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Montgomery County Council members say that some changes are needed in the way the county reimburses employees who take training or academic classes.

The tuition reimbursement program was in the spotlight recently when public safety employees taking training classes were allowed to buy discounted weapons for personal use.

Councilwoman Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring questioned how the tuition funds were being spent and which courses were approved for reimbursements.

"Bible Doctrines I. What does that have to do with anyone getting a degree?" Ervin asked county staff Monday as she scanned a list.

"There are lots of courses on here employees are able to take. If (it's) not for a degree or certificate, why are we allowing the funds to be used in that manner?"

County officials, who presented an overview of the tuition reimbursement program to council members Monday, continue to investigate the weapons case.

The issue centers on whether taxpayer money was used to help employees purchase discounted weapons for personal use — a violation of county policy.

Tuition assistance funds can be spent either on education to obtain a degree or certificate or on training or courses to improve job skills not linked to a degree. The reimbursement is only to be used for tuition, officials have said.

Montgomery County has $830,420 budgeted for its tuition assistance program in fiscal 2010. The county has increased its tuition reimbursements each of the past six fiscal years, from $444,790 in fiscal 2005, the report said.

However, the tuition assistance program has exceeded its budget each of the past four fiscal years, in part due to a negotiated contract with Montgomery County police that allows them to be reimbursed for courses even if the funds have been exhausted, according to the report provided by County Attorney Leon Rodriguez.

The county's other employees receive the reimbursements on a first-come, first-served basis.

"I suspect there are at minimum a few things around process that could be improved," said Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At large) of North Bethesda.

Officials said they already have begun contacting the training providers to gather information about their services before employees are approved for reimbursement.

Councilwoman Nancy Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring said even though policies and regulations are in place for selecting vendors and classes, she wants to hear what additional practices are needed to improve the reimbursement program.

In July officials learned that county sheriff's deputies were given the opportunity to purchase deeply discounted firearms by Applied Sciences for Public Safety LLC — a company that provided training to county employees for which they were reimbursed.

The Gazette has reported that Glock firearms, which typically retail at $600, were sold to deputies for about $50.

Applied Sciences has said that no county taxpayer funds were used to subsidize the guns or other items, but county officials are investigating the matter.

The county has paid out about $470,000 in tuition reimbursements for Applied Sciences classes over the past three years.

The county's tuition assistance program's funding has been depleted earlier than the previous year for each of the past five fiscal years, according to the report presented Monday. In fiscal 2009, which began in July 2008, $775,350 already had been spent on training reimbursements by October 2008 — just four months after the funding became available.

The total spent that fiscal year was more than $1 million.

The Fraternal Order of Police, which has 1,100 members who participate in collective bargaining, used the most county tuition assistance funding in fiscal 2008 ($340,386) and fiscal 2009 ($454,455), according to the county report.

Employees represented by the Montgomery County Government Employees Union, which has 10,000 members, received the second-largest amount in tuition reimbursements in fiscal 2008 ($209,806) and fiscal 2009 ($321,766).

Rodriguez declined to give council members a firm deadline for the investigation's completion, but said it was reasonable to expect the findings to be ready by the end of the year.

The following are some training courses that were approved for Montgomery County employees in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009:

-Bible Doctrines I

-Life on the Down Low

-Martial Arts

-Military Philosophers

-Managing Diversity

-Munchausen by Proxy

The following are some training courses that were rejected for Montgomery County employees in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009:

-Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

-Cosmetology

-Origins in Children's Literature

-Olympic Lifting Certification

-Spiritual Coaching and Ministry

-Thai Boxing