Montgomery County Chief Administrative Officer Andrew Kleine is facing ethics violations for allegedly maintaining conflicts of interest through business relationships with outside companies while serving as a government employee.
On Tuesday, Council President Sidney Katz made the following statement on behalf of the Montgomery County Council about the July 1 Ethics Commission agreement with Kleine:
“Our system of representative government depends on the people maintaining the highest trust in their elected officials and government employees. All Montgomery County residents expect and deserve public employees who are impartial and use independent and sound judgment when making decisions that impact more than one million community members.”
“The Council is disappointed and troubled by the actions of Chief Administrative Officer Kleine. We greatly appreciate the Montgomery County Ethics Commission and the Office of the Inspector General for investigating Mr. Kleine’s actions and bringing these issues to light. Montgomery County’s ethics law applies to all County government employees and elected officials and has standards in place to guard against conflicts of interest and improper influence and includes comprehensive ethical standards for conducting County business.”
County officials say Mr. Kleine has taken responsibility for his actions. The Council is expected to conduct an oversight meeting on this matter in July.