Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced the appointment of Mr. Robert H. Pearre, Jr., a former FBI agent and former congressional investigator, to lead Baltimore’s Office of the Inspector General, which has been significantly strengthened under Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s administration.“Increasing ethics and transparency has been a hallmark of this administration,” Mayor Rawlings-Blake said. “I have every confidence that Mr. Pearre will use his talents to build upon the progress we have made building up the Inspector General’s Office and rooting out potential fraud, waste, and abuse.”Mr. Pearre, a forensic accountant, will begin June 17, 2013.

Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake led a gathering of key city school construction stakeholders, including City Schools CEO Andrés A. Alonso, School Board Chair Neil E. Duke, Maryland Stadium Authority Executive Director Michael J. Frenz, and elected officials to discuss the details of the proposed Baltimore City Public School Construction and Revitalization Act of 2013 authorized by the Maryland General Assembly during the 2013 session pending Governor Martin O’Malley’s signature.

Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was joined by Department of General Services (DGS) Director Steve Sharkey to announce the winner of the City Employee Energy Challenge. During the yearlong pilot project, three City agencies in four buildings competed to lower their energy use by modifying employee behavior.

Today during her State of the City Address, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake proposed a bold set of major reforms as part of the City’s first Ten-Year Financial Plan to confront serious financial challenges facing the City over the next decade.