Unwritten Land Use Rules
I had a conversation with a developer the other day, which got me
thinking in what I think are interesting ways about unwritten land use rules.
Pressures on Developers
Pressures on Developers
Conflicts of Interest
March 1, 2011
Local Officials Sitting on Community Boards
I don't usually turn over an entire blog post to someone else, although I would like very much to do it. This
letter
to the editor by Kevin Haggerty, the Lackawanna County
(PA) deputy
director of government and community affairs (and candidate for state
representative), which appeared in the
Times Leader on Saturday, is too well written to summarize, and it says it all.
March 1, 2011
Miscellany of a Hundred Eyes
Let's Not Drink to It
Yes, it has happened. Local government ethics has been compared to Prohibition.
According to an article in the La Porte (IN) Herald Argus last Friday, this comparison was made by a superior court judge in town, who said that Prohibition "was intended to increase the productivity of workers ... but all it really did was create more problems.”
Yes, it has happened. Local government ethics has been compared to Prohibition.
According to an article in the La Porte (IN) Herald Argus last Friday, this comparison was made by a superior court judge in town, who said that Prohibition "was intended to increase the productivity of workers ... but all it really did was create more problems.”
Conflicts of Interest
February 28, 2011
A Few Interesting Conflict Issues Raised in a Western Suburb of Boston
According to an
article in the Metro West Daily News on Friday, the Ashland (MA)
board of selectmen sent two reported allegations of possible acts of ethical
misconduct to the state ethics
commission. The request sought not enforcement, but clarification. I hope by
"clarification" the board meant that it is seeking advice about
continuing the behavior. Its other option was to file a complaint with
respect to past behavior.
February 27, 2011
Local Legislative Immunity Bill in Virginia Fails
Here's a curiosity relating to local official legislative immunity.
According to an
article in statehousenewsonline.com on Friday, Virginia state
senator Chap Peterson sponsored a
bill to give local officials in Virginia legislative immunity. The
bill would have added the following provision to the state code, using the U.S.
February 26, 2011
A Miscellany
Conflicting Employment Is Nothing to Rave About
Some forms of conflicting employment are wrong to the extent that the only way to handle the conflict responsibly is to resign from one of the jobs. If this is not done, even a minor conflict can be very damaging, especially when there are already other problems. This is the case with an administrator at the Los Angeles Coliseum who worked on the side as a consultant for a company that annually produced a rave at the Coliseum.
Some forms of conflicting employment are wrong to the extent that the only way to handle the conflict responsibly is to resign from one of the jobs. If this is not done, even a minor conflict can be very damaging, especially when there are already other problems. This is the case with an administrator at the Los Angeles Coliseum who worked on the side as a consultant for a company that annually produced a rave at the Coliseum.
February 25, 2011
Opposing Public Sector Union Conflicts — Out of Context
It's nice to see conflicts of interest being opposed by political party
leaders, but not when they're taken out of context. The opposition this week
has been limited to public sector unions. The conflict involves
public sector unions making contributions to candidates who will be in
a position to deal with union compensation.
February 25, 2011
Term Limits and the Poor Handling of a Conflict in Pierce County, WA
Term limits, the recession, a new kind of governmental district, and a drive to save and manage local parks have all contributed to a fascinating ethics situation in Pierce County, Washington, home of Tacoma. Just last year I stayed in Pierce County and visited some of these parks, so this story is a little more concrete to me than most I write about.
Park Districts
Conflicts of Interest
February 24, 2011
Three Conflict Case Studies
Here are three interesting conflict of interest case studies from
Tuesday's news.
Conflicts That Make You Act Differently, and Imaginative Resolutions
Conflicts That Make You Act Differently, and Imaginative Resolutions
Enforcement & Complaints
February 23, 2011
Serious Penalties — Criminal vs. Civil
I'm going to keep showing how wrong the criminal
enforcement of ethics laws is until there is at least some sign of
movement away from it. This time I will do it by looking at two recent
proceedings in which serious penalties are involved, one criminal, the
other civil. The criminal penalties are about punishment, the civil
penalties about strengthening the ethics program and sending important
messages to other officials and employees.
Eye-for-an-Eye Punishment
Eye-for-an-Eye Punishment