巴尔的摩县监管机构的道德委员会发布报告包括县员工道德调查

A survey of Baltimore County employees found those who responded consider county government an ethical place to work, although they think there’s room for leaders to encourage more ethical behavior.

道德气候调查结果是蓝丝带道德与问责制蓝带委员会周五的初步报告的一部分。它已经满足了九个多月的成绩，以评估和制定该县顶级监管机构，监察长凯利·麦迪根（Kelly Madigan）办公室的建议。

预计将于2月16日提出的最终报告。

The commission sent the email survey to more than 7,600 county employees, commissioners and board members. About 19% responded July 11-16 to questions about reporting or being investigated for suspected ethical misconduct, fraud, waste or abuse, and whether they thought colleagues and supervisors generally acted in an ethical manner.

Of the 1,470 respondents who answered at least one question, 70.3% answered the final survey question about whether they had anything to add “with regard to the ethics climate, reporting ethical misconduct or waste, fraud or misuse of County resources, or participating in an investigation by the Baltimore County Auditor, Ethics Commission, or Office of Inspector General.”

An overwhelming majority, 86%, said they had never made a report or been investigated, while 6% said they had reported wrongdoing.

Some 7 in 10 respondents who in some way reported wrongdoing said their complaints were made public.

Respondents were divided over whether they experienced a hostile work environment after making a complaint, with 37% saying yes and 48% saying that didn’t happen to them.

The Baltimore County Police Department had more employees take part than any other county agency, with 308 staffers responding, followed by 191 members of the health department, 179 fire department employees and 125 workers in the Department of Public Works and Transportation.

The responses indicated a high level of respect for Madigan’s office, with 59% saying they expected it would take their concerns seriously, and 52% saying they expected their privacy to be honored and that the office would address factors that led them to complain. Fifty percent said they expected the Office of Inspector General to handle their reports fairly.

Forty-six percent of respondents said that the county should conduct more ethics training, reinforcement and education for employees and have “clearer policies, procedures and expectations,” while 38% said there should be more accountability.

小民主县执行约翰尼·奥尔斯基斯基（Johnny Olszewski Jr.）试图使透明度和问责制他的政府的关键, touting his creation of Madigan’s position as the county’s first inspector general in 2019.

但是在2021年，他计划介绍一项法案，以大修她的办公室，只是在社区的反对和国家工业团体的批评中将其废除，认为该立法将妨碍Madigan的工作。Olszewski取而代之的是提议成立该委员会。

The County Council approved a $100,000 agreement in April to contract with the University of Baltimore’s Schaefer Center for Public Policy, which staffs the commission.

“We’re proud of the actions we’ve taken and the progress we’ve made to cultivate a culture of transparent and open government in Baltimore County,” Olszewski said Friday in an emailed statement. “We’re thankful for the commission’s ongoing work and look forward to reviewing their recommendations and final report.”

Madigan declined to comment until she had read the report thoroughly.

伍德斯托克民主党人郡议会主席朱利安·琼斯（Julian Jones）表示，调查结果“鼓励”他“鼓励” 88％的受访者表示，他们没有参与对可疑道德不当行为的调查。

Councilman Izzy Patoka, a Democrat from Pikesville who represents the 2nd District, said the ethics survey was a “starting point” for the county.

“It was a good baseline for the Blue Ribbon Commission to complete the final month of work before them,” he said, though there’s “still a significant amount of work to be done” drafting the final recommendations for Madigan’s office.

“That’s what I’m anxious to see,” Patoka said.