Safra Working Papers | City Ethics

Local Government Practice January 12, 2011

Hatch Act Problems and a Solution

I've written before about some of the problems relating to the Hatch Act's prohibition of local government employees running for office if their agency gets any funding from the federal government (1 2). Jason C.

Conflicts of Interest June 18, 2010

Having Concessionaires and Contractors Pay for Local Government Parties

It's a good thing, especially in this age of fiscal austerity, when a local government affair, such as a retirement party, is not paid for out of public funds. But retirement parties, within reason, are part of any organization's calendar. Better they be reasonable and paid for by taxpayers than the alternative.

July 20, 2009

He Zones, She Sells, and It's Legal (in Chicago)

No one does unethics like Chicago. It's been four months since I've written about the city, so it's long overdue.

Enforcement & Complaints November 27, 2006

Hearing Process

This is the place to comment on and discuss the hearing process for proceedings before the Ethics Commission. The assumption here is that such proceedings are public after a finding of probable cause. The discussion of whether or not they should be public is elsewhere.

214. Public Hearing Process.

1. After a finding of probable cause, the Ethics Commission must hold one or more public hearings, and the first public hearing must commence within thirty days after the finding of probable cause.

Conflicts of Interest July 13, 2011

Hearse Chasing As Misuse of Office

Everyone knows about ambulance-chasing lawyers, but until reading an article in today's Citizens' Voice of Luzerne County (PA), I had never heard of hearse-chasing deputy coroners. Maybe I would have known about them if I'd watched the TV show Six Feet Under.

Conflicts of Interest October 4, 2011

Helping Contractors Rather Than the Public

One thing jumped out at me from an article on the front page of the New York Times today that deals with a common government ethics situation. The situation involves a lobbyist hired because he had a close personal and professional relationship with the head of a department that had to approve his client's project.

Resources & Learning December 16, 2011

Henry Adams on Government Ethics

Henry Adams' 1880 novel Democracy is a must-read for those interested in government ethics. It's also a first-rate novel, full of wit, excellent writing, and a good portrayal of post-Civil War Washington. It's available free from Project Gutenberg, in six e-book formats.

Conflicts of Interest March 4, 2007

Hiding Conflicts Until the Last Second

It is very common for public servants to say (or others to say for them) that they did not feel they had a true conflict or did not understand the law. And often this is true. But why so often do those same people often try to hide the fact that they did not disclose their conflict (or the extent of it) or do something about it until they had no other choice? This is what happened recently in the New York City schools.

Transparency & Disclosure March 26, 2009

Hiding Conflicts vs. Disclosing Them

Hiding a conflict of interest can lead to much worse problems than appearing before an ethics commission and getting your hand slapped, or even getting slapped with a fine. A criminal case in Winston-Salem, NC this week shows how bad things can get.

Resources & Learning November 21, 2010

High Flying in The Fallen

I don't know how I failed to hear about this novel. Maybe I'm the last one on the block to do so, but it's been four years since T. Jefferson Parker's The Fallen was published. This detective novel involves the murder of an investigator for San Diego's "Ethics Authority," who falls from the sixth story of a hotel (must have been at a COGEL conference).

Conflicts of Interest March 1, 2013

High-Level Officials and Agencies Where Their Family Members Work

What is the best way to prevent high-level officials from participating in matters involving departments or agencies where their close family members are employed, without doing this unreasonably, that is, excluding situations where the family members have no influence and will receive no benefits?

Conflicts of Interest August 10, 2009

Hiring Experts and Giving Ethics Waivers: The Henry Paulson, Jr. Story

Again, a very public federal conflict of interest matter provides valuable material relevant to local government ethics. This time it's former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr.'s relationship with the firm he formerly headed, Goldman Sachs, the subject of a front-page story in Sunday's New York Times.

Experts in Government

Local Government Practice October 12, 2009

Holding Elected Officials to a Higher Standard

Should elected officials be held to a higher standard than ordinary people? And if so, who should decide?

Local Government Practice March 11, 2010

Holding Local Government Associations Accountable

Unions are paid for by union members, business associations are paid for by businesses, but local government associations are paid for by taxpayers, not by local governments. And yet while unions represent members, and business associations represent businesses, local government associations represent local governments. This setup is asking for trouble.

Ethics Codes & Reform November 29, 2006

Honesty in Applications for Positions

False statements are a means of unfairly manipulating a situation in one's own favor. Please share your thoughts about this problem and your experiences with attempts to solve it through an ethics code or otherwise.

100(21). Honesty in Applications for Positions

No person seeking to become an official or employee,* consultant* or contractor may make any false statement, submit any false document, or knowingly withhold information about wrongdoing in connection with employment by or service for the city.

June 24, 2006

HONOLULU, HI

Honolulu Government

Originally governed by a Board of Supervisors, the City & County of Honolulu is administered under a mayor-council system of governance overseeing all municipal services: civil defense, emergency medical, fire, parks and recreation, police, sanitation, streets, water, among others. One of the largest municipal governments in the United States, the City & County of Honolulu has an annual operating budget of $1 Billion.

Ethics Codes & Reform November 5, 2010

Horse and Carriage, or Love and Marriage?

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?

January 18, 2009

Hostile Takeovers in the Municipal World

When I wrote about the "industrial city" of Vernon, California a year ago, I didn't pay attention to a story that would, if it were true (allegations have been made but, as far as I know, not proven), make for a great movie, at least as dramatic as Chinatown, about municipal corruption in Southern California.

January 21, 2011

Houston Ethics Reform I: The Ethics Commission and What People Are Saying

Last week, the Houston council passed a number of amendments to its ethics ordinance. They were billed as a big step forwards, but I do not agree. In this post, I will look at what people have been saying about the reforms and how the role of the ethics commission has changed. In the next post I will take a critical look at the new provisions.

State Law and Criminalizing Ethics

January 21, 2011

Houston Ethics Reform II: The Ethics Provisions

There are several problems with Houston's new ethics provisions, in addition to what I pointed out in my last blog post. Some of them are typical, some of them are unusual. The ethics reform ordinance is attached; see below; the old ethics ordinance can be found by clicking here and scrolling down on the left to Code of Ordinances Chapter 18).

Impropriety and Misconduct