City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

July 9, 2012

An Interesting Agency Independence from Ethics Enforcement Issue in Broward County

I've written about the issue of ethics commission jurisdiction over independent agencies and authorities, which arose in recent years in such places as Jacksonville, Louisville, and Palm Beach and Broward counties in Florida. The issue has arisen again in Broward County, in a different and interest…

Enforcement & Complaints July 6, 2012

The Effect of Ethics Violations on Job Prospects

Should an ethics violation be an impediment to future jobs? In general, I don't think so, especially when the violation was handled responsibly, that is, without a denial, cover-up, and costly, unnecessary investigation and hearing process. But sometimes ethics violations involve much more than the…

Transparency & Disclosure July 5, 2012

School District Lobbying: Defining, Disclosing, Penalizing

Defining what lobbying is is one of the most important parts of a lobbying law. Not only are many definitions of lobbying unclear or full of loopholes, but it is difficult to get even a good definition across, because the popular concept of lobbying is different from what lobbying really is. This c…

July 3, 2012

Problems with Luzerne County's New Ethics Program

I have written three blog posts criticizing the ethics program created by Luzerne County, PA in response to one of the ugliest scandals in modern times. Luzerne County finally got its ethics program going this year, swearing in the members of its Accountability, Conduct, and Ethics Commission in Ma…

Ethics Commissions & Administration July 2, 2012

The Need for Ethics Oversight of COGs

They have various names, such as councils of governments (COGs), joint powers authorities (JPAs), and regional councils or commissions, but whatever names they have, these local government associations are often left outside of both local and state government ethics programs. And yet, as the term "…

Ethics Commissions & Administration June 29, 2012

Dealing with the Potential Conflicts Involved in EC Board Member Selection

There is a great deal to be learned from the selection process for the new District of Columbia Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, which is effectively complete. Three weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about the nomination of Robert Spagnoletti to be chair of the new ethics board. I questi…

Conflicts of Interest June 23, 2012

Withdrawal, Secrecy, and Misuse of Confidential Information Issues in an Economic Incentive Matter

Providing incentives to attract companies or get them to expand their operations in a city or county has always been a controversial issue. Incentives are seen as necessary to attract, keep, or expand jobs locally, but they can also be an unnecessary way to get local governments into bidding wars (…

June 21, 2012

Ethics Reports and Efforts in New Orleans

New Orleans must have the largest number of civic organizations that focus on government ethics, and the greatest amount of activity among them. There is the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a watchdog group that has filed ethics complaints (see my two blog posts that mention them: 1 2 ). There is …

Ethics Commissions & Administration June 20, 2012

Book Excerpt 2: A Checklist of Ethics Commission Activities

Here is one of the most useful sections of my new book Local Government Ethics Programs. Summer is upon us, and most ethics commissions that do not have a case before them do not meet. In fact, many ethics commissions are nearly inactive all year long. But this doesn't have to happen. There's a lot…

Transparency & Disclosure June 19, 2012

The Public Nature of Government Ethics Advice

There is a section of my new book Local Government Ethics Programs (click and scroll down to subsection 9) on the need for more transparency in the provision of ethics advice. What I just realized is that this is another government ethics topic on which Stephen Colbert, who has enlightened the U.S.…

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