HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — “We built an office that everybody can be proud of,” outgoing Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan said. “I think if I've accomplished anything, I've brought a little bit of sunlight to Baltimore County and now there's obviously a quest for more.”
Madigan is leaving the office she built, to do it all over again in Howard County. Although this time, she says, things are different.
“They've got all of the right ingredients, if you will, for the foundations to build an amazing office,” Madigan said.
Inspector General Kelly Madigan's Move: From Baltimore to Howard County
On Monday, Madigan announced her resignation and decision to take on another inaugural role in neighboring Howard County.
"It's certainly a bittersweet decision," she said. "It's one that I struggled with. I'm very proud of the office that I've created and the work that I've done over the past 6 years, but I think it was the right decision."
It follows months of controversy after Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier did not intend to renew Madigan’s tenure, calling into question the very independence of the office tasked to keep government honest and fair.
“A takeaway from the events over the summer is that it's not a best practice to have an interim county executive or elected political figures electing the person who has oversight over them. If you want a strong inspector general, you need to have the structural foundation for which an independent person can be selected,” Madigan said.
That won’t be the case in Howard County.
The effort to establish a watchdog has been in the works for years.
"It has been a long time in the making" Chair and Councilmember Liz Walsh of District 1, said.
Walsh says it’s been a top priority for her to establish an independent IG office since she took office, taking notes from both Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The effort gained movement last year, and with the help of Madigan, who testified in support.
The county currently has an Inspector General Advisory Board, established one year ago.
“So in some ways it feels like it's coming full circle,” Madigan said.
“Everyone should want this because it makes for good government. It makes our constituents believe in our good government,” Walsh said. “These offices tend to pay for themselves real fast.”
Under Madigan’s leadership the Baltimore County office grew, published 50 reports, 40 of which are public, and identified millions in savings.
The reports included revelations such as potential health hazards created by government incompetence, misuse of government vehicles, and potential conflicts of interest from county employees.
It’s hard for Madigan to pinpoint one investigation she’s most proud of, likening them to children.
“It’s hard to say which one is your favorite, you know, you kind of love them all for various reasons,” she said.
To her, no matter how big or small, each one, brings value to taxpayers.
Since 2021, Madigan has calculated the cost of her offices’ activities for each individual taxpayer, dividing the money spent by the office by the population size per census data.
Annual cost for IG’s Office per taxpayer, per year:
2021 $0.35
2022 $0.42
2023 $0.60
2024 $0.73
2025 $0.94
She intends to bring those same results down I-95.
“It can be unpopular. You know, oversight is something that maybe everybody wants until the light is shined on them,” Madigan explained. "These are fragile ecosystems… so the public is going to have to continue to advocate for it.”
Baltimore County responds
To this day, Madigan says she doesn’t know why the decision was made at the top level in Baltimore County. She’s served in a holdover capacity since January when Klausmeier took office.
Madigan says her communications to the County Executive went unanswered, until the notice about the posting of her job in May.
“You'd have to ask Ms.Klausmeier why she decided to undertake the events that she did,” Madigan said.
In a statement provided to WMAR-2 News, Klausmeier wished the outgoing IG well.
“I have received and accepted Inspector General Kelly Madigan’s resignation. We thank Ms. Madigan for her service as the county’s first-ever inspector general, and for her commitment to strengthening transparency and accountability within Baltimore County Government.
We wish her well in her future endeavors and look forward to working with our partners in the County Council in determining next steps.”
Baltimore County deputy inspector general Steven Quisenberry will serve as interim, as appointed by Madigan. The County Office is Law is reviewing if additional actions are needed at this time.
Madigan’s last day in office is January 2. She says the work is not quite done, and hopes to have at least one more report published before then.
Changes on the horizon in the New Year
“I kind of intend to hit the ground running,” Madigan said.
On January 5, she will begin her new role based in Columbia and immediately plans to hire a deputy and two inspectors. There’s a laundry list of administrative duties to get done, including establishing a case management system and creating a website.
“I’m hoping to have the ability to look into things on my own because again. That's the way that IGs can be most effective,” Madigan said. “It's not just in providing the oversight… but also in making recommendations to improve county government, which I think sometimes is the best part.”
A question of if Baltimore County should establish its own independent board for the IG office will be on next November’s ballot. In her outgoing message, Madigan urged the public to approve the measure.