2014_1112_Ethics Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

government officials is the single most important criterion for its effectiveness. The trend today is (1) to have all or most ethics commission ineinbers selected by community organizations, to give the ethics commission full enforcement authority, and (2) to have the ethics commission choose its own staff, who have a monopoly on enforcement and the provision of ethics advice. However, doing this worries many officials, who tallz about possible "witch hunts" against them. But an independent ethics commission formalizes the handling of ethics complaints, rather than having them take the form of public accusations, blog attacks, and partisan squabbles in a legislative body or council-appointed commission. And the dismissal of a complaint by an independent ethics commission is the best way an official can preserve her reputation. A dismissal by a commission selected by a mayor or council ineans little to the public. But what about small cities, towns, and counties? How can they afford to have professional, independent adininistration of their ethics program? Having the city or county attorney staff the program inight not be optiinal, but it's the cheapest solution. A better solution is hiring a part-time ethics officer under contract. Another solution is a regional or countywide ethics program, which allows independence in administration, a full-tiine, professional ethics officer, experienced and trained ethics commission ineinbers, and cost-sharing by all the municipalities, agencies, and authorities in the county or region. The countywide solution has worked in Miami/Dade County and Palm Beach County, Florida. Most regional programs have been formed through Interlocal Coo�eration AQreements. Countywide and rebional ethics prob ams should be a topic of discussion in � every local government that wants a good ethics program at a lower cost than it could provide themsel�-es. Another alternative is giving the state ethics commission jurisdiction over local government officials and einployees. However, many of the states with such jurisdiction have prob ams so weak that local governments establish their own programs anyway. Massachusetts and Rhode Island are examples of states with stronb programs. In addition, many states deal with the conflicts of school officials and employees at the state level, in a separate ethics program. A f'ourth alternative is outsourcing an ethics probram to the state commission. San Bernardino County, California was the first to do this, in January 2013. 22