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Howard County advisory board to revisit inspector general performance metrics after concerns about first-year targets
Summary
Board members said several proposed first‑year metrics for the newly created inspector general’s office are unrealistic for a one‑person startup, and agreed to meet with Inspector General Kelly Madigan to refine targets and timelines before finalizing the evaluation.
David Salem, chair of the Howard County Inspector General Advisory Board, opened a June 4 meeting by asking the board to review draft policies and the IG’s first‑year performance evaluation and to meet with Inspector General Kelly Madigan before finalizing targets.
Board members raised specific objections to several draft metrics as unsuitable for a nascent, largely one‑person office. “I think they’re unreasonable,” said a board member who noted a drafting error that would require 24 presentations annually and questioned a metric to “initiate an investigation within 5 days.” The member also objected to measuring the IG by the percentage of recommendations agreed to by the administration, saying, “you can have great recommendations, but you can’t force the administration to accept them.”
The board acknowledged those limits and the practical reality that Madigan’s office currently lacks established staff and a permanent workspace. Members said the office has been inundated with complaints — roughly "over 50–53" in the chair’s estimate — and that first‑year targets should be scaled back and revisited once the IG has a deputy and additional staff.
To resolve the issues, the board agreed that members who have edits should either circulate them or — preferably — meet with Madigan as a group. Chair Salem asked members to provide edits within two weeks (by June 19) or to be prepared to discuss them at a planned meeting in July, August or at the board’s next formal session in September. Several board members urged folding the metrics discussion into a single meeting with Madigan present to allow real‑time clarification.
The board also noted staffing developments that affect what the IG can reasonably accomplish in year one. Salem announced that Madigan has made a conditional offer to Frank Lopez, a former Maryland State Police detective, to serve as deputy inspector general, with an entry date near mid‑June. The office has advertised at least one criminal investigator position and plans to begin interviews soon.
The advisory board left the discussion without immediate action on the metrics themselves, directing members to prepare edits and meet with Madigan so the evaluation can be refined before a December performance review cycle.
