Frederick County chief administrative officer to retire

Jan. 18—Frederick County Chief Administrative Officer Rick Harcum is set to retire Jan. 27 after four years in the position, according to a press release Wednesday.

The county plans to conduct a national search for Harcum's successor, the release states.

Harcum served as the chief administrative officer for nearly all of former County Executive Jan Gardner's second term in office.

County Executive Jessica Fitzwater took office little more than six weeks ago.

"Rick led the day-to-day operations of county government through one of the most challenging times in modern history, and we are on sound financial and operational footing thanks to his stewardship," Fitzwater, D, said in the press release.

Harcum could not immediately be reached for comment by phone or email on Wednesday.

His salary is $221,997, making him the highest paid employee in the county government, according to Human Resources Director Wayne Howard.

The county executive's salary is $137,000, though it was $95,000 before Fitzwater took office on Dec. 5.

Chief Financial Officer Lori Depies will become the acting chief administrative officer once Harcum retires. From 2012 to 2014, Depies worked as the county manager, which, under the previous commissioner-led government, was a role similar to the chief administrative officer, according to the county.

Under the form of the government the county adopted in 2014 — with a county executive and legislative County Council, rather than a Board of County Commissioners with both executive and legislative powers — the chief administrative officer works for the county executive and oversees the daily operations of the county's 23 offices and divisions.

Citizens Services Division Deputy Director Leslie Barnes-Keating will be the acting deputy chief administrative officer after Harcum retires.

Barnes-Keating, who has worked for the Citizens Services Division since 1995, oversees child and family programs and emergency sheltering responses during crises, according to the county.

Harcum began working for the county government in 2016 as budget director. He became the chief administrative officer under Gardner in 2019 after the retirement of Ray Barnes, who left after a little more than a year in the position.

Before joining the county government, Harcum worked for more than 25 years for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, serving as the director of performance management and the budget director and in other budget-related roles, the county's press release states.

Harcum has also worked as a financial planner for the Maryland Department of Transportation and as a financial analyst for a telecommunications corporation, the release states.

Harcum will be the fifth person from Gardner's administration to leave the county executive's office in recent months.

Margaret Nusbaum, who was Gardner's special administrative director, and Monica Bearden, who was her deputy chief administrative officer, have retired, Fitzwater said in a phone interview.

Janice Spiegel moved to the county's Budget Office after serving as Gardner's education and special initiatives director, Fitzwater said.

Heidi Keeney, who was the manager of special initiatives under Gardner, took a role in November as a special projects manager for the county Division of Emergency Management, according to her LinkedIn page.

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