Howard County residents voted overwhelmingly this fall to create an inspector general’s office, but the process of setting it up left elected officials quibbling over the particulars Monday evening.

The County Council’s final approval of a bill establishing the IG’s office followed an array of last-minute changes to language spelling out the duties, powers and oversight of the government watchdog. Last month, County Council members filed requests for more than a dozen amendments to the bill.

Efforts to establish an independent body to investigate possible waste, fraud and abuse in a county with a $2.4 billion budget picked up steam over the summer. Council members introduced two bills to establish the office and change existing codes concerning whistleblower complaints as well as pay scales. They later fast-tracked efforts to allow voters to amend the county’s charter so that the office would be independent from the executive branch.

“I am ecstatic at what we have accomplished,” said Vice Chair Liz Walsh, who first introduced the two bills, on Monday evening. “This demonstrates what collaboration among us can achieve. It is remarkable.”

Despite the outcome of the final vote, some council members offered sharply worded remarks as they combed through a stack of amendments earlier in the evening. Council Chair Deb Jung criticized County Executive Calvin Ball’s administration for not floating some suggested changes earlier.

“It was surprising to me that after coming to consensus on so many things, there were still so many amendments, although the vast majority of them were from the county executive,” Jung said.

Still, Jung said later that she believed the bill could serve as a model for the rest of the country and that she was proud of the work.

One such revision proposed by the county administration shifted the power to appoint the inspector general from the County Council to an independent citizen oversight board. Officials believed the change was necessary to ensure the appointment process “is 100% independent,” said Brandy Ganz, the county’s chief administrative officer, during a Nov. 22 work session.

Other approved revisions included a ban on any elected county officials from holding the position of inspector general within five years of their service. A previous version only prohibited a former county executive from assuming the post.

Council members rejected two amendments, one of which would have listed a failure to maintain certification as grounds for an inspector general’s removal. The other discarded amendment would have changed how appointments are made to the independent citizen oversight board.

The final bill states that the County Council will select seven people to serve on the board from a pool of names put forth by council members and the county executive.