Gardner Clarifies Use of Executive Orders

In response to many questions by some in the public and other elected officials, Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner clarified the authority of the county executive to issue executive orders under the county’s new form of Charter government. She emphasized that the purpose of an executive order was to keep the public informed of her management decisions that would impact the citizens and as a means of guaranteeing an open and transparent process in county government, which was a primary focus of her campaign for office.

Her first executive order stated informed the public and the procurement office that she will not award contracts to businesses owned members of the County Council, the County Executive, or members of their families. The order came in response to the Frederick County Ethics Commission’s decision that County Council Member Kirby Delauter’s company W.F. Delauter & Son could bid on county jobs without violating the law.

Mr. Delauter, who represents the district which includes Glade Valley, and his allies took great offense to the executive order. Some questioned the legality of Executive Gardner’s actions. Three members of the Ethics Commission resigned in response to the executive order.

Executive Gardner commented, “As the first county executive for Frederick County, one of my priorities is to ensure a smooth changeover to Charter government. We have transitioned from the five-member format of county commissioners to a county executive and county council. One of my roles under the Charter is to issue executive orders, and my first official executive order was meant to ensure open and honest government and fairness in the procurement process. The authority of county executives to issue executive orders is well established in other Maryland counties.”

As confirmation, County Attorney John Mathias issued a legal opinion today stating that the county executive has the authority to issue an executive order. He clarified that Executive Gardner’s first executive order (No. 01-2015) was an appropriate use of the county executive’s authority under the Frederick County Charter. It addressed procurement and contracting issues within the executive branch of county government and falls within the broad grants of authority to the county executive in the Charter. The Charter specifically assigns these executive duties and responsibilities to the county executive. These are precisely the types of issues that an executive order is intended to address, he wrote.

Executive orders were also issued under the prior county commissioner form of county government. For
example, they have in the past been used for declaring a local state of emergency caused by a weather event and then terminating the local state of emergency.

During her comments, Gardner listed several specific executive orders issued by previous Presidents of the Board of County Commissioners. In that role, she issued executive orders declare states of emergency. Also in the role of President of the Board of County Commissioners, Gardner recounted that Blaine Young issued similar executive orders.

She then listed recent executive orders issued by county executives in other Maryland counties. Some included executive orders dealing specifically with procurement issues, similar to her own executive order.