BALTIMORE — Baltimore City’s Inspector General is out with another report this time focusing on the Safe Streets program.
The report reveals how the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) provided fictitious names of workers to secure approval of contracts for organizations partnering with Safe Streets.
In order for these organizations to get paid, there is a process.
First, the Department of Audits is supposed to review each contract or grant insuring compliance with city policies.
Once auditors sign off, the contract or grant goes before the City’s Board of Estimates for final approval.
Yet this still doesn’t mean contractors get paid, it merely means they’ve been approved to work for the City and that funds are available for a particular project.
In Baltimore City contractors receive no money up front, meaning they’ve often already completed their work before ever being paid.
As was the case in Fiscal Year 2022.
MONSE was attempting to lineup contractors …