Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan was putting the finishing touches on her most recent fraud investigation Monday when she learned she might be out of a job.

At the end of a meeting with County Executive Kathy Klausmeier to tout her office’s successes, Madigan said she was handed a letter indicating that she would not be reappointed. Instead, the letter said, the county would advertise the position Wednesday. While Madigan was welcome to apply, the letter said, the county would conduct an “open search.”

Madigan completed her first five-year term in January. She had hoped Klausmeier would appoint her to a second, four-year term. Madigan said she had no reason to believe otherwise.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ Maryland chapter named her “fraud fighter of the year” just last month. Last year, her office completed more than two dozen reports outlining waste and fraud in the county. Several County Council members have expressed support for her work.

“I love the job,” Madigan said. “Of course I want to stay and finish it out. I want to give Baltimore County four more years of my hard work.”

Klausmeier, a former state senator who was appointed in January to fill the last two years of Johnny Olszewski Jr.‘s term after he was elected to Congress and has sole discretion to fill the inspector general position.

“County Executive Klausmeier is following Baltimore County Code, will conduct an open search process, and encourages the Inspector General to apply for a second term in this critical role,” a county spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon. “Inspector General Madigan has performed honorably in her ongoing work in ensuring the integrity and efficiency of Baltimore County government on behalf of the residents of Baltimore County.”

The difficulty of investigating your own

This week is not the first time that county politicians have tried to clip Madigan’s wings.

In 2021, Olszewski sought to create an oversight board to rein in Madigan’s investigatory powers. Introduced at Olszewski’s request by County Councilman Julian Jones, the bill would have limited her ability to subpoena information and restricted her only to information available to the public. Jones had been the target of one of Madigan’s investigations; he committed $69,000 in county resources to pave an alley outside his district, which the county would not have done otherwise.

The public revolted at the attempt to curb Madigan’s powers, showing up in force at council meetings to praise her work and the office’s accomplishments.

The episode resulted in a stronger IG office, with more staff and a larger budget. A panel also recommended that her office be enshrined in the county charter, a change that voters approved last year.

Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Cumming called Klausmeier’s decision “shameful.” The county executive easily could have reappointed her, Cumming said, and Madigan is regarded as excellent at her job.

Asked if she thought there were any particular investigations that made Madigan vulnerable, Cumming said: “That would be her job. Her job is to report situations, and their job is to correct it. What Kelly Madigan has done, and done well, is her job.”

While an oversight board protects Cumming from political interference, Madigan reports to Klausmeier, who the county council appointed to serve until voters elect a new county executive in November 2026. She also had the option of not changing Madigan’s status for the next 19 months.

“Kelly Madigan has consistently proven her value to Baltimore County,” said Peta Richkus, a former secretary of the Maryland General Services Administration who watches Baltimore County government closely. “The law calls for her reappointment to a second term, and that’s exactly what should happen.”

Richkus said he plans to petition Klausmeier to reappoint Madigan.

Olszewski could have reappointed Madigan before he stepped down as county executive, but he left that decision to his successor.

Klausmeier was one of several finalists for the position. Yara Cheikh, another finalist, said she was concerned and disappointed with Klausmeier’s decision. Had she been chosen, Cheikh said, she planned to strengthen the inspector general, increase the salary, and make sure they could serve a full 10 years to become vested in the pension system.

“I don’t understand why the County Executive would want to hinder the public trust that has already been established in the Inspector General,” Cheikh said. “We have seen that over and over again — the residents of the county want an independent inspector general."

A huge learning curve

When Cumming started as Baltimore inspector general six years ago, her office had five employees, investigated 70 complaints, and saved taxpayers $240,000. Last year, 18 employees investigated 827 complaints and saved $17 million.

New inspectors general need time to understand the bureaucracy, staff up and become effective.

“It’s not just a learning curve in terms of having a new office, but the nature of the office is different than any other office that has ever existed in Baltimore County,” said Councilman Izzy Patoka, who represents the Pikesville area and served as council chair last year. “You have to understand how your office operates, but you have to understand how every office in Baltimore County operates.”

Patoka also said a new inspector general would not be effective right away, and that he expressed this to Klausmeier’s chief of staff.

Madigan’s office, while smaller, has a similar trajectory to Cumming’s. At first, she was learning the culture, the procedures and the people. Today, she issued a report that is part of a $200 billion joint fraud investigation with the Small Business Administration, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney.

Madigan’s investigators recently determined that a county corrections officer defrauded the federal government of more than $41,663; he filled out applications for loans for a non-existent towing business, then bought trucks, sent them to Nigeria and pocketed the proceeds.

Other recent investigations found fraud with a roofer hired for a police precinct and a trash hauler who was gaming tipping fees. Last August, Madigan found lax supervision within a Department of Public Works division; one employee misused a dump truck 47 times and another committed attendance fraud at least 27 times.

In 2021, she found the county recreation councils owed the county $420,353.13 for leadership training that the county provided and was never reimbursed for. After Madigan’s report, the county ended the leadership program.

Philip Tirabassi and Philip Dough

Madigan also looked into the Olszewski administration, which paid $83,675 to firefighter Philip Tirabassi, a childhood friend and also Olszewski’s real estate agent, to settle a pension dispute. Tirabassi wanted two years of city service added to his county service for a larger pension payout. But he was almost two decades past the deadline for such an amendment. Olszewski’s administration reported the check to council as for “Philip Dough.”

While Madigan did not find any evidence of impropriety, she included plenty of details in her 27-page report. She said at the time that her independent investigation showed she was not cowed by political pressure. Madigan also noted that the county often responded positively to her reports, with the subjects of investigation often choosing to resign, as was the case with the corrections officer in Tuesday’s report.

Patoka wrote a letter to Klausmeier to express his concerns about her handling of Madigan’s position. So far, no other council members have joined him. The council’s work sessions, almost always held in person, were held virtually Tuesday evening so the public could not inquire about it.

“They claim they’re following the law, following the process. But they made a choice, no question about that,” Patoka said. “I’m just really disturbed about the whole thing.”