County has not lost all of its institutional knowledge there's employees that's been there for 30 to 40 years that leadership don't listen to that's a failure .
I find it really hard to believe that the county has somehow lost all of its institutional knowledge around emergency snow operations or that there are no documented emergency procedures in place. Having written operating procedures is pretty basic for any government agency. It’s how agencies make efforts to stay organized, operate efficiently, and align their work with their mission.
There’s also the oversight piece to consider. The County’s Office of Audits and Investigations monitors compliance and reviews agency performance. If there truly were no documented procedures, that almost certainly would have surfaced in an audit. That’s part of how agencies are held accountable and how the county makes sure it’s operating properly for residents.
On top of that, every local government goes through an annual comprehensive financial report audit by an independent accounting firm. The audits don’t just look at revenues and expenditures they provide an opinion on whether the financial statements are fairly presented, in all material aspects, and comply with accounting standards like GAAP to make sure there are no material misstatements. They also include compliance testing, especially around procurement, since that’s a major way government dollars are spent. Auditors test whether procurement laws and regulations were followed and whether internal controls, including standard operating procedures, are properly designed and actually working in practice. They look at both the structure of the controls and whether they’re operating effectively. Any findings are documented, reported to the county executive, and corrective action is required.
So while the retired employee quoted in the article may be right that a lot of institutional knowledge has walked out the door, it’s a stretch to say there are no documented policies at all. A quick look at the county’s website even turns up the FY 2025 Snow Plan, which is detailed and suggests formal planning documents do exist.
On the contrary, I think the botched snow response was just simply a lack of planning that stemmed from incompetence, not because procedures and workers with deep knowledge weren’t available. It just seems that Aisha Braveboy and her administration is just not as competent as they should be for such high visibility roles and responsibilities of being the county executive. Being the former Prince George’s County State’s Attorney obviously did not prepare her for the requisite executive level municipal experience that the county executive role requires.
So in my view, it’s less of a total absence of procedures and more like a breakdown in planning or execution. Losing experienced staff can absolutely have an impact, but that’s different from having no framework in place. At the end of the day, the issue seems more about leadership and preparedness than a complete lack of documentation.
County has not lost all of its institutional knowledge there's employees that's been there for 30 to 40 years that leadership don't listen to that's a failure .
https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/sites/default/files/media-document/FINAL%20Snow%20Summit%20Presentation%202025%20-%20DPWT%20%282%29.pdf
I find it really hard to believe that the county has somehow lost all of its institutional knowledge around emergency snow operations or that there are no documented emergency procedures in place. Having written operating procedures is pretty basic for any government agency. It’s how agencies make efforts to stay organized, operate efficiently, and align their work with their mission.
There’s also the oversight piece to consider. The County’s Office of Audits and Investigations monitors compliance and reviews agency performance. If there truly were no documented procedures, that almost certainly would have surfaced in an audit. That’s part of how agencies are held accountable and how the county makes sure it’s operating properly for residents.
On top of that, every local government goes through an annual comprehensive financial report audit by an independent accounting firm. The audits don’t just look at revenues and expenditures they provide an opinion on whether the financial statements are fairly presented, in all material aspects, and comply with accounting standards like GAAP to make sure there are no material misstatements. They also include compliance testing, especially around procurement, since that’s a major way government dollars are spent. Auditors test whether procurement laws and regulations were followed and whether internal controls, including standard operating procedures, are properly designed and actually working in practice. They look at both the structure of the controls and whether they’re operating effectively. Any findings are documented, reported to the county executive, and corrective action is required.
So while the retired employee quoted in the article may be right that a lot of institutional knowledge has walked out the door, it’s a stretch to say there are no documented policies at all. A quick look at the county’s website even turns up the FY 2025 Snow Plan, which is detailed and suggests formal planning documents do exist.
On the contrary, I think the botched snow response was just simply a lack of planning that stemmed from incompetence, not because procedures and workers with deep knowledge weren’t available. It just seems that Aisha Braveboy and her administration is just not as competent as they should be for such high visibility roles and responsibilities of being the county executive. Being the former Prince George’s County State’s Attorney obviously did not prepare her for the requisite executive level municipal experience that the county executive role requires.
So in my view, it’s less of a total absence of procedures and more like a breakdown in planning or execution. Losing experienced staff can absolutely have an impact, but that’s different from having no framework in place. At the end of the day, the issue seems more about leadership and preparedness than a complete lack of documentation.