Office of the Comptroller

The Baltimore City Comptroller’s Office supervises four municipal departments:

• Through its Department of Audits, the Comptroller’s office provides regular financial and performance audits of City agencies and City government as a whole.
• By charter, the Comptroller’s office includes the Department of Real Estate, which manages all of the City’s real estate holdings.
• The Comptroller also supervises the City’s Department of Telecommunications and the Municipal Post Office.

The Comptroller also sits on four key boards, for oversight purposes:

• The Board of Estimates (BOE), which approves the City’s budgeting, spending, and procurement contracts
• The Board of Finance (BOF), which issues City bonds and loans, reviews the City’s capital budget and is responsible for all City trusts and investments
• The Employees’ Retirement Systems Board (ERSB) and the Fire & Police Employees’ Retirement Systems Board (F&P), which govern all of the City’s pension funds

The Comptroller’s Executive office manages the day-to-day operations of the BOE including agenda drafting, review, analysis, and document retention.

Through this oversight, the Comptroller’s Office is expected to play the role of fiscal watchdog by keeping residents informed how their money is being spent.