Profile In Courage: Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan

At a time when transparency is under siege at all levels of government and watchdogs are often muzzled by overly defensive officials, it takes real courage to speak truth to power. Baltimore County Inspector General (IG) Kelly Madigan has done just that—and subsequently paid the price for it. Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier has “rewarded” IG Madigan for her hard work saving taxpayers money by telling her that she won’t be reappointed. Despite this setback, IG Madigan is more willing than ever to hold county officials accountable for their actions. For her tenacity in exposing waste, fraud, and abuse, even when it means clashing with entrenched political interests, Kelly Madigan is most certainly a Profile in Courage.

When Madigan first started out as the head watchdog in Baltimore County, it was a lonely job. WYPR reporter John Lee recounts, “she had a staff of one, herself. She didn’t have a permanent office. And she had a crummy job title. Rather than inspector general, she was the executive director for the office of ethics and accountability. That’s a mouth full and it locked her out of training and work sessions she could get with other inspectors general.” However, Madigan was determined to fight for a viable IG’s office that wasn’t a bureaucratic backwater. By the end of her first year, she was finally able to secure the official title of “Inspector General” and used her increasing clout to push for the digitization of the ethics and financial disclosure processes for public employees. In the years since, she has also been able to increase her workforce (albeit modestly) from one to four.

IG Madigan’s expanded mandate has encountered lots of ridiculous pushback. In 2021, Councilwoman Cathy Bevins complained about Madigan spending $50 extra on business cards. Madigan responded that “other inspectors general advised her to do that to make room for a phone number and email address for anonymous tips.” Bevins wasn’t pleased by Madigan’s response.  This nitpicking was certainly convenient; “Bevins did not disclose during the hearing that Madigan interviewed her campaign treasurer, Chris McCollum, as part of an investigation of the Baltimore County Agricultural Center. McCollum was the ag center director from 2010 to 2019. He’s now the county’s deputy director of economic development.”

Also, in 2021, then- Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. pushed for legislation to create an IG “Oversight Board” packed with political appointees designed to hamper the watchdog. The legislation would have stripped Madigan of some investigative powers and set up roadblocks for requesting information which would have effectively rendered the IG’s officetoothless.

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) slammed the move, noting at the time, “It’s hard to conclude that this is anything other than a brazen move for political retaliation. Madigan recently exposed the misspending of taxpayer funds by William ‘Chris’ McCollum, a public official who is well-connected to Olszewski’s election committee. A combination of meticulous media coverage and sound IG reporting led to McCollum’s resignation as deputy director at the Department of Economic and Workforce Development.”

The odiousness of the “Oversight Board” plan even prompted the Association of Inspectors General to weigh in. In a letter to the County Council, the Association decried empowering political appointees “who do not possess the requisite knowledge, skills, training or experience in the field of inspections and oversight” to neuter the IG’s office. Fortunately, Olszewski quickly backed off in response to all this criticism and killed the plan before the legislation was ever introduced.

Since this failed attempt at faux–versight, Madigan is determined as ever to save taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars. In 2023, her office flagged that a roofing company misrepresented and inflated payments made to subcontractors to secure a $1.8 million county contract. In 2024, she took a trash hauler to task for fraudulently comingling commercial trash with residential trash, resulting in a $224,737 estimated loss to the county. For all these efforts and many more, one would assume that IG Madigan would be hailed as a hero by the County Executive and be reappointed for a second term.

Unfortunately, the county recently advised Madigan she will not be reappointed to her role. According to a recent report by The Baltimore Banner’s Rona Kobell, “Madigan completed her first five-year term in January. She had been hoping [County Executive Kathy] Klausmeier would appoint her to a second, four-year term. Madigan said she had no reason to believe otherwise.” Baltimore City IG Isabel Cumming, who like Madigan has stood firm against attempts to rein in her power, called the politically tinged decision “shameful.” Klausmeierappears to be implying that her hands are tied legally in conducting an open search process for a successor rather than reappointing Madigan, but the law appears to allow the County Executive to keep Madigan on for a second term.

TPA will continue to call for the County Executive to reappoint Madigan. But, no matter what happens, IG Madigan is a Profile in Courage who has made her county government fairer and more honest.