BaltimoreJewishLife.com | Advocates Fear Billions Of Tax Dollars At Stake As Baltimore City Denies Access To IG

Baltimore, MD - Feb. 15, 2026 - A new report from Baltimore’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is offering taxpayers a detailed look at how the city financed Artscape, including the use of more than a half-million dollars in federal COVID relief money for entertainment and related events.

The OIG found the city used more than $500,000 in federal pandemic relief dollars to pay for Artscape entertainment, including $240,000 for one headliner and $125,000 for another. The report also found more than $26,000 was used to pay for the mayor’s VIP reception.

Those expenditures were part of the $641 million the federal government awarded Baltimore for the purpose of recovering from COVID. The city has insisted it complied with the rules governing how the federal dollars could be spent.

“The question is, is that the way the people of Baltimore want their money spent? $600,000 could’ve been used for a lot of different things in the city of Baltimore,” Inspector General Isabel Cumming said.

“There’s the letter of the law and then there’s common sense. And if you are trying to prepare for the next pandemic, you don’t spend taxpayer dollars on a suite or on performers or any sort of arts program,” taxpayer advocate David Williams said.

The city’s handling of COVID relief dollars drew scrutiny last September, when independent auditors warned city leaders that the city had not complied with program rules.

“Monitoring issues as well as cash management. That is where we’d say the city did not comply with requirements set forth with uniform guidance,” an auditor said.

“To hear they’re out of compliance is quite shocking,” City Councilman Yitzy Schleifer said.

“This Artscape report is a reminder of just how important it is for the IG to get information from the city,” Williams insisted.

The Artscape report was among the last investigations the inspector general completed before the city shut down her access to certain city records. The shutdown occurred as the inspector general began digging into finances at the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), the city agency which oversees crimefighting strategies.

“Baltimore City residents have been spoiled because they’ve had an inspector general with access to information that may stop now and that's very bad for the city and for taxpayers,” Williams said.

Williams predicted taxpayers will suffer as more city records remain out of view.

“Potentially billions of dollars could be wasted and there’s no oversight because of what Mayor Scott has started,” he said.