Baltimore County has reportedly squandered $17,289 on highway tolls and related fees between January 2022 and March 2024, with this financial oversight highlighted in a report by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The OIG's investigation pinpointed mismanagement in the county's E-ZPass program, identifying a failure to capitalize on discounts and delays in video toll payments, leading to citations and additional charges for vehicle registration flags once citations went unpaid, as reported by CBS News Baltimore.
The report also noted that Baltimore County agencies independently acquired E-ZPass transponders for their vehicles to save on tolls. Still, many of the E-ZPass accounts were not properly funded or registered. This lack of coordination incurred extra fines, as explained in a report by WMAR-2 News. Inspector General Kelly Madigan's findings suggest centralizing the E-ZPass system under the Office of Budget and Finance to avoid future financial losses.
Amidst the findings, the Inspector General has recommended that Baltimore County transition to a centralized E-ZPass system managed under the Vehicle and Operations Maintenance (VOM) division, which would also seek out potential E-ZPass business accounts to provide benefits like toll discounts. If this centralized system is implemented, the VOM division would also be charged with the upkeep of all county vehicle E-ZPass accounts.
