Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming will be taking her fight over access to city documents to court with the help of a pro bono attorney approved by her oversight board Tuesday.

After a brief discussion, the board, which is largely appointed by various city elected officials, authorized Cumming to hire an attorney to help her carry out a provision in the city’s charter that allows her to enforce subpoenas “in any court of competent jurisdiction.”

Cumming has been embroiled in a fight with Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration, which recently took several steps to limit her access to city records.

Late last month, Scott’s staff announced it was cutting access to city legal records for Cumming’s team after it discovered a member of her staff had “unfettered” access to a city attorney’s documents. The administration argued that the access was a violation of attorney-client and work product privileges.

Last week, the Scott administration announced it was further restricting Cumming’s access to a wide swath of documents in response to legal advice it received from an attorney with the Office of the Maryland Attorney General.

That advice, requested by a state senator and made public last week, suggested that interagency requests for records, including subpoenas issued by Cumming, were subject to the Maryland Public Information Act. That act bars public entities like the city from releasing certain records, such as personnel and financial information. Record holders also have the discretion to withhold other records, such as those related to investigations.

Cumming has rallied the public against the decisions, arguing the moves hamper her authority to investigate waste, fraud and abuse that was institutionalized by city voters when they approved several charter amendments related to her office.

“Records protect city resources and taxpayer dollars, and the Office of the Inspector General should be able to review that without interference,” Cumming argued Tuesday.

In a statement Wednesday, Scott’s office said the board “could have benefitted from additional context” about the administration’s decisions.

“We remain eager to have the Law Department brief the board chair on these issues, including why it is not feasible for the IG to pursue legal action against the city in her official capacity, and to work with the OIG and board to outline new protocols that ensure their work continues uninterrupted,” the office said in a statement.

Cumming told her board that she has maintained the same direct access to city files for her entire eight-year tenure in the inspector general position. That access was not questioned by previous solicitors, she argued.

The oversight board voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing Cumming to hire an attorney. Three requests to hire independent counsel have been denied in the last year by City Solicitor Ebony Thompson, Cumming said.

Three members of the board, LaVonda Reed, Renée Laurent and Lauren DiMartino, abstained from the vote. Reed and Laurent are the deans of the law schools at University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland, respectively.

Board member Brittany Banks pointed to several reports published by the inspector general about the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement as evidence that further investigation is necessary. The office has not been forthcoming with financial information, she said.

“We want transparency with what’s happening with our taxpayer dollars,” she said.

The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement is at the center of the dispute between the mayor’s office and the inspector general. Cumming has made several requests for records maintained by the office and has received redacted responses. City attorneys have cited the Maryland Public Information Act and another law protecting the identity of juveniles as reasons for the redactions.

Cumming has two outstanding subpoenas for documents related to the office that have not been fulfilled, she said.

Scott and Thompson, his solicitor, have argued that cutting direct access will not hamper Cumming’s investigations, but will instead strengthen the city’s ability to defend them.

“There should be no confusion, debate, or doubt about the parameters of the OIG’s work, and the people of Baltimore deserve to know that the Inspector General is operating in a way that is lawful and above reproach,” Scott said last week.

Cumming disputed that Tuesday, arguing that of the 324 investigations her office has conducted during her tenure, 104 would not have been possible without direct access to city records.

“That’s an impact,” she said.

Board member Mike Dowd pointed out that the resolution passed Tuesday grants Cumming access to pro bono counsel in perpetuity to assist with subpoena enforcement. He said he believed that was the right thing to do.

Cumming said she had already heard from several attorneys offering assistance, but has not yet selected her counsel.