Information About Financial Disclosure
Notice: Effective October 30, 2015, Amendments to the County’s Public Ethics Law Changed Financial Disclosure Requirements in the following ways:
- All disclosure statements will be publicly available
- Level of detail generally increases for elected officials
- Level of detail generally decreases for other filers
Because of the changes in the new law and resulting changes in the Financial Disclosure Statement online form, there will be no copy data from last year function available for filing annual or final financial disclosure reports.
If you are a filer pursuant to the amended law, you will be notified of your filing obligation in the first week of January in 2016.
Financial Disclosure Statements: In General
Timing of filing Financial Disclosure Statements
To activate and set up your account
Financial Disclosure Statements: In General
The County Ethics Law ( Chapter 19A of the Montgomery County Code ) requires certain county employees and certain members of Boards, Committees, and Commissions and outside agencies to file financial disclosure statements. The Ethics Law specifies by employment position who must file a financial disclosure statement; pursuant to the law, additional positions may be designated as filing positions. All filed disclosures are publicly available upon request.
Commencement of Employment in a Filing position
Within 15 days after the employee is notified of the obligation to file after beginning employment in a position required to file
Annually
First business day in January through April 15 for the previous calendar year
Termination of Employment
Before the employee or volunteer who is in a position required to file terminates employment or service. A final paycheck will not be issued until the employee has filed the required financial disclosure statement.
If a public employee does not file a financial disclosure statement when required to, under Section 19A-32, the Chief Administrative Officer (for employees in the Executive branch) or the County Council Staff Director (for employees in the legislative branch) may impose disciplinary action against that employee, up to and including dismissal. A member of a board, commission, or committee may be removed from membership.
Before an employee is removed for failing to file a financial disclosure statement, the County Attorney must give the employee 30 days notice of the proposed removal. The Chief Administrative Officer and the Council staff director must not remove an employee if the employee files the required financial disclosure statement within the time specified in the notice. This section does not apply to elected public employees.
Additionally, the Public Ethics Law authorizes the Ethics Commission to impose fines for failure to file financial disclosure reports and seek the imposition of civil and criminal sanctions for violations of the Public Ethics Law.
The Financial Disclosure On-line Filing System is the vehicle pursuant to which financial disclosure filers (except candidates for elective office) are required to file financial disclosure reports. The filing system is internet based. If you do not have access to a computer, one will be made available to you. Please call the Ethics Commission at (240) 777-6670 to make arrangements.
To activate and set up your account :
- For regular County employees:
To access the system, please go to http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/financialdisclosure and enter your County assigned username and password.
- For Board, Commission, and Committee members and Employees of the Housing Opportunities Commission
Please go to http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcg/activateaccount and enter your County assigned username and temporary password found at the top right hand corner of the letter your received directing you to file. Instructions on how to activate, set up, and maintain your account so that you can file your financial disclosure are provided on the Ethics Commission Web Site (http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/ethics/fd/accessmcg-extranet.html).
Section 19A-18(e) provides that a Chief Administrative Officer or the Council Administrator, as appropriate, must review the statement to see if it has been completed. The review responsibility may be delegated to the head of a department or office or to the deputy director of a department or the chief of a division.
Once your data has been reviewed and approved, it will be retained on file for a period of four years for non-elected public employees and for elected officials, the longer of six years or as many years the official holds elective office.