>\n This story is developing and will be updated.<\/p>\n Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at\u00a0mcardona@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n