Ethics Codes & Reform February 21, 2014

Seattle's Newly Expanded Whistleblower Protection Code

This week, Seattle's expanded Whistleblower Protection Code became effective (attached; see below). As what appears to be the most extensive local whistleblower code, it deserves a look from any local government seeking to draft or improve whistleblower provisions.

The major changes to the code, according to the ethics commission's (SEEC) website, are:

Employees who report wrongdoing to their supervisor or other person in their chain of command will now be protected from retaliation.

The SEEC will now investigate allegations of retaliation.

Conflicts of Interest July 1, 2014

SEC Action re Fiduciary Duties Relating to Municipal Bonds

A recent action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the city of Harvey, IL, a poor city of 30,000 just south of Chicago, deals with a different sort of fiduciary duty than the usual government ethics case. In a complaint dated June 24, 2014 (attached; see below), the SEC alleges that the city's comptroller acted as financial adviser in three bond issues for a hotel development, diverted some of the funds to himself, and also diverted funds to the city's general fund.

Resources & Learning May 4, 2012

Second Edition of Free Resource Book on Local Government Ethics

Local Government Ethics Programs 2.0:

A Resource for Ethics Commission Members, Local Officials,
Attorneys, Journalists, and Students,
And a Manual for Ethics Reform

by Robert Wechsler, Director of Research-Retired at City Ethics

The second edition of this comprehensive book about local
government ethics programs. And it's free!

This book is intended for multiple purposes:

Ethics Codes & Reform November 19, 2012

Second Round of Chicago Ethics Reforms I - Good Ideas

The second round of Chicago ethics reform recommendations, based on the ethics task force's second report (attached; see below), have been proposed by Chicago's mayor Rahm Emanuel (click here to read a summary of the mayor's recommendations).

Ethics Codes & Reform November 19, 2012

Second Round of Chicago Ethics Reforms II - Bad Ideas

My second blog post on the Chicago ethics task force's second report identified what I considered to be its worst ideas. Mayor Emanuel's recommendations accepted its bad ideas just as much as its good ideas.

Ethics Codes & Reform November 19, 2012

Second Round of Chicago Ethics Reforms III - Independence and Confidentiality

Ethics program independence is, as far as I'm concerned, the single most important issue in ethics reform. Nothing gains the public's trust as much as an ethics program that is independent from the officials over whom it has jurisdiction.

Ethics Codes & Reform November 20, 2012

Second Round of Chicago Ethics Reforms IV - The Failures

In one of my blog posts on the ethics task force's second report, I identified areas that the ethics task force ignored. The first was the low limits on fines. The mayor, in his recommendations, did not recommend increasing them.

May 31, 2008

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act Upheld in Its Application to Local Governments

The Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One doesn't like having to get approval from the federal government for changes in its voting policy, in order to prevent racial discrimination; it says that everything's fine and dandy in Northwest Austin. The requirement can be found in Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, extended in 2006.

Ethics Commissions & Administration April 16, 2012

Selecting Ethics Commission Members in a Poor Ethics Environment

Across the nation, there have been numerous occasions when local government officials oppose disclosure requirements, sometimes even the most minimal ones (for example, the name of an elected official’s employer). Arguments are made about privacy, identity theft, and overweening government. There is talk about rights, but never about obligations.

But the bottom-line argument is that if you require financial disclosure, no one will volunteer for local boards and commissions. This is stated as an immutable fact, although without evidence.

Conflicts of Interest June 21, 2011

Selection and Oversight of Consultants

Just because it happens in New York City doesn't mean it will happen in the average city or, especially, town. Right? No, it can happen, only the numbers will probably be smaller. Two situations described in today's New York Times, both of them effectively centered on the hiring and failure to oversee consultants, are worth knowing about.

Elected Judges Selecting and Overseeing Distressed Property Receivers

Transparency & Disclosure June 29, 2010

Self-Interest and the Transparency of Local Government Ethics Proceedings

The confidentiality, or transparency, of local government ethics complaints and proceedings is a funny topic. Most of the time, government officials want as much confidentiality as possible. They don't want ethical issues concerning them to be mentioned in public.

But there are times when they want to be able to blast those who file complaints against them, and then they favor transparency. In other words, which side they're on does not involve policy, but their self-interest. It's amazing how often self-interest arises with respect to conflict of interest matters.

Ethics Codes & Reform January 16, 2009

Self-Serving Ethics

See update below

Ethics is popular in Illinois right now, so popular that two mayoral candidates in the Village of Niles, a northwest suburb of Chicago (pop. 30,000), are putting it at the center of their campaigns. But it's not ethics as most of us like to think of it.

October 15, 2008

Selling a Lack of Expertise

Expertise is one of the most difficult issues in local government ethics. In most cases, more expertise also means more potential conflicts of interest, and yet it can also mean more effective government. According to an article in yesterday's Park Record (Park City, UT), a Summit County Council candidate running against the head of a development company is focusing on this issue.

June 20, 2009

Selling Advertising on Local Government Websites

Over the last two days, a new-fangled local government ethics controversy has taken Ohio by storm: allowing counties to sell advertising on their websites. A law to that effect has been inserted in the pending state budget bill, according to an Associated Press article.

The rationale is simple: county governments need money and, if ads are okay for buses and bus stops, why not for websites?

Conflicts of Interest January 25, 2011

Separating the Personal from the Public: Two Examples

Alabama's new governor, Robert Bentley, said last week in a speech that people who do not accept Jesus as their savior are not his brother or his sister. Leaving the religious aspects of this aside, there are two important government ethics issues here, one involving preferential treatment and the other involving the core government ethics issue, the confusion of self and office.

Enforcement & Complaints February 23, 2011

Serious Penalties — Criminal vs. Civil

I'm going to keep showing how wrong the criminal enforcement of ethics laws is until there is at least some sign of movement away from it. This time I will do it by looking at two recent proceedings in which serious penalties are involved, one criminal, the other civil. The criminal penalties are about punishment, the civil penalties about strengthening the ethics program and sending important messages to other officials and employees.

Eye-for-an-Eye Punishment

April 30, 2007

SERVICES

Many citizens and government officials see the need to strengthen ethics programs in their cities, towns, and counties. But how do you get started? Do you have to be a lawyer to understand and work through this process?

June 27, 2006

Setback for Municipal Campaign Finance Reform

Yesterday's Supreme Court decision in Randall v. Sorrell is a setback for municipal efforts at campaign finance reform (CFR).

September 28, 2008

Setting the Record Straight in Missouri

A troubling KMOV television news report from Missouri (yes, another story from Missouri) has caught fire on right-leaning blogs. A self-styled Obama Truth Squad has been formed in Missouri, consisting of city and county prosecutors and sheriffs, who intend to set the record straight in response to advertisements that falsely characterize Sen. Obama and his policies. Examples include his religion and his tax cut proposal.

Enforcement & Complaints August 6, 2008

Settlement Agreements

Most local government ethics codes do not explicitly deal with settlement agreements, but most state ethics codes do. I left settlement agreements out of my first draft of the City Ethics Model Code, but I have just added a provision, Section 213(5). The language is based on that of several state ethics codes and rules, especially those of Ohio and Georgia.

Click here to read the rest of this blog entry.

Safra Working Papers

Local Government Ethics Programs 2.0:

A Resource for Ethics Commission Members, Local Officials, Attorneys, Journalists, and Students, And a Manual for Ethics Reform

by Robert Wechsler, Director of Research-Retired at City Ethics

The second edition of this comprehensive book about localgovernment ethics programs. And it's free!

A Resource for Ethics Commission Members, Local Officials,
Attorneys, Journalists, and Students,
And a Manual for Ethics Reform

The second edition of this comprehensive book about local
government ethics programs. And it's free!