Mission Statement

The mission of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is to promote the effectiveness and efficiency of programs and operations of County government and independent County agencies, prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in government activities, and propose ways to increase the legal, fiscal, and ethical accountability of County government and County-funded agencies.

Budget Overview

The total approved FY23 Operating Budget for the Office of Inspector General is $2,512,400, an increase of $359,583 or 16.70 percent from the FY22 Approved Budget of $2,152,817. Personnel Costs comprise 95.07 percent of the budget for 17 full-time position(s) and no part-time position(s), and a total of 17.00 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 4.93 percent of the FY23 budget.

Consistent with the County Charter, the County Executive makes recommendations on the operating budget for all County departments, offices, and agencies. However, recognizing the Charter-defined roles, the County Executive defers significantly to Legislative and Judicial Branch agencies. Questions regarding the approved budgets for Legislative Branch departments should be directed to Sandra Marin, 240-777-7923.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following are emphasized:

• A Growing Economy
• Effective, Sustainable Government

Program Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable). The FY22 estimates reflect funding based on the FY22 approved budget. The FY23 and FY24 figures are performance targets based on the FY23 approved budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY24.

Initiatives

• Continue expansion to implement Bill 11-19 by adding Auditor positions which will allow the OIG to conduct a systematic risk-based rotating group by group review of the internal accounting and contracting processes and controls used by each department and principal office in the Executive Branch, as well as audit high-risk County contracts and agreements. Auditing the County's accounting and contracting processes on a recurring basis ensures that accounting/contracting programs are running effectively and efficiently.
• Advance Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) through every facet of work. In FY21, OIG began applying a DEI lens to the planning phase of every announced engagement to identify areas of impact and ensure inclusion of diverse perspectives. OIG employed visual and verbal resources in our interviews, adopted an inclusive language guide and increased our language capacity to better engage with and serve residents.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• Identify, acquire, and implement case management systems, automated complaints processing, audit program management, and investigatory engagements.
• Develop a mechanism to track savings and improvements identified through OIG audits, investigations, and referrals, and a follow-up system for management to report on actual savings and improvements.
• Implement outreach programs to help educate County employees on how they can help the OIG to fight fraud, waste and abuse, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the programs and operations of the County government and independent County agencies.

Program Descriptions

  Inspector General

The Inspector General conducts independent audits, reviews, and investigations; receives and investigates credible complaints; reports possible violations of the law to law enforcement or another appropriate organization; notifies the County Council and County Executive of serious problems in programs; reviews legislation and regulations to strengthen controls and increase accountability; and...