Baltimore County Councilman Izzy Patoka wants to require the inspector general to live in the Baltimore region. This comes after County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s failed nominee for IG, Khadija Walker, said she planned to commute to Towson from Fredericksburg, VA.

“The out of state residency became a complete distraction in terms of looking at the candidate,” said Patoka.

When the council was considering Walker’s nomination, concerns were raised as to whether she could do the job with a one-way commute of up to three hours.

In the end, five out of seven council members rejected Walker’s nomination in favor of keeping the current inspector general, Kelly Madigan, in the position. She will remain there as a holdover IG at least until Klausmeier leaves office in December of 2026.

Patoka is proposing legislation that would take the selection of the inspector general out of the hands of the county executive and the council. Instead, the choice would be made by an independent panel, like what is currently done in Baltimore City.

The residency requirement amendment would be tacked on to the independent panel legislation.

“I’m submitting this bill to take the politics out of the selection, the appointment, the reappointment of an inspector general,” Patoka said.

He added, “The inspector general in the past and potentially in the future will have investigations that are opened on elected officials.”

Madigan has conducted investigations on then-County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Councilman Julian Jones, and Cathy Bevins when she was a member of the County Council.

Patoka’s legislation needs at least five votes on the seven-member council. If it passes, the issue of an independent IG panel will be decided by county voters in November of 2026.

Patoka expects to get the votes he needs on the council.

“It’s a good government initiative,” Patoka said. “There’s no good reason not to support good public policy.”

Councilman David Marks, a Republican, has signed on as a co-sponsor of the legislation.

“I think conceptually the idea is gathering steam,” Marks said. “I think there’s a decent chance it will pass.”

Council Chairman Mike Ertel, a Democrat, also supports putting the IG panel question on the ballot. Ertel said one good thing that has come from the controversy over selecting the inspector general is that it made it clear the process is flawed.

“Hopefully we can write some legislation that will make that more clear and that people will feel good about in the future,” Ertel said.

The council will hold a public hearing on the proposed independent panel ballot question on August 26 with a final vote expected on September 2.