A Maryland lawmaker is urging a freeze on nearly half a billion dollars in information technology contracts recently approved by the state’s spending board as concerns persist regarding board members’ absences during the crucial vote.
Spotlight on Maryland reported on Saturday that the Maryland Board of Public Works approved a $445 million expenditure that funded 39 contracts to support the Statewide Agile Resources project for the next ten years.
State Sen. Johnny Ray Salling, R-Baltimore County, told Spotlight on Tuesday morning that he was alarmed that the Maryland Board of Public Works had approved supplemental contracts to support the Statewide Agile Resources program.
“There should be accountability for that, and there isn’t,” Salling said. “They think they can just move forward with the funds that they don’t have and not answer for that by going through the budget of Maryland.”
State records show that over 20 protests and appeals regarding this procurement expenditure have been submitted to the Maryland Board of Contract Appeals, and they remain unresolved.
“This is the year where we need to have freezes,” Salling said. “This is a year where we need to hold back spending too much money.”
The Board of Public Works comprises three members: Gov. Wes Moore, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and State Treasurer Dereck Davis. In the governor’s absence, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller chaired the meeting. The comptroller recused herself, with the board approving the Agile package with a 2-0 vote from the members present.
Salling said all taxpayers should be concerned and demanding answers regarding the comptroller’s decision to recuse herself from the vote.
“If there is a problem there through ethics, if there is something that is not being talked about, maybe you should bring it up and talk about it so there won’t be controversy,” he said. “So people won’t say, ‘Why, why is this happening?’”
“When there are things out there that are in question, I would love to have an answer like everyone else would,” Salling added.
Spotlight on Maryland pressed the governor and comptroller’s offices on why neither attended nor voted for the Statewide Agile Resources contracts. The governor’s office provided some insight.
“On February 26th, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller chaired the meeting of the Board of Public Works due to the governor’s exercise of allotted sick leave,” Moore’s spokesperson said. “Gov. Moore participated in virtual meetings in the morning and in the afternoon but did not attend in-person meetings at the State House.”
The governor answered in-person questions from Spotlight on Maryland a day later, on Thursday, Feb. 27th, after he testified about changes to his budget proposal before a joint committee hearing in the House. The state’s second-in-command chairs the Board of Public Works in the governor’s absence, which also occurred during former Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration.
After Spotlight on Maryland reported on Saturday about the comptroller’s recusal, a spokesperson from her office replied late Sunday morning.
“On the advice of Ethics Counsel, Comptroller Lierman recused herself on DGS Agenda Item 30-IT as required under the participation restrictions of Section 5-501 of the Public Ethics Law,” Robyne McCullough, the comptroller’s spokesperson, wrote. “As is the practice of members of the Board of Public Works, Comptroller Lierman notified both her colleagues on the Board and Ethics ahead of the February 26 meeting and left prior to any discussion on the item.”
Spotlight on Maryland pressed the comptroller’s office for specifics regarding her ethical participation restrictions. After McCullough said that Comptroller Lierman had no additional comments, the following questions were sent:
- Was Comptroller Lierman’s recusal due to her direct connection to BPW-approved Agile contracts, or was it related to her partner and/or family member(s) connection?
- Is the comptroller concerned that mixed messages are being sent by not publicly sharing the reason for her ethical dilemma when she campaigned for greater transparency for the Board of Public Works?
- What financial ties and/or business dealings does Comptroller Lierman have with the IT contracts approved on Wednesday?
- Does the comptroller believe these contracts should have been approved?
The comptroller’s office offered a response similar to the one sent to Spotlight on Maryland on Sunday morning but with additional details.
On the advice of Ethics Counsel, Comptroller Lierman recused herself on DGS Agenda Item 30-IT as required under the participating restrictions of Section 5-501 of the Public Ethics Law due to the financial interest of a qualifying relative,” McCullough said.
Spotlight on Maryland asked further who the qualifying relative was, their relationship to any of the IT contract vendors that came before the Board of Public Works, and what the financial interests of this relative to the IT contract with the state are.
“We have nothing to add to our last statement,” McCullough said. “As we previously shared, Comptroller Lierman does not consider or weigh in on contracts where there could be potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, she has not been briefed on the details of that contract and does not have an opinion on its status.”
A financial audit by the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits, released in September 2024, reviewed the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT)’s IT contract management activities from May 7, 2018, to December 31, 2022.
“DoIT did not review the methodology of key estimates, such as cost and schedule, and did not obtain an explanation for significant changes,” the audit said. “For example, DoIT was unable to explain why the estimated cost to complete two projects increased by over $1 billion.”
Sen. Salling added that this is another reason to freeze IT contract spending immediately.
“When they don’t explain it, when they don’t answer to the people, some things are in question, and if they don’t answer the question, there needs to be answers,” Sen. Salling said. “There needs to be accountability with that, and a lot of times there is not, and we need to change it.
Follow Gary Collins with Spotlight on Maryland on X @realgarycollins. Do you have news tips on this story or others? Send news tips to gmcollins@sbgtv.com.