Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett said Tuesday he won’t follow a proposed new county law that would strip him of his power to apply for certain grants.
Council members are unanimously backing legislation that would require Leggett to get council approval before seeking grants worth more than $500,000, that require the council to spend more than $250,000 or add two or more positions to county government.
They say the law is necessary because Leggett ignored council advice over the summer and pursued public safety projects that, if awarded, would force the county to pony up about $7.8 million in local cash to receive about $2 million in federal aid.
“We are determined to ensure our hands aren’t tied on these budget issues,” Council Vice President Phil Andrews said.
Leggett maintains the legislation violates the county’s charter.
“If it passed along the lines it is currently written, I would not — if you passed that — I am not going to follow it,” Leggett told council members Tuesday.
Deputy County Attorney Marc Hansen said in a memo that the law is invalid, because the county’s charter gives the county executive the ability to request spending.
The council, however, has the power to essentially reject grants if they don’t approve matching funds for them. Leggett says council members are pushing the change because they don’t want to take the heat for shooting down projects.
“They have the authority, the power, to say no already, but they are trying to avoid doing that,” Leggett said.
Andrews said he is worried it wastes time and jeopardizes Montgomery’s reputation if the county’s top elected official is asking state and federal authorities to fund projects that are ultimately rejected.
County staff aren’t sure what would happen if the two sides aren’t able to compromise.
Andrews said the county executive could challenge the rule in court, but he’d have to find his own attorney since the county attorney defends county laws, not the county executive.
“Both sides have a point to be made here, and we’re hopeful they’ll be able to work it out,” Mike Faden, senior legislative attorney for the County Council, said.
