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May 3, 2001: History
of the Comptroller's office
History of the Comptroller's office. (Linda Machado)
In 1915 the state of Maryland was in debt. There was no budget system
and, "The budget, such as it was, was balanced with borrowed funds" (Wilner,
80) The very next year the Goodnow Commission was created
to investigate and make recommendations regarding a budget system for the
state. The board recommended that the governor should have responsibility
for setting the budget.
On November 4, 1919 Albert C. Ritchie was elected governor (by a very slim margin) and E. Brooke Lee elected Comptroller. I looked at the Baltimore Sun for this time and important issues (the ones commanding a lot of newspaper coverage) included the War in Europe, Prohibition, and an ongoing Coal Strike. Like Ritchie, Lee was a "wet" meaning he was against Prohibition.
In 1920 the central purchasing bureau reformed state expenditures and
the merit system replaced many politically filled positions in state government.
In the annual report for 1921, Lee discussed a program introduced by
the Governor to completely reorganize, coordinate, and strengthen the departments
of Maryland's government. Governor Ritchie hired "experts" to survey the
departments and also appointed individuals to the Reorganization
Commission of Maryland. One of the commission's recommendations
was the abolishment of the Board of Public Works
Lee was appointed to the Reorganization Commission and then selected
to be a member of the Executive Committee and a member of the Subcommittee
on State Reorganization. The Comptroller's involvement in the reorganization
reflects Wilner's assertion that, during this era, the areas of involvement
for the Board of Public Works expanded.
As member of the subcommittee, he recommended that the General Assembly
grant state auditors required funds in order to carrry out the annual audits
of every State department. He claimed that previously, the State Auditor
was not provided sufficient funds to carry out this function.
Lee also proposed a Budget Department to provide the incoming governor
the data and detailed information needed for the preparation of his first
budget. He added that this proposed department would provide detailed information
and data regarding state revenues to members of the General Assembly.
Lee also recommended that the State Comptroller should be authorized
to function as an "officer of review" regarding the actual needs of various
agencies. The Comptroller would review various items provided for agencies
in the budget, and then recommend to the governor whether some items shoudl
be withheld in part or in whole and returned to the general treasury of
the state. Despite the Commission's recommendation, the responsibilities
of the Comptroller expanded during Lee's tenure.
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