City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

February 15, 2007

It Takes a Village: Behind the Indictment of Philadelphia's Vincent Fumo

Either the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is the head of a vicious manhunt unknown since the days of J. Edgar Hoover, or Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent J. Fumo has not only failed to apologize for all that he has done, but he has, like so many unethical politicians befor…

Ethics Codes & Reform February 2, 2007

Penalties and Unions

This is the place to discuss negotiating with unions regarding penalties that apply to their municipal employee members. This is a sensitive area, where open discussion could be especially helpful to preventing friction by considering union perspectives and requirements as part of the process of pr…

Ethics Codes & Reform February 2, 2007

Application of Code

Some municipalities limit some provisions to certain officials, so that, for instance, employees do not have to go through the same level of annual disclosure as officials do, or only officials and employees dealing with contracts, development, zoning, etc. need file annual disclosure forms. This i…

Ethics Codes & Reform January 29, 2007

How Should Ethics Reform Be Done?

The ethics reforms coming out of New York and Utah provide two contrasting, yet equally questionable approaches. In New York state, ethics legislation was negotiated among the new governor, the assembly speaker, and the senate majority leader, behind closed doors. In Utah, the governor said he woul…

Ethics Commissions & Administration January 26, 2007

Funding Ethics Commissions

As I state in my comments to section 207 of the model code, cutting the funding of ethics commissions is a popular way for politicians to prevent investigations from happening. Therefore, ethics reformers are always looking for new ways to ensure funding. In Oregon, legislators decided to turn to l…

Conflicts of Interest January 26, 2007

Multiple Hats

What's the difference between wearing multiple hats and having conflicts of interest? Former Vancouver City Manager Ken Dobell is the project manager (contractor, not employee) for a cultural precinct in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is also chair of the finance committee of the Vancouver Organiz…

Resources & Learning January 24, 2007

Cynicism About Ethics Training

One of the most serious obstacles to ethics training is cynicism. For example, a councilman in South Lake Tahoe, California said, according to a recent article in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, that the California requirement of ethics training for all municipal officials is an indication of a breakdown …

Ethics Commissions & Administration January 24, 2007

Clear Air in Manhattan: Independence of Ethics Commissions Part 2

How can an ethics commission be truly independent? In the model code I wrote as the beginning of what I hope will be a long public conversation about all aspects of municipal ethics, I suggest that a municipality's legislative body appoint members from a list given to them by the local League of Wo…

Ethics Commissions & Administration January 23, 2007

Clearing the Air?: The Independence of Ethics Commissions

When an ethics commission is appointed by the city's principal officials, can it possibly clear the air with respect to allegations against them? Baltimore's Board of Ethics has five members, four of them appointed by the mayor, three of those confirmed by the Council, and the fifth member appointe…

Ethics Codes & Reform January 22, 2007

Passing or Improving Ethics Codes: Problems and Solutions

This is the place to share your experiences with and thoughts about problems faced in passing or improving municipal ethics codes, and possible solutions to these problems.

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