Mission Statement

The Ethics Commission exercises authorities granted to it under the Public Ethics Law to promote the public's trust of County government and to ensure the impartiality of County employees, including elected officials, in the execution of their responsibilities.

Budget Overview

The total approved FY25 Operating Budget for the Ethics Commission is $416,473, an increase of $25,220 or 6.45 percent from the FY24 Approved Budget of $391,253. Personnel Costs comprise 90.79 percent of the budget for two full-time position(s) and no part-time position(s), and a total of 2.00 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 9.21 percent of the FY25 budget.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following is emphasized:

• Effective, Sustainable Government

Program Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable). The FY24 estimates reflect funding based on the FY24 approved budget. The FY25 and FY26 figures are performance targets based on the FY25 approved budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY26.

Initiatives

• Consistent with statutory requirements, the lobbying activity reporting system will be adjusted to require reporting of the specific matters on which lobbying has occurred. When activity reports are filed in July of 2024, lobbyists will be required to "list each matter on which lobbying occurred during the reporting period: use bill numbers, formal designations or other specific references or detail in describing the matter".
• Commission staff will implement a training video to support the mandatory one-hour online ethics training program for new County employees. This video will be available for those unable to attend the live online training provided by Commission staff.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• Changes to the Public Ethics Law through amendments to Montgomery County Code §11B-52 became effective in February 2023, resulting in Commission staff implementing new program requirements, including making changes to the financial disclosure system's reporting requirements.

Program Descriptions

  Ethics Program Compliance

Financial Disclosure: The Public Ethics Law requires filing of financial disclosure reports by certain County employees. The Ethics Commission administers the electronic filing system for reporting and coordinates with the Office of Human Resources and all County agencies regarding the status of filers. It resolves all anomalous circumstances and questions...