Council Chair Set to Repay State Money

Agreement Ends Lawsuit Over Disputed Paychecks

Camille Exum was an administrator for a state agency from 1996 to 2003. (Courtesy Of Camille Exum)

Prince George's County Council Chairman Camille Exum has agreed to repay the state of Maryland almost $10,000 after a state agency that employed her alleged that she collected paychecks without working in 2002 and early 2003.

The agreement settled a lawsuit filed in March by the state's collection agency against Exum (D-Seat Pleasant). The lawsuit claims that she received $12,400 in pay for three time periods totaling 16 weeks but failed to file timecards or show evidence that she had done any work in that time. In an interview Tuesday, Exum denied the state's claims and said the suit was "not a story."

"It was a dispute they had," she said. "We disputed it in court. We settled it in court."

The pay periods correspond to Exum's first campaign for county council and extend until shortly after her election in November 2002. Exum began working as an administrator for the real estate commission within the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation in 1996. She resigned from the agency early in 2003.

In court documents, Exum denied that she failed to perform duties during her employment or failed to complete timecards. "To the best of my knowledge, I completed all tasks assigned by my superiors," she wrote.

Exum faced no challenger in her reelection bid last month. On Tuesday, she was chosen unanimously by her council colleagues to serve as chairman for the next year.

According to Kevin J. Enright, spokesman for Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr., the pay discrepancy was discovered as the result of a "routine legislative audit." The agency mailed Exum several letters in 2003 demanding repayment and alerting her that the matter could be turned over to the state's Central Collection Unit, Enright said.

In 2005, Exum disputed the debt and asked the collection agency to perform an investigation. The investigation concluded that she owed the money, Enright said. When Exum failed to respond to a February letter, the state filed suit against her, asking a judge to order her to repay the wages, along with a $2,114 fee.

According to the settlement entered Nov. 21, Exum will repay about $9,877 by making monthly payments of at least $548.73. At that rate, she will repay the money over 18 months.

Exum was paid $47,701 in the state job.

In an interview this year, Exum said she found council work so time-consuming that it had forced her to resign her state job.

"It was just too demanding," she said then. "I didn't feel like I could serve two masters."

Staff writer Ruben Castaneda contributed to this report.