State auditor: Baltimore City register of wills office failed to justify over $1M in spending

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The Baltimore City Office of the Register of Wills failed to justify $1.1 million in spending on media and promotional material from 2017 to 2024, including almost $200,000 for a television show that never aired, according to a report by the state auditor.

The report, by the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits, also found that the office run by Register of Wills Belinda Conaway avoided the competitive procurement process by repeatedly dividing payments to vendors in amounts below $5,000.

The review, published July 24, was prompted by a complaint that the office had “wasted” its money and had given preferential treatment to vendors an employee knew personally.

The register of wills, a citywide or countywide position, appoints representatives to administer the estates of people who have died.

The Office of Legislative Audits did not find anything worth referring to prosecutors, but did find potential violations of state ethics law and recommended numerous policy changes. (It referred to the undertaking as a “review” rather than an “audit.”)

The $1.1 million in unjustified spending was “significantly higher” than other registers of wills analyzed by the auditor. That included $197,000 to produce a television show which never aired about the probate process and the importance of writing a will.

“The Office did not evaluate public interest in the show until after the funds were expended to produce it. This is significant because subsequent evaluations by the Office disclosed that there was not sufficient interest to warrant broadcasting the show publicly, resulting in the waste of the amounts paid to produce the show,” the report states.

It also spent $1,300 for 500 manicure sets which displayed Conaway’s slogan — “where there’s a will, there’s a way” — but did not name the office or include contact information.

On one day, Conaway’s office paid a vendor $8,300 in two separate payments, each below $5,000 — the amount over which the office would have had to solicit multiple bids. By not consolidating procurements, the report states, the office was able to sidestep requirements that contracts for services be awarded competitively.

“We could not substantiate that goods and services were procured from vendors that the Office management employee knew personally but did identify conditions that would enable this to occur,” the report states.

The office also paid two people who “did not come to work.” One of them received $5,000 for 205 hours of leave and a holiday to which they were not entitled, and the register of wills did not attempt to recover the money.

Another employee’s hiring and employment “appeared questionable” and may have violated state ethics law, the report stated. That employee was hired in 2015, had a salary of $106,000 as of last year, and “was not routinely at work.” That employee owned a company that “provided professional services” to the Register of Wills employee who hired them.

Conaway’s office did not respond to a request for comment, but its responses to the auditor are included in the report. It agreed with the recommendations, but disputed each finding as unsubstantiated.

“(W)e recognize the value in the recommendations and will ensure that all future procurements are appropriately consolidated, that no procurements are artificially split, solicit required competitive bids, and ensure that (Office of the Comptroller) approvals are obtained as needed,” the response to the first two findings states.

The office also said it would “audit any payments made to employees in order to recover any inadvertent compensation,” among other commitments.

The auditor stood by his office’s work.

“Due to the lack of specificity in its response, it is unclear what the Office disagrees with or believes is not presented fairly,” Legislative Auditor Brian Tanen wrote.

“We continue to believe that the findings and conclusions contained in the audit report are factually accurate, fairly presented, and properly supported based on information the Office was able to provide during our fieldwork. As a result, we did not modify our report.”

Conaway, a former City Council member who was elected to her position in 2014, is from a prominent Baltimore political family. Her mother, Mary Conaway, served as Register of Wills for 30 years, from 1982 to 2012. Her father, Frank Conaway Sr., was a state delegate, then the clerk of the Baltimore City Circuit Court from 1998 to 2015.

Her brother, Frank Conaway Jr., currently represents Baltimore in the Maryland House of Delegates, and her son, Xavier Conaway, serves as the city circuit court clerk.