County Seeks New Inspector General

Montgomery County officials are actively searching for a new inspector general, hoping to replace a man who in nearly six years of service frequently sparred with county government leaders.

In one probe, Inspector General Thomas Dagley revealed the police department's failure to charge a former fire official who caused a four-car pile-up after allegedly driving while intoxicated.

In another, he revealed police officers left the county force to accept lucrative work elsewhere while collecting hefty disability payments.

Dagley told county officials in August that he wanted to leave by early December, but said Monday that he would stay at least through late January as his replacement is found.

Over the past few years, Dagley accused some county officials of interfering with his work and fought an effort by County Executive Isiah Leggett to require the inspector general's office to report to the county executive's office, rather than the county council.

Patrick Lacefield, Leggett's spokesman, says the county executive's office hopes Dagley's replacement will be "somebody who will work constructively with all branches of government to figure out how we can do things more effectively and efficiently."

"There are some cases where I think that has been done quite as well under the incumbent, and other cases where it hasn't," Lacefield said Monday afternoon, criticizing Dagley for launching investigations into issues he says were already being reviewed by internal government officials.

"We don't really have resources for duplications of efforts here," Lacefield said, adding that it would be more helpful and cost-effective for an inspector general to evaluate situations after internal reviews have concluded.

Dagley declined to respond to Lacefield's comments, saying he preferred to focus on his office's accomplishments and hopes the work of his team has saved taxpayer dollars and contributed to a more cost-efficient government.

He said after he leaves the position he hopes to continue work in the "inspector general community" elsewhere, but thinks it is healthy for the county's inspector general position to change hands every five or six years so "fresh eyes" can look for new ways to "protect taxpayer dollars and be sure they're used wisely." Dagley is only the second person to hold the office of Montgomery County inspector general. The position was created in 1997 after a push by Leggett, who held a seat on the council at the time.

The position was posted Friday and applications for the job, which pays between $111,000 and $155,000 a year, will be accepted through Jan. 14. A five-person nominating panel will forward at least three applications to the County Council for review. The council will make an appointment, which lasts four years.

The inspector general's website shows an active, ongoing investigation into whether county leaders allowed developers to charge county taxpayers twice for a wastewater pumping station in a West Germantown Development District. Documents posted online indicate that developers were paid by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission for the project, after being paid millions in county bonds paid by residents of the development district.