Baltimore County Inspector General Kelly Madigan released a new report Tuesday about the county spending $17,000 on tolls.

The report says that between Jan. 1, 2022, and March 31, 2024, the county unnecessarily spent approximately $17,289 on highway tolls and toll-related transactions.

The inspector general’s office says the wasted funds were due to three main factors.

First, county agencies were not always taking advantage of discounted toll rates. This occurred when agencies either did not fully participate in Maryland’s E-ZPass program, or did not resolve issues with existing E-ZPass accounts in a timely manner, the report says.

Secondly, the county was issued 460 citations during the relevant time period for not paying video tolls by their due dates, according to the report.

Thirdly, when the county did not pay the citations on time, there were additional fees related to administrative flags that were placed on the relevant vehicles’ registrations.

The inspector general’s office suggests that the county create a centralized E-ZPass system that all vehicles are registered to.

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