Conflicts

Do expertise and conflicts go together more like love and marriage, or like horse and carriage? In other words, are they necessary or are they outdated in this age of government ethics?

Interested people making important decisions that affect their livelihood was the American way for most of our nation's history. Beginning with Watergate, the public has moved past this horse and carriage approach, toward a more selfless public service where people deal responsibly with conflicts...

Government pensions are one of the most serious issues facing local and state governments. Most pension plans are underfunded, and the generous pensions, the relatively short vesting periods, and the low retirement ages that allow for at least one more career, not only cost taxpayers a great deal of money, but seem unfair to those without pensions or with far worse pension situations.

This is not an area where government officials should want to add apparent conflicts to the mix,...

Election time makes public many ethics situations that make valuable case studies. One involves Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott.

According to an article in the Naples (FL) News, there is reason to believe that Scott's company is being or will soon be investigated by the Florida Department of Health (a complaint has been filed). The...

Consultants often fall between the cracks of government ethics. They are contractors, but professionals rather than suppliers or construction companies, and they often act just like government officials, only they're not on the payroll. And yet the ethics rules that apply to government officials often do not apply to consultants. Often, ethics commissions don't even have jurisdiction over consultants.

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Here's an interesting twist. The mayor of Watervliet, Michigan (pop. 1,900) resigned in protest after the city commission interviewed one of its own members for the apparently paid position of city treasurer, according to an article in the Herald Palladium on Tuesday.

All ethics oversight cannot be done by an ethics commission. Much oversight needs to be done outside of the complaint process. Even when complaints are made, a lack of proper oversight can leave a big hole in the facts available to an EC. I came across such a situation in yesterday's Bristol (VA) News.