Conflicts

Here's an interesting case study from Hartford, CT. The facts come from an NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters post from Friday and a report of the city's Chief Auditor dated June 27, 2013.

In October 2011,...

"[Standard & Poor's's ratings have always been] uninfluenced by conflicts of interest."

—Spokesperson for S&P, in response to a government lawsuit saying that S&P's ratings have been influenced by their conflicts of interest. Quoted in today's New York Times

The problem here is the language of "influence." There is no disagreement over whether S&P had, and still has, conflicts of...

One of the worst times to create a conflict of interest is in the midst of labor negotiations. This is what has happened recently in San Francisco, where Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is negotiating contracts with its three unions. There was a short strike in July, and now there are negotiations with an August 4 deadline.

The conflict involves the company for which BART's labor negotiator works, which is itself a large transportation company, specializing in bus transportation. The...

On Friday, New Orleans' Inspector General, who works for the city's ethics board, sent off two letters relating to the auditor for the Orleans Parish sheriff's office. One letter was sent to the state's ethics board, which has jurisdiction over local officials, requesting that it take "appropriate action."...

When it comes to conflicts of interest, is a local government attorney primarily an attorney or a local government official? I would answer this question, "Definitely an official." But recently the New Jersey Supreme Court answered this question, "Definitely an attorney." In fact, had the attorney been an administrator, the opinion suggests, the court's decision would have been different.

The opinion focuses on the standard for determining whether the decision of a local government...

Lawyers and confidentiality can both be serious obstacles to the effectiveness of a government ethics program. An ethics case in Trumbull, CT provides a good look at how this can happen.

Attorneys on an Ethics Commission
According to an article in the Trumbull Times last week and...