2014_0212_Ethics Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, January 06, 2014 Page 9 Councilmember McGehee recognized that this put the Commission in a difficult position and spoke in support of moving to the "preponderance of evidence" standard. Recognizing the serious work of the Ethics Commission, Councilmember Willmus expressed his dire concern if the burden of proof standard was lowered. Councilmember Willmus opined that the bar was intentionally set high and that it should remain high; and stated that he would not support this recommended change in standards. Councilmember Willmus further opined that he would hate to see ethics complaints and charges being generated under the knowledge that there was less of a standard for burden of proo£ If charges come forward in the future, Councilmember Willmus opined that the higher standard should be in place and complaints fully vetted under that standard. Mayor Roe noted that one issue was the current process with the initial investiga- tion done by the Ciry Manager or Ciry Attorney depending on the rype of com- plaint and against whom, with both of those individuals having full access to all information — private and public. With the City Council also able to have full ac- cess to the data, but not its Ethics Commission, Mayor Roe opined that there seemed to be question raised about the process itself. While State Statute 13.b was quite clear on the Open Meeting Law, Mayor Roe asked if the Commission- ers had any thoughts on the process itself; and asked the City Attorney to further research whether or not the Commission could go into Closed Session in such in- stances. Mayor Roe concurred with the comments expressed by Councilmember Willmus; opining that he also preferred to keep the standard high. Vice Chair Lehman concurred with Mayor Roe and Councilmember Willmus; opining that he would like the Commission to be able to go into Closed Session if information under review was not public data. While not interested in lowering the bar either, Councilmember McGehee noted the realities if the current standards didn't allow the Commission to effectively review information to maintain the integrity of the overall organization. Mayor Roe suggested action on any revision to the standard be postponed until the City Attorney provided further research on whether or not the Commission could go into Closed Session. If they could do so, Mayor Roe opined that this would essentially solve the problem and standards could remain as is. Mayor Roe noted that the next step would be to refer this back to the Ethics Commission and City Attorney for their review and future update to the City Council at any time, not necessarily only during the quarterly meeting.