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Audit Shows Wasteful Spending on City Phones

Updated: Tuesday, November 27 2012, 11:52 AM EST
There is a new round of ammunition in the battle over Baltimore's phone system.

The mayor is claiming that tens of thousands of dollars are being wasted after an audit reveals that the city spent a quarter of a million dollars over the past ten years on telephones that don't even exist.

The mayor's Office of Information Technology released the audit after studying the city's phone system. It claims 51 phone lines are simple idle and the city's been paying $45 a piece for all that idle time.

The comptroller's office is responsible for the city's phone system and today, the mayor took aim.

"We've tried to work with the comptroller's office to get a handle on why she isn't doing zero usage reports to find out if the city has multiple lines that are being used. The MOT did it's audit and found 51 lines that haven't been used for years but we're being billed for these things," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. 

Comptroller Joan Pratt has accused the mayor of being wasteful herself. Recently, Pratt slapped the mayor with a lawsuit accusing her of bypassing the city's bidding process by spending tax dollars on a new phone system. Audit Shows Wasteful Spending on City Phones