The inspector general's office is an obscure Baltimore agency, but it is the only one whose funds were slashed this week by the City Council, even as it backed away from plans to trim other offices.
Intended as a watchdog that roots out waste, fraud and abuse in city government, the office, headed by Hilton L. Green, instead has developed a reputation for being unproductive - leaving its $500,000 budget a prime target for cuts.
Questions about Green's office began circulating at City Hall shortly after he released his office's first annual report in February - a year and a half late and light on accomplishments.
The document "did not convey to me the sense of a fully engaged, hard-working, bottom-line-oriented IG's office," said City Solicitor George A. Nilson, who oversees Green's agency but is not allowed to interfere with its work.
Green has supporters at City Hall and in the community, some of whom say that in keeping watch over city government, he might have ruffled feathers and now is paying for it.
"This office has done a really, really good job," said Councilman Bernard "Jack" Young, who wanted to cut other parts of the city spending plan but voted to preserve Green's funding.
But Nilson said that because he has limited contact with Green, he relies on the office's annual report and found it lacking. "It didn't inform me fully about the office, nor did it say to me that [the inspector general's office] was knocking the city's socks off."
The document is 18 pages long but includes a two-page introduction letter, a four-page log summarizing the work Green did in his previous capacity as a city housing investigator, a one-page graph noting the staffing levels of other IG offices and half-page primer on municipal corruption dating back to William "Boss" Tweed in New York City.
Highlighted cases included a finding that a city employee sold $9,000 worth of city computer equipment on eBay and allegations that a city employee stole $5,325 from petty cash.
City Council members say that the waste that the office has uncovered is minor and does not justify its budget.
"When you look at the level of funding and compare that with the output, there are better ways to spend the funds," said Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake.
Mayor Sheila Dixon shares some concerns, though she has said that she might veto the council's decision to cut $200,000 from the inspector general's budget.
