BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Baltimore’s inspector general says her office has been “devastated” after City Hall shut down her access to city records two weeks ago, blocking what she described as key efforts to root out waste, fraud and abuse in city government.
Inspector General Isabel Cumming said the city, for the first time in eight years, refused to comply with her subpoena and denied her access to records tied to spending at the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood, Safety and Engagement (MONSE).
“For anyone to say this hasn’t weakened my office okay, this has devastated my office….we can’t do our job,” Cumming said in a talk radio appearance Tuesday.
ALSO READ | Del. Ryan Nawrocki talks possible statewide inspector general
Cumming said the records she is seeking involve payments and are necessary to track spending.
“It’s very important to realize those are not children’s documents. They’re third-party payments. I am trying to follow the money,” she said.
The city has cited what it called “an opinion” from the Maryland Office of the Attorney General to deny the inspector general future access to critical city records. Cumming said the attorney general disputes that characterization.
“The attorney general [Anthony Brown] actually called me and said, ‘Isabel, this is not an opinion,’” Cumming said. “Opinions take eight months to a year and if someone is saying it is, they are wrong.”
Cumming and three other Maryland inspectors general are now lobbying in Annapolis for legislation that would guarantee their right to obtain critical documents.
The Press Association, which represents journalists in Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C., announced its support on Feb. 17, writing in a statement: “This is not simply an internal dispute between agencies and oversight offices. It directly affects the public’s ability to understand how government functions and how taxpayer dollars are spent.” The group added, “We urge the General Assembly to address this issue promptly.”
Some elected officials have not publicly responded. Questions emailed to Baltimore City Council members last week went unanswered, including: “Do you support the Mayor’s decision to restrict the Baltimore Inspector General’s access to city records?”
Taxpayer advocate David Williams said the dispute raises broader concerns about transparency at the mayor’s office.
“At the very core of this issue is, what is the mayor hiding? What is happening inside MONSE and SideStep that the mayor doesn’t want anyone to know about? There must be some deep dark secrets and massive waste of money that the mayor and people at MONSE don’t want taxpayers to know about,” Williams said.
Local Story
