Baltimore City Councilman responds after IG report raises financial concerns

(WBFF) — Allegations of false invoices tied to the Baltimore’s Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) and the SideStep program are raising new questions about how taxpayer money is being tracked and spent, and whether the City Council should step in with its own investigation.

Questions were sent to all 15 Baltimore City Council members, including Council President Zeke Cohen, asking whether the latest Office of the Inspector General’s findings raise concerns about how MONSE keeps track of taxpayer dollars and whether the council should investigate how the mayor’s office is spending the money.

ALSO READ | OIG report: Fraudulent invoices found in former SideStep program through MONSE

Only one council member responded by late afternoon Tuesday: Councilman Mark Conway, chairman of the Baltimore City Council’s public safety committee.

“I think they are misappropriating taxpayer dollars. Now, I don’t know if that’s intentional or if that is accidental, but either way, this is why we have an IG so that someone can actually dig into it and figure out what’s going on,” Conway said.

Conway said he is considering calling a city council hearing to examine what happened.

“Well, I’m already considering pulling together a hearing that can figure out what went wrong here. Uhm, I think the council needs the ability to understand what’s gone wrong and what we’re doing to make sure that it doesn’t happen again in the future,” Conway said.

There is no word yet on when any hearings would be held. Conway said he will work with his staff to get hearings scheduled “very soon.”

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