Kansas City Star/McClatchy: ‘I’m increasingly concerned’: New WyCo administrator still doing work for Kansas City

One of the highest paid officials at the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, has also been working for the city of Kansas City, Missouri, raising concerns about the commitment to her full-time job.

Cheryl Harrison-Lee, who was appointed as the interim county administrator for Wyandotte County in January, is also the CEO of the consulting firm Harrison-Lee Development and Consulting.

Her contract with the Unified Government says she can still work as a consultant on the side so long as it does not interfere with her job as county administrator. But commissioners with the Unified Government have raised concerns on how she is able to perform two jobs at the same time and how much of her time she is dedicating toward her job as county administrator.

Several commissioners have heard complaints from staff within the Unified Government that Harrison-Lee is hard to reach and is at times unavailable, several commissioners told The Star. …

The Code of Ethics for the International City Managers Association points to teaching, writing and consulting as permissible outside work that does not necessarily result in a conflict of interest. But that organization says its members should always notify the governing body of those outside activities in advance.

Several Wyandotte County commissioners said they were unaware of Harrison-Lee’s ongoing consulting work.

“Even if this administrator isn’t violating any law, it can certainly look bad if she’s not performing her duties that taxpayers are funding her to do and often the perception can be just as harmful and it can call into question that public servants should be serving the public interests, not minding their own pockets,” said Aaron Scherb, director of legislative affairs at Common Cause, a non-partisan government watchdog nonprofit.