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To lead the Prince George’s County Department of the Environment, County Executive Aisha N. Braveboy (D) is turning to someone who was fired from that very department a decade ago.
Samuel Belsham Moki was terminated from the agency in February 2014 for “gross negligence,” after county officials determined that he failed to manage the county’s stormwater pollution management program, which led to the county having to pay thousands of dollars in fines.
Moki challenged the termination before a county personnel board and then in circuit court and in the court now known as the Appellate Court of Maryland. At every turn, judges upheld his firing as justified.
Braveboy acknowledged that “questions have been raised” about Moki’s appointment. But in a news release Wednesday — issued after Maryland Matters inquired about the appointment — she argued that Moki is a “distinguished” former county employee, listing his academic degrees, including a doctorate in political science, and his prior roles with county government.
“Dr. Moki’s record, credentials, and vision for the future of our environment speak louder than his past circumstances,” Braveboy wrote. “Prince George’s County faces significant environmental challenges that require a leader with both deep technical knowledge and the courage to act decisively. Dr. Moki has proven he can meet that challenge.”
Moki took on the role in an “acting” status on June 26, but he still must receive a confirmation vote from the Prince George’s County Council, which is on recess until September. Moki could not be reached for comment.
Braveboy argued that Moki’s 2014 termination occurred during a “government transition,” although it was not immediately clear what transition she might be referring to: Then-County Executive Rushern Baker III (D) was reelected in 2014, and there was no presidential election that year.
Braveboy also wrote that Moki’s termination “occurred during a period when the Environmental Protection Agency was intensifying enforcement of the Clean Water Act nationwide.”
Under the Clean Water Act, counties are required to hold a permit for their municipal separate storm sewer systems. That’s because, when it rains, these systems send various harmful pollutants from the streets into local waterways. Jurisdictions are required to develop management plants that include pollution monitoring and prevention measures.
In a descriptive 2016 opinion, the Appellate Court of Maryland — then called the Maryland Court of Special Appeals — upheld Moki’s termination, agreeing with the Prince George’s County Personnel Board that he was the point person for the stormwater program and systemically failed to complete his duties, opening the county up to scrutiny by state and federal regulators.
The court also agreed with the personnel board that, when he was confronted, Moki’s answers called “into serious question [his] trustworthiness and integrity” in the performance of his duties.
According to the court’s ruling, for example, Moki claimed he did not have the funds to complete various tasks to keep the stormwater program in compliance, due to a budget freeze. But county officials testified that he had unfettered access to dedicated account that never fell below $40 million from fiscal years 2009 through 2012, money that should have been spent on stormwater projects.
“Dr. Moki specifically challenges the Board’s findings that he ‘intentionally failed to perform his duties,’ that he did ‘nothing to abate the violations’ … and that he was ‘deliberately untruthful,’” said the opinion by Judge Patrick Woodward. “We conclude that all of these findings are supported by substantial evidence in the record, and, taken together, rise to the level of gross negligence.”
In her statement Wednesday, Braveboy argued that “the level of funding the County had allocated at the time” was “not sufficient to meet the federal restoration requirements.”
“This is and remains a growing challenge for the state as a whole, not just Prince George’s County,” she wrote.
She asserted that the stormwater violations didn’t all land on Moki’s shoulders, since other departments not under his jurisdiction, like the Department of Public Works, were responsible for “many” of the shortcomings. Braveboy said the county continued to struggle with stormwater compliance issues after Moki left, resulting in a $475,000 consent decree covering 2014 to 2019. She added that similar personnel actions were not taken after those violations.
Moki was first hired at the department in 2006, according to court records. In 2007, Moki was promoted to associate director at the department, making him among the highest-ranking non-appointees at the agency. As a result of his status, Moki could only be terminated for a specific cause — not because of mere political preference.
The appellate court ruled that the county met this burden.
According to court records, Moki was notified of the problems beginning in 2008, when the county started to receive letters from the Maryland Department of the Environment, arguing that the program was deficient and warning of thousands of dollars in potential fines.
The state highlighted “long-standing” issues with Prince George’s stormwater program, and pointed to several areas where improvement was needed. Those included developing plans to perform maintenance on stormwater management facilities, pollution prevention plans for county-owned and municipal facilities and developing a plan to meet goals to reduce impervious surfaces such as concrete and asphalt.
The next year, another letter came warning of the same problems, adding that they needed to be addressed “immediately.”
“Yet he did nothing,” notes the county’s personnel board in its decision, issued in 2015.
In 2011, the county settled with the state and agreed to pay a $10,250 penalty and complete an environmental project worth more than $92,000.
Also in 2011, the EPA began an audit of the county’s stormwater program, and in 2012, it notified the county, via Moki, of numerous violations and “directed it to show cause why it should not be subject to a civil penalty of up to $177,500.”
That spurred Moki’s higher-ups to begin an investigation into his conduct. By its conclusion the following year, Moki was notified of his termination, which he appealed to the county personnel board.
In her statement Wednesday, Braveboy argued that other Maryland counties also faced steep fines during this same period, citing a $300,000 consent decree for Montgomery County.
In its ruling, the personnel board lambasted Moki for negligence of duty, arguing that his conduct not only cost county taxpayers thousands, but harmed the county’s reputation and harmed the public by not upholding the Clean Water Act.
“The County was responsible for correcting 400 acres of impervious surface annually,” reads its ruling. “Dr. Moki only restored 45 acres.”
The board noted that Moki testified that stormwater compliance was “not a priority” during then-County Executive Jack Johnson’s tenure, adding that “flood management” was a bigger focus than water quality. He added that he was “not able to hire staff” because of budget restrictions.
But the board found that defense was a farce. Moki had hundreds of thousands of dollars — sometimes millions — left over in an account he could use for stormwater management. The fund was not restricted, even while some employees underwent furloughs due to the financial woes of 2008 and 2009.
“The dishonesty about the budget was a significant violation of his employment by itself,” wrote the board, in a decision signed by then-chair Carolyn F. Scriber. “His conduct calls into serious question the appellant’s trustworthiness and integrity.”
