Independent Offices vs. Independent Ethics Enforcement in Palm Beach County

Update: December 30, 2009

Two weeks ago, I welcomed the new Palm Beach County ethics codes. What I didn't realize is how much of the county's government isn't covered by the codes, including other elected officials (and their offices) such as the sheriff, the School Board, the tax collector, the county clerk, the property appraiser, and the supervisor of elections. If they do not voluntarily submit to oversight by the inspector general and the ethics commission, then the IG and EC won't have any jurisdiction over them.

According to an article in the Sun-Sentinel, the sheriff says he won't voluntarily submit to the IG. He says that he already gets rigorous oversight, and he wants his office to remain independent.

The most interesting response is that of the county property appraiser. According to the article, he "said his office already undergoes thorough audits and he is 'cautious' about creating 'too many layers of bureaucracy. I'm not ruling it out ... I want to take a look at it and see how it can benefit the office.'"

But does the sheriff's and appraiser's oversight include conflicts of interest? Is benefit to their offices the appropriate standard for evaluating an ethics program? Shouldn't it be benefit to the public?

There don't have to be layers of bureaucracy. If there is already an office that audits the appraiser and other elected officials, perhaps that office can become part of the IG's office, so that all auditing comes from one place and is independent of each agency or department. Where an oversight office has jurisdiction over conflicts of interest, it could give up that jurisdiction to the EC.

These are problems with easy solutions, unless you put independence of offices ahead of independent ethics enforcement. If you do, then you are rejecting the county's decision to have independent ethics enforcement, something that requires a better argument than layers of bureaucracy and independence of offices.

Update: December 30, 2009
A Palm Beach Post editorial yesterday echoed the wrongness of the sheriff's position.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

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