A Montgomery County Council staff member has been accused of inappropriately using thousands of dollars of Council funds to reserve athletic fields for their spouse, according to an investigation from the Office of the Inspector General released on Thursday.
An investigation carried out by the Office of Montgomery County Inspector General Megan Davey Limarzi at the beginning of September found that the staff member charged $19,190 in field use permits — including $11,490 charged to the Council’s ActiveMONTGOMERY account.
The staff member has not been publicly identified, with Council President Evan Glass calling the incident a “personnel matter” in a statement to WTOP.
ActiveMONTGOMERY is the system used to request permits, register for activities and reserve public spaces. The synthetic turf athletic fields that the Council staff member allegedly reserved for their spouse were listed under the council’s account, according to the memo.
The employee also reportedly misled staff to believe the requests were made on the Council’s behalf, although they were not.
The investigation into the misuse of Council funds found that between 2022 and this year, the staff member was made aware of the outstanding permit fees and ignored them, refusing to pay for them when contacted by Montgomery Parks employees. The member allegedly referenced their position on the County Council to these employees.
Glass told WTOP that the employee has been placed on administrative leave and the case has been sent to the Council’s ethics commission and the county’s state’s attorney’s office for further review.
According to Glass, the Council turned the matter over to the inspector general’s office “as soon as” it was brought to the Council executive director’s attention. Glass added that “action is being taken by the council’s executive director” under the county’s personnel regulations.
“Council employees, like elected officials, have a profound duty to maintain the public’s trust and adhere to Montgomery County’s ethical standards, policies and laws,” Glass wrote in his statement.
WTOP’s Cheyenne Corin contributed to this report.
