Howard County’s newly formed Inspector General Advisory Board met for its inaugural session to establish procedures for hiring an inspector general, review open‑meetings and public‑records requirements, and set near‑term logistics for its work. The board nominated and elected David Salem as chair and Kathleen Downs as vice chair by voice vote.

The advisory board’s central duty is to select a candidate to serve as the county’s inspector general, a requirement of county bill CB 61 20 24 that created the Office of the Inspector General and the advisory board. Nick Reinhardt, a legislative analyst for the County Council, told members the board will work with Human Resources to develop a job description, post it, and receive applications; the legislation requires the board to select a candidate by affirmative vote of a majority of current members.

The board heard practical guidance on public‑meeting and public‑record rules from Amanda Myhill of the Office of Law. "The Open Meetings Act applies to a public body," Myhill said, noting that a quorum for the seven‑member board is four and that a quorum should not meet outside a properly noticed meeting to discuss public business. She also explained that the county legislation requires agendas be posted seven days before a meeting and that minutes be made available within two weeks.

Administration staff described operational support. Brandy Gans, Howard County’s chief administrative officer, said the county will provide personnel, procurement and technology assistance; TJ Mayotte (IT) and Dean Hoff (procurement) were introduced as primary contacts. Mayotte outlined AV and webstreaming support and said staff will provide a board web page and posting of agendas and minutes. Reinhardt and Isaiah Anderson were designated as primary council staff liaisons for the board.

On records and training, Myhill told members that public records include emails, texts and audio and can exist on personal devices; she recommended the board consider a dedicated board email account and noted at least one board member must complete Open Meetings Act training within 90 days before closed‑session votes may occur. She also advised that if a records request arrives, members should notify staff immediately so responsive records can be assembled.

Discussion addressed cadence and format of meetings. The legislation requires the advisory board to meet at least twice a year; members said initial meetings will likely be more frequent to complete the IG recruitment. Board members agreed hybrid meetings (in person plus Webex) were preferable; staff said a SharePoint site would be set up to share documents and that staff would send a poll to schedule the next meeting in compliance with the seven‑day notice requirement.

The board moved to internal organization. David Salem was nominated and, after a second, elected chair by voice vote. Kathleen Downs was nominated and, after a second, elected vice chair by voice vote. The transcript records voice votes with affirmative responses and no recorded opposition; no roll‑call tallies were recorded.

Members identified immediate next steps: staff will draft and circulate a job description and posting strategy (NeoGov, LinkedIn and other professional sites were mentioned as typical posting venues), provide sample IG job descriptions for review, set up a shared document repository, circulate availability polling to set the next meeting within the notice window, and ensure at least two members complete Open Meetings Act training. The board also received reminder to complete county financial disclosure forms.

The board adjourned after about an hour, with staff to follow up on the schedule, document sharing, and materials for drafting the inspector general job description.