Funding for Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s internal audit program has been gutted by one-third, prompting worries that taxpayer dollars won’t be thoroughly scrutinized this year.
The $441,000 budget for the county’s Office of Internal Audit this fiscal year is $220,000 less than last year and half of what the audit bankroll was two years ago, budget documents show.
“If we don’t support our watchdog institutions, who is minding the store?” asked Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, D-Silver Spring, who pushed for more money for the office. “I’m very concerned about the development.”
The massive cutback follows accusations from council-appointed Inspector General Thomas Dagley — who plans to leave his office by December, halfway through his term — that Leggett interfered with some of his most damning investigations. Recent reports from the internal audit office, first reported by The Washington Examiner, revealed that a major county landscaping contractor didn’t report cash wages to the Internal Revenue Service; another showed large deficiencies in oversight for the county’s maligned — and now shuttered — tuition assistance program.
The department also released a countywide risk assessment that identifies departments most prone to waste and abuse.
However, Leggett contends the dramatic cut won’t diminish monitoring of county spending.
“Oversight rests in a lot of different places in county government, not just internal audit,” said Patrick Lacefield, his spokesman.
The budget for the county’s inspector general increased nearly 4 percent this year. But the ethics commission, which examines conduct of county employees, absorbed a 20 percent hit this fiscal year.
Larry Dyckman, manager of the internal audit department, is the lone county employee on the payroll.
On the heels of filling a billion-dollar budget deficit, some officials say watchdog agents are even more essential.
“The challenge will be to maintain a sufficient number of audits with the small budgets,” said Councilman Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville. “It’s not something that’s desirable. Everyone is somehow going to have to do the same with less money.”
