BALTIMORE (WBFF) — As the back and forth battle continues inside City Hall over information access amid inspector general investigations, a city councilmember said he knows the solution: change Baltimore’s charter to ensure the watchdog doesn’t have to face a gatekeeper for information.
Mayor Brandon Scott and Inspector General Isabel Cumming have gone back and forth over information amid an investigation into the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, or MONSE.
As Cumming probed MONSE’s former youth diversion program, SideStep, she was met with roadblocks. Requests for financial records were turned over but filled with redactions. A subpoena was issued that was ignored. And now, Cumming sued City Hall.
The investigation continued however, and a recent report found “thousands of dollars” connected to fraudulent invoices. Mayor Scott has argued the information is sensitive and sometimes can include juvenile records, which he argued, can’t be shared per state law.
“The fact that the IG was able to identify fraud is indicative to me that we should be opening the documentation to the IG so she can fully identify what happened here and what we need to do to prevent it from happening in the future,” Conway said. “There’s smoke there and we need to figure out if there’s fire.”
Conway’s proposal would make the OIG co-custodian of records, along with the IT Department. Once the watchdogs’ office receives the information, it would be up to the OIG to ensure sensitive documents aren’t shared publicly.
“If the IT department can have access to all these files, I can’t really understand why the IG can’t have access to all these files,” Conway said, noting the OIG has routinely had such access.
Conway’s proposed legislation will be officially introduced next Monday at the City Council meeting, he said. It’s unclear how much support the bill has; he noted he hasn’t had conversations with other members yet. However, if the council does pass the bill, it would go before voters since the plan would change the city charter.
“This is not just a decision our city council or the mayor, but it will ultimately be a decision by the people,” Conway said.
While Conway’s idea continues, efforts in Annapolis to ensure inspectors general around the state have access to information remain elusive. Bills were introduced in both the House and Senate that would clarify that inspectors general in Maryland are exempt from the traditional Maryland Public Information Act, MPIA, restrictions. Currently, that’s what has been used by Mayor Scott – and other jurisdictions – to limit what information IGs can receive.
Conway said he hoped to see that bill move forward, but it’s not likely at this point, which is where his charter amendment proposal came from.
When asked if he’s concerned about independence of the Office of Inspector General now that it seems access to information is limited, Conway said yes.
“I am concerned that in order for the IG to do her job, she has to get the blessing from the mayor to release documents,” he said, adding that it could get complicated if the inspector general ends up having to investigate the mayor.
“It’s never worked this way in the past,” he added.
Conway, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, said he will hold an oversight hearing on April 28 to get more information from MONSE about how the agency spends and tracks tax dollars.
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