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Baltimore Recovers $14.5M After Audit Exposes $48M in Uncollected Revenue
• A May audit revealed Baltimore failed to collect $48 million in owed revenue from fiscal years 2023 through 2025.
• The Finance Department has since recovered $14.5 million, with $1.4 million from new collections and the rest from administrative corrections.
• Officials have enacted stricter controls, including sending 1,100 final legal notices for $15 million in debts and referring cases to the law department.
• Despite a 98% citywide collection rate, over $33.8 million remains outstanding, prompting continued scrutiny from the City Council.
A major internal audit has spurred a significant financial recovery effort for the City of Baltimore, with officials announcing the recoupment of $14.5 million in previously uncollected revenue. This action comes directly in response to a damning May audit that identified a staggering $48 million in unpaid bills and fees from fiscal years 2023 through 2025, exposing critical gaps in the municipality's financial management systems.
Under scrutiny from the City Council, the Department of Finance has moved aggressively to address the shortfall. Finance Director Michael Mocksten pledged to pursue "every last dollar," outlining a multi-pronged strategy that has yielded $14.5 million since the audit's release. Deputy Director Yoanna Moisides confirmed the department has met all initial corrective deadlines. Key measures include a systemic overhaul of tracking for delinquent accounts and, for the first time, the formal referral of outstanding debts to the city's law department for legal action. In June alone, the Bureau of Collections issued 1,100 final billing and legal notices targeting $15 million in unpaid invoices.
While finance leaders highlighted improved staffing and procedures, City Council President Zeke Cohen maintained a tone of cautious acknowledgment mixed with ongoing concern. "I do appreciate the improvements... but I think we still have a long way to go in standardizing across agencies how we bill and how we collect," Cohen stated, emphasizing that lax oversight essentially incentivizes non-payment. Despite Baltimore's overall revenue collection rate of 98%—a figure that ranks near the top nationally—the city still faces the substantial task of collecting the remaining $33.8 million identified in the audit. The Department of Finance is expected to submit a detailed progress report to the City Auditor by mid-September.