During the same eight-month period that Baltimore City has stifled its inspector general’s access to city records, Baltimore County government has rendered its corruption watchdog office rudderless – and now without an executive leader.

The county’s first IG, Kelly Madigan, was pressured out of the office last January. Her deputy, Steven Quisenberry, retired in June.

Now the latest recruit, Gregg Domroe, hired on April 27 as chief of investigations, has tendered his resignation. His last day of work was August 21.

Over the course of this year, the agency released one public investigative report, a single-page account of an employee promotion improperly handled by the permits department.

Domroe’s departure leaves behind three agents, one analyst and no boss at an office set up with a sweeping mandate: “to identify waste, fraud and abuse while also identifying ways to promote efficiency, accountability and integrity in Baltimore County government operations.”

A spokesman for Kathy Klausmeier said the vacant position of deputy inspector general “will soon be posted,” and said Domroe has agreed to serve “on a temporary, part-time basis to lead the recruitment and provide stability and continuity during this transition.”

Spokesman Dakarai Turner cited the one-page report as a demonstration that the office “continues to operate” and stressed that the office “manages its own operations and personnel. The County Executive does not direct or oversee those decisions.”

For Sharonda Dillard-Huffman, who is running for the county council in the eastside 8th District, the executive turnover and diminished output are alarming signs of the future.

“I am deeply troubled that we are now hearing through the grapevine that we do not have an inspector general when we worked so hard to get it to where it was,” she told The Brew.

“I don’t think this administration and this council are taking the situation seriously because they don’t want a real inspector general investigate them,” she said, noting that before leaving, Madigan offered practical ways to strengthen the office that were never followed by the council.

In her resignation letter, Madigan praised residents for backing the IG office, but said, “I have confronted the reality that the tools and support required to safeguard integrity in the county government continue to be restricted.”

Political Storms

From the start, the small office, with a current budget of under $1 million, has been under fire from powerful interests. Prominent among them are County Councilman Julian E. Jones Jr., who is now Democratic Party candidate for county executive.

More subtle resistance, paired with public expressions of praise, came from former County Executive Johnny Olszewski, who hired Madigan in 2020.

Among the significant milestones of Madigan’s five-year tenure was a breakfast “ambush” by Olszewski’s top aide instructing her not to pursue an investigation (she did) and a very public scolding by Jones and former Councilwoman Cathy Bevins (who memorably told Madigan, “This is Baltimore County, and I think that you need to just get more comfortable with some of the policies and procedures that happen here in the county.”)

Both Olszewski and Jones subsequently tried to curb her powers through legislative changes. But press coverage (here and here) alerted the public and helped Madigan steer through those political storms.

Second Term Denied

In May 2025, ex-state Senator Klausmeier, who succeeded Olszewski after he was elected to Congress, refused to appoint Madigan to a second term. Madigan nevertheless applied for the open position, only to be passed over by Klausmeier in favor of a former EPA auditor, Khadija Walker.

Following petitions and a rally in support of Madigan as well as criticism of Walker (who, among other things, was not a certified inspector general), the Baltimore County Council rejected her nomination in a 5-2 vote.

Julian Jones was one of Walker’s two backers. The other was Councilman Pat Young, who earlier had said he supported Madigan’s second term.

Klausmeier responded to the council’s rebuff by refusing to nominate any permanent inspector general. The decision left Madigan dangling as a temporary county employee before she resigned to become inspector general for Howard County.

Investigations Not Made Public

Madigan’s departure last January left the office by default in the hands of Quisenberry, who soldered on until May of this year before taking what he said was a prearranged retirement.

Domroe came to the county with stellar paper credentials. A former FBI supervisory special agent for 21 years, he oversaw investigations into public corruption, financial swindles, healthcare fraud and other matters, accoridng to his LinkedIn profile.

He came and went within a 3½-month period.

The office has issued just one public investigative report in 2026, compared to 11 reports in fiscal 2025. Asked about the low output, Quisenberry said the office was still investigating complaints of waste and fraud, but was not publicly disclosing the results in part because of confusion over whether the office could release a public report when no permanent inspector general was in place.

After the Baltimore Sun revealed this fact, Domroe issued his single-page synopsis of an investigation that concluded that the Department of Permits, Appeals and Inspections had preselected an employee for promotion and falsified the paperwork to Human Resources.

The Klausmeier administration pledged to “review the Baltimore County Personnel Manual to determine whether revisions are needed to clarify eligibility of probationary employees for internal promotions and develop an internal FAQ addressing hiring and promotion procedures,” and the OIG pledged to “monitor the Administration’s progress on these actions.”

The November ballot calls on county voters to decide whether to amend the county charter to create an independent panel to appoint the inspectors general rather than the county executive.

Klausmeier, who will leave office in December, says she supports the measure. “Voters should have their say on this proposal prior to the selection of a permanent inspector general to lead the office into the future,” her spokesman told The Brew.

Dillard-Huffman says she is actively campaigning for the amendment so that citizens can take more control over the watchdog office and better focus its efforts to root out waste, fraud and abuse in county government.

“Otherwise, the next administration will take over, appoint its own person and leave us blind to what is happening.”