Charter Amendment - Question A

VOTE FOR QUESTION A
Establishes an Independent Office of Inspector General

Howard County voters will have the opportunity to vote FOR Question A on Election Day, November 5. The Council voted unanimously in favor of putting this question on the ballot.

Question A is an Amendment to the Charter that authorizes the County Council to create an Inspector General Office separate from the operational control of both the Executive and Legislative branches of the County Government. An ordinance implementing the Inspector General Office, and the position will follow the adoption of the Charter Amendment as a ballot referendum in November.

The Council Members provided the following quotes for a press release issued on July 26:

Deb Jung, District 4: “With this Charter Amendment, the Council will have the flexibility to create an Inspector General Office that will be independent, be fully funded, and have access to outside counsel if need be. I am extremely pleased that all five Councilmembers have come together to support this Charter Amendment.” Read more about the Charter Amendment in Deb’s newsletter  https://bit.ly/3UeHlCL.

Liz Walsh, District 1: “I am delighted that overwhelming public support demonstrated earlier this month for District 1’s legislation to establish an Office of the Inspector General — now — has prompted this unanimously supported Charter Amendment to do the same. Howard County voters: it’s up to you to vote in favor of this Charter Amendment in November.”

Christiana Rigby, District 3: “This initiative represents a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability, and integrity within Howard County Government. The creation of the Office of Inspector General responds to the loss of robust local investigative journalism and ensures that we maintain and build upon the trust between the people we serve and Howard County Government.”

Opel Jones, District 2: “Creating an Office of Inspector General will ensure that Howard County Government operations maintain the highest level of integrity and efficiency,”

David Yungmann, District 5: “I appreciate the collaboration with my colleagues to reach consensus on this important effort. We should use this opportunity to improve government accountability by creating an independent, bipartisan Inspector General.”

Click https://bit.ly/4erqiVQ to see the Council press conference.