A Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability (DEPS) crew chief has been caught red-handed using a government vehicle for personal and political activities, according to an investigative report by the Office of the Inspector General. The probe, which followed a tip-off received in May 2024, involved interviews, policy reviews, and extensive tracking using NexTraq GPS technology. It was revealed that the crew chief made 36 separate visits to a family member's political campaign headquarters, logging nearly 90 hours, as reported by WMAR2 News.
The report also found that the crew chief had parked their county vehicle at their residence on approximately 45 percent of their off-days, this is despite the county policy that prohibits such practice, in total, GPS data indicated that the vehicle was used for non-work-related stops at various personal locations after the crew chief had finished their workday on 135 different occasions, reflecting a flagrant disregard for rules and an apparent breakdown in oversight, as advice from the crew chief's supervisor points out a lack of NexTraq data monitoring which, according to FOX Baltimore, the county has invested nearly $340,000 into.
In one instance, documented in the Inspector General's report, the crew chief was confronted with proof of the county vehicle being parked at a friend's storage yard in Baltimore City during work hours, a yard where political campaign signs were reportedly being made, the crew chief had no explanation for their presence at the location, with the report stating, "When shown a copy of a NexTraq report showing the Vehicle stopped at the location from about 1:29 p.m. until 2:36 p.m. on April 18, 2022, the crew chief had no explanation as to why the Vehicle was there during work hours." This contradiction is in stark contrast to their claim of being unaware of the policy that prohibits political activity during work hours, while their supervisor had previously warned against such misuse, as captured in conversations quoted by WMAR2 News.
Responding to the findings, Baltimore County Executive Katherine Klausmeier indicated steps towards addressing the misuse, saying "The Administration is committed to providing ethical guidance as necessary," and assured that all DEPS employees with access to county vehicles are expected to reaffirm the county's vehicle policy by June 30 annually, while first-line supervisors would now have expanded access to the NexTraq data.
