The Executive Branch of the County government shall consist
of the County Executive and all officers, agents, and employees under
the Executive's supervision and authority.
All executive power vested in Harford County by the Constitution
and laws of Maryland and this Charter shall be vested in the County
Executive, who shall be the chief executive officer of the County,
and who shall faithfully execute the laws. The County Executive shall
devote full time to the duties of office. The duties and responsibilities
of the County Executive shall include, but not be limited to:
(1)
Preparing and submitting to the Council the annual County budget in the manner and form provided in Article V of this Charter;
(2)
Preparing and submitting to the Council and the public, within four
months after the close of the fiscal year, an annual report on the
activities and accomplishments of the County government, including
a detailed financial statement;
(3)
Providing the Council with any information concerning the Executive
Branch which the Council may require for the exercise of its powers;
(4)
Recommending to the Council such measures for legislative action
as may be deemed to be in the best interests of the County;
(5)
Insuring that County funds in excess of those required for immediate
needs are invested in the best interests of the County;
(6)
Signing or causing to be signed on the County's behalf all deeds,
contracts, and other instruments; and
(7)
Seeing that the affairs of the Executive Branch are properly and
efficiently administered, and that employees of the Executive Branch
faithfully perform their duties.
The County Executive shall be nominated and elected by the qualified
voters of the entire County at the same time as state officers and
in the manner provided by law.
The County Executive shall serve for a term beginning at noon
on the first Monday in December next following election, and ending
at noon on the first Monday in December in the fourth year thereafter.
No person shall be eligible for succession in the office of County
Executive after serving in such office for two consecutive four-year
terms.
The County Executive shall have been a resident and a qualified
voter of the County for at least five years immediately preceding
election or appointment. At the time of election or appointment, the
candidate shall have attained the age of twenty-five years. During
the term of office, the County Executive shall not hold any other
office of profit in federal, state, County, or municipal government
and shall not, during the whole term of election or appointment and
for two years thereafter, be eligible for appointment to any County
office or position carrying compensation.
The County Executive shall receive compensation of not less
than twenty-seven thousand five hundred dollars per annum. Compensation
may be changed by law passed by an affirmative vote of at least five
members of the Council. Any increase or decrease in compensation which
becomes law during one term of office shall not become effective before
the next term.
[Amended by Bill No. 12-28]
(a)
A vacancy in the office of the County Executive shall exist upon the death, resignation, removal, or forfeiture of office of the County Executive. When a vacancy occurs, a majority of the County Council shall, within thirty calendar days thereafter, appoint a person qualified under Section 305 of this article to fill the vacancy from among those who apply to the County Council for the position. If an appointee is to succeed a member of a political party, that individual shall be a member of the party to which the former County Executive belonged at the time of his or her election. Except as provided in Subsection (b) of this section, an appointee shall serve for the unexpired term of the appointee’s predecessor.
(b)
If a vacancy filled by an appointment under Subsection (a) of this section occurred more than ninety calendar days before the next Congressional primary election, an election shall be held simultaneous to the Congressional election to elect a new County Executive to fulfill the remaining term. The appointed County Executive shall serve until the newly elected County Executive takes office at noon on the first Monday in December next following election.
The County Executive may be removed from office by an affirmative
vote of at least five members of the Council after a public hearing
and upon a finding that the County Executive has failed to perform
the duties of office for a continuous period of six months or is unable
by reason of physical or mental disability to perform the duties of
office. The decision of the Council may be appealed by the County
Executive within ten days to the Circuit Court for Harford County
by petition. Upon the filing of a petition, the Court may stay the
removal pending its decision. The Court shall make independent determinations
of fact, and its decision may be appealed to the Court of Appeals
of Maryland.
The County Executive shall immediately forfeit office upon ceasing
to be a qualified voter of the County or when convicted of a felony
or a crime involving moral turpitude.
[Amended by Bill No. 96-37]
In the event of the temporary absence or disability of the County
Executive, the Director of Administration shall perform the duties
of the County Executive, unless the County Executive designates in
writing some other person in the Executive Branch. Such designation
shall be filed with the Council Administrator. Any such designation
may be revoked by the County Executive at any time by filing a new
designation with the Council Administrator. An Acting County Executive
shall have the same rights, duties, powers, and obligations as an
elected incumbent in said office, except the power of veto.
[Amended by Bill No. 96-37]
Upon its enactment by the Council, any bill, except measures
made expressly exempt from the executive veto by the Charter, shall
be presented to the County Executive within five calendar days for
approval or disapproval. Within twenty-one calendar days after presentation,
the bill shall be returned to the Council with an approval endorsed
thereon or with a statement, in writing, of the reasons for not approving
the same. Upon approval by the County Executive, any such bill shall
become law. Upon veto by the County Executive, the veto message shall
be entered in the journal of the Council, and not later than at its
next legislative session day, the Council may reconsider the bill.
If, upon reconsideration, at least five members of the Council vote
in the affirmative, the bill shall become law. Whenever the County
Executive shall fail to return any bill within twenty-one calendar
days after the date of its presentation to the County Executive, the
Council Administrator shall forthwith record the fact of such failure
in the journal, and the bill shall thereupon become law. The Country
Executive may disapprove individual items in budget and appropriation
bills. Each item or items not disapproved in a budget and appropriation
bill shall become law, and each item or items disapproved in a budget
and appropriation bill shall be subject to the same procedure as any
other bill vetoed by the County Executive.
[Amended by Bill No. 82-45]
The County Executive shall appoint a Director of Administration, subject to confirmation by the Council as required by Section 223 of this Charter, who shall be selected on the basis of qualifications as a professional administrator and shall serve at the pleasure of the County Executive. The Director of Administration shall perform administrative duties and exercise general supervision over the agencies of the Executive Branch as the County Executive may direct. Prior to assuming the duties of office, the Director of Administration shall be domiciled in the County. The Director of Administration shall be the budget officer. The chief budget officer of the County shall cause to be prepared and submitted to the County Executive for approval and submission to the Council all County budgets, prepared in the manner and form provided in Article V of this Charter, and shall study the organization, methods, and procedures of each agency of the County government and submit to the County Executive periodic reports on their efficiency and economy.
[Amended by Bill Nos. 76-37; 14-18]
The County Executive shall appoint a single officer to head
each agency of the Executive Branch, as well as deputy directors of
an agency, subject to confirmation by the Council, as required by
Section 223 of this Charter, and such officer and deputies may be
removed at the discretion of the County Executive. Within six months
after each election for County Executive, the County Executive shall
appoint for confirmation or reconfirmation, as the case may be, all
heads of each agency and deputy directors, of the Executive Branch
as defined by Section 402 and shall also appoint the members of all
boards and commissions in the Executive Branch, except as otherwise
provided for by law, subject to confirmation by the Council as required
by Section 223 of this Charter, and may remove the same in accordance
with this Charter or other applicable law. All employees of the Executive
Branch, other than those specifically provided for in this Charter,
shall be appointed and removed by the heads of the several agencies
of the County government in accordance with the provisions of the
County personnel law. The Council shall have the power to approve
those persons assigned by the Executive Branch to the Council to support
it in the exercise and performance of its duties, powers and functions.
(a)
When a vacancy occurs in the position of the Director of Administration
or the head of an agency of the Executive Branch, the County Executive
shall appoint an Acting Director of Administration or acting head
of the agency, as the case may be, to serve only for a period not
exceeding sixty calendar days. This limit may be extended by the Council
for a period of time not to exceed an additional four months.
[Amended by Bill No. 78-20]
(b)
During the temporary absence of the Director of Administration or
the head of an agency of the Executive Branch due to illness or approved
leave of absence greater than thirty days, the County Executive shall
appoint, subject to the approval of the Council, a temporary "Acting"
Director of Administration or head of an agency in the Executive Branch
for the period of absence. No temporary absence due to illness or
approved leave of absence shall exceed one year.
[Amended by Bill No. 78-20]
(c)
In no event shall the position be filled by an "Acting" person for a cumulative period greater than the times stated in Subsections (a) and (b) above. When a vacancy or absence that warrants a temporary appointment occurs, the County Executive shall insure that the appropriate procedures are immediately instituted to provide a qualified person for the position.
