When a major newspaper's editorial on a city council's handling of an important ethics issue begins with "Sneaky. Real sneaky." it's something worth sharing with those interested in local government ethics.

An article in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer says that the state's inspector general has found that, despite past problems, the South Jersey Transportation Authority has gotten its act together, ethically speaking. But go to the authority's News Clip page, and all it says is "Nothing to Report." After all, a 103-page inspector general's report detailing the authority's ethical misconduct isn't worth reporting, is it? It's a professionally designed website, but there appears to be nothing about ethics or compliance, and no search line to find it.

Can the government ethics enforcement community learn anything from a successful experiment in the crime enforcement field? With tongue only partly in cheek, I will try to show ways in which the government ethics enforcement community could learn a thing or two.

This week's New York Times Magazine ran an excellent piece by Jeffrey Rosen on a successful approach to crime enforcement. Here's the essence of the article's message:

Good and Bad News from Memphis
The good news from Memphis is that newly-elected mayor A. C. Wharton, Jr. issued an ethics executive order last week (attached; see below). The order's provisions, which do not apply to council and its staff, are less valuable in their own right than as a prod to the council to improve the current ethics code.

This summer, several New Jersey local government officials were arrested in a big FBI sting operation (see my blog post). Yesterday, an ethics audit focused on development practices was released. Requested by the Jersey City council, it was written by three members of a New Jersey law firm.

According to an article in the Jersey Journal, one Jersey City council member cynically said, "I think any Jersey City resident could have written the same report for free in about 10 minutes with about 20 words." He's completely wrong. This report is not the last word, but it's something other Jersey cities (and those in other states) should take a look at. Its most important recommendations are listed below (my comments are in parentheses).

"I don't think we need to have an ethics officer. ... I feel we already have three ethics officers."

—Fernandina Beach Commissioner Jeffrey Bunch, referring, it appears, to the city attorney, the city manager, and the mayor (from the Fernandina Beach (FL) News-Leader)