City Ethics | Breaking the oxymoron: "City Ethics"

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 In other words, are they necessary or are they outdated in this age of government ethics?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.

November 3, 2010

Broward County Ethics Reform Passes, But Budget Concerns Remain

Broward County (FL) voters embraced (3-1) two ethics questions on the ballot yesterday, which applied the new county code of ethics to all municipalities in the county as well as to all constitutional offices (including the sheriff, appraiser, and clerk). They voted 6-1 for the question "Allow counties to show taxpayers the portion of property taxes attributable to constitutional officers." But this extremely reasonable matter still has to be approved by the state.

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.

Ethics Codes & Reform November 2, 2010

An Excellent Definition of "Corruption," and America's Fall in the Corruption Index

A week ago, Transparency International published its fifteenth annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which scores countries on the basis of a variety of independent reports on and surveys about corruption, including those from the World Bank and other development banks, and those surveying journalists, business executives, and international organization staff.

Conflicts of Interest November 1, 2010

Legislators and Pension Plans: The Class Exception vs. The Appearance of Impropriety

Government pensions are one of the most serious issues facing local and state governments. Most pension plans are underfunded, and the generous pensions, the relatively short vesting periods, and the low retirement ages that allow for at least one more career, not only cost taxpayers a great deal of money, but seem unfair to those without pensions or with far worse pension situations.

Conflicts of Interest October 31, 2010

Indirect Conflicts Involving Appointments

Election time makes public many ethics situations that make valuable case studies. One involves Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott.

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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