Local Government Practice

What are the government ethics implications of private security when it goes beyond protecting specific businesses, malls, universities, and gated communities, becomes an adjunct to or replacement of an ordinary police force, and is done in conjunction with the public police force and, often, using…

  The bill creating the Inspector General Office Jax 2014-519 The bill putting it on the ballot to extend the jurisdiction of the IG office to all independent authorities (Electric, Port, Transportation, Airport, and all elected constitutional officers.)  The referendum passed in March 2015. Jax 20…

Protecting Whistleblowers:Best Practices for Promoting Ethics in Governmentby Dana L. Gold[1]Senior Fellow, Government Accountability ProjectThe Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases, publicizing conce…

The last time I discussed contingency fee arrangements in local government contracting was 2007 (the focus then was on attorneys). A front-page story in today's New York Times shows clearly that I have not been giving this topic the attention it deserves. Allegations have been made by the U.S. Atto…

An interesting debate about lobbying and advisory groups can be found on the Austin Bulldog website. Late last week, the Bulldog published an article about an ethics complaint filed by the president of the Austin Neighborhoods Council (ANC) against an appointed member of the Land Development Code A…

Is it appropriate for a mayor — especially a mayor in a city with strict gift rules and a public campaign financing program that has strict campaign contribution limits — to work with an organization that lobbies the state on behalf of his policies and sponsors ads and materials that support his vi…

An investigative piece in yesterday's New York Times raises an interesting issue regarding complicity in ethical misconduct:  is there an obligation not to be complicit with misconduct at a different governmental level when, arguably, that misconduct financially benefits one's own government? Accor…

Consent agendas, also known as consent calendars, are an excellent way to get around the disclosure of conflicts (and, as Dallas showed us in 2011, to amend ethics provisions without a discussion (see my blog post on this)). A consent agenda is a way to deal, in a single motion and a single vote, w…

Sometimes Withdrawal and Formal Processes Are Not Enough It never looks good when a high-level elected official gets a job with the government while in office or soon after leaving office. It looks like he got the job because of his influence and relationships with those who made the decision. Acco…

Some jurisdictions have an ethics provision entitled Prestige of Office that, among other things, limits work that officials can do outside of government. Here is the language that the Baltimore school district uses (this is essentially the same as the city government's Prestige of Office provision…