According to a January 15 memorandum, a week from today the Dallas city council will be considering an amendment to the city's ethics code, which would exclude municipal management district (MMD) board members from the ethics code (it has already been approved by the council's economic development committee).

MMDs are developer-controlled political subdivisions that can raise taxes and collect fees from real property owners in their districts. They were created in 2009 to develop three particular areas of the city. Although three city employees sit on each board, the boards are controlled by developers.

It's not an unfamiliar story. Council candidates promise ethics reform. They are elected, and actually fulfill their promises with a proposed ethics ordinance. But there's not really much to the proposed ethics ordinance, and there's no enforcement mechanism.

This is what is happening in Yorba Linda (pop. 71,000), just outside Anaheim. The proposed ethics ordinance has few provisions, most of them involving campaign finance and city contractors and developers.

Who expects a wonderful local government ethics surprise to come from New Jersey? Check out the Department of State's Pay-to-Play Ordinances page, which provides links, county by county, of municipal ordinances placing a limited contribution ban on those entering into municipal contracts.

The ordinances are based on a model ordinance drafted by Citizens' Campaign, a New Jersey good government organization. According to an opinion piece in yesterday's Daily Record, about 70 towns and cities have passed such an ordinance. But just last week, Morris Township, a wealthy suburban municipality, rejected a pay-to-play ordinance. One committee member said that the ordinance should cover labor unions, while another said that it would create too much work for procurement officials.

In three cities this week, top officials showed the ability to get away with unethical behavior, but not the ability to distinguish law from ethics.

I talk a lot about the importance of independent ethics commissions. But independence is not always a good thing for local government boards and commissions. Independence without oversight, transparency, and independent ethics enforcement easily turns into someone's fiefdom.

According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, Detroit's two pension boards (uniformed and general) have apparently turned into the fiefdom of their long-time counsel, Ronald Zajac. He helped them break away from city oversight, and has kept them fiercely independent ever since.

I'd like to call your attention to a new local government law blog that, among other issues, covers government ethics. It's called Coates' Canons: NC Local Government Law Blog, and it's a joint effort of  local government law faculty members at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Albert Coates, after whom the blog is named, was the founder of the university's Institute of Government. Click here to read about the purpose of the blog.