TOWSON, Md. — Amid uncertainty about her future, Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan is out with a new investigative report.
This time on alleged county employee misuse of government vehicles.
A May 2024 tip led Madigan and her team to launch a probe into a crew chief at the county's Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability (DEPS).
GPS tracking information revealed the crew chief used the county's vehicle to visit a family member's political campaign headquarters in Rosedale on 36 separate occasions, totaling nearly 90 hours, between January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024.
Additionally, the crew chief's county truck spent more than 11 hours at a friend's storage yard in Baltimore City, where they reportedly made political campaign signs.
"The crew chief believed the container yard was located in Baltimore County, when in fact, it is located in Baltimore City," the report states.
The Inspector General appeared to catch the crew chief contradicting themselves on at least one occasion, while claiming they'd only driven the county vehicle to the yard after work hours.
"When shown a copy of a NexTraq report showing the Vehicle stopped at the location from about 1:29 p.m. until 2:36 p.m. on April 18, 2022, the crew chief had no explanation as to why the Vehicle was there during work hours," the report documented.
According to Baltimore County’s Personnel Manual, "an officer or employee of the county may not engage in political activity while on the job during working hours."
During an interview with the Inspector General, the crew chief said they were unaware of the policy.
A supervisor disputed that account.
"In the past, the supervisor had cautioned the crew chief to not use a county vehicle to perform any campaign- related tasks after overhearing a conversation involving the crew chief and another employee regarding political activity," the report states.
Despite differing answers, the crew chief denied placing campaign signs in their work vehicle or driving it to campaign events.
On top of the questionable political activity, the crew chief is accused of spending 30.5 hours at a family member's home during their shift.
"The Supervisor was aware the Crew Chief may have stopped at a family member’s residence or other personal locations on their way home, but the Supervisor was unaware of the frequency and duration of those stops," Madigan wrote.
The Inspector General also noted how the crew chief parked the work vehicle at home on about 45 percent of their off-days, in violation of county policy.
"In an email, the office was told by the crew chief’s supervisor that they have never granted the crew chief permission to park a county vehicle at the crew chief’s home overnight, including during weather events," the report states.
In response to the Inspector General's findings, the County said "in March of this year, an email was distributed to all county employees concerning political activities. We are dedicated to providing an annual reminder to reinforce this message."
As for employee use of government vehicles, the county said "all DEPS employees with access to county vehicles will be required to reaffirm the county's vehicle policy by June 30, 2025 and annually thereafter."
Madigan says her office investigated alleged misuse of county vehicles four times in 18 months.
MORE: Former Balt. Co. supervisor took county car to relative's house
The full report can be read below.
