City Related | City Ethics

Conflicts of Interest November 17, 2010

A Gift of Books: Intellectual vs. Monetary Value

More from Madison. According to an article last month on the Channel3000.com website, a stagehands union sent 28 copies of a book on creating and maintaining healthy arts organizations to members of the Madison council and members of an ad hoc committee on the future of the city's arts center. The union insists that the books were loaned, not given, and that the book doesn't even take a position on how to handle the arts center.

Conflicts of Interest November 16, 2010

Soliciting Funds for a Conference and an Arts Center

There are some interesting ethics issues being raised in Madison, Wisconsin.

The mayor of Madison was asked to co-chair a committee that will be raising funds to sponsor a national conference of urban designers and developers to be held in Madison. One job for the mayor would be to send out fundraising letters and follow up with phone calls to companies and individuals, including some that do business with the city.

Ethics Codes & Reform November 13, 2010

Waivers and Ironies

This post will be of special interest to those who enjoy the occasional ironies that arise in the world of government ethics. According to an article in today's New York Times, the woman named to be New York City's new schools chancellor has decided to resign from her positions on the boards of Coca Cola, IBM, and Hearst Magazines (where she is chair), at a great financial cost to her. Of these three, only IBM has contracts with the city.

November 11, 2010

Drastic Proposals to Disassemble the Dream Machine

Vernon, CA, the subject of several blog posts here (click here for the latest), has been the object of criminal investigations, but now local officials are starting to get creative in response to the most creatively imagined city in the U.S.

Solution 1: Constitutional Amendment

November 6, 2010

A Miscellany

County Ethics Embraced By Its Cities and Towns
Ethics reform won big in Palm Beach County on Tuesday. The final tallies were published on Friday. According to an article in yesterday's Palm Beach Post, every single city and town in the county voted in favor of applying the county's code to their town. Overall, 72% of voters supported this reform. Even in the town of Palm Beach, whose council and civic association opposed the reform, 60% of voters supported reform.

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?

Ethics Codes & Reform November 4, 2010

Ethics Reform in Niles (IL): Don't Try This at Home

Almost two years ago, I wrote about the self-serving nature of attempts at ethics reform in the village of Niles, outside Chicago. A lot has happened since then, but in terms of an ethics program, not much.

Ethics Commissions & Administration November 4, 2010

More from Atlanta: The Usefulness of Advisories and of Seeking Comments on Draft Advisory Opinions

According to the Atlanta ethics office's fall newsletter, the Atlanta Board of Ethics reached a settlement with a council member who sought reimbursement from the city for costs related to her campaign newsletter, including payments to campaign workers who distributed it door-to-door in her district just before the 2009 election. She agreed to a fine of $1,500, plus restitution of $5,200 for city funds used to pay campaign expenses.

Ethics Commissions & Administration November 2, 2010

An Exemplary Ethics Officer Report on a Specific Ethics Matter

An Ethics Matters newsletter from the Atlanta ethics officer is always a valuable occasion for those interested in local government ethics. The fall newsletter is no exception (to subscribe, e-mail [email protected]). This is the first of two blog posts about matters raised in the fall newsletter.

Enforcement & Complaints October 30, 2010

Disgorgement of Gains or Civil Forfeiture

Hidden in the middle of Question 2 on the New York City ballot this week are two important changes in the city's conflicts of interest law (to my knowledge, the nation's only aptly named ethics code). The current conflicts of interest section of the city charter can be found at pp. 319 ff.

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