City Related | City Ethics

Ethics Commissions & Administration June 25, 2008

Starving Ethics Commissions of Resources - The Situation in Oklahoma

Money is not only the root of much of the evil in government ethics, it is also the lifeblood of government ethics. Without money, ethics commissions, at least in cities and states, as opposed to towns, cannot do their job.

Do something the legislative body doesn't like and it has a good way to get back at you: cut off your funds or fail to fund your new obligations. At budget time, government ethics commissions, no matter how independent, often become just another political football.

Enforcement & Complaints June 24, 2008

Superior Handling of a Conflict Matter

Too many of my blog entries look at instances where things did not go right. One reason is that when things do go right, no one talks about them. Another reason is that so often ethics problems are not handled very well.

So it's nice to read about the proper handling of a conflict situation in Superior, Wisconsin. I suppose when you live in a town with this name, your aspirations are greater than most cities'.

Click here to read the rest of this blog entry.

Conflicts of Interest June 23, 2008

The Special Responsibilities of Prosecutors -- and Other Local Government Attorneys

An article on the front page of today's New York Times presents us with an opportunity to focus on the special ethical responsibilities of prosecutors, and other local government attorneys.

Enforcement & Complaints June 22, 2008

Acknowledging Ethics Violations in Settlements

Should an agreement between an ethics commission and a respondent, which ends an ethics proceeding, include an acknowledgment by the respondent that he violated the ethics law?

According to an article in yesterday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee thinks not. The Arkansas Ethics Commission director disagrees.

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Conflicts of Interest June 20, 2008

Registrars of Voters and Their Conflicts

If you were going to set up a local election system devoted to fairness and to voters, how would you have registrars of voters selected? Would you have them appointed or elected? Would you have them be party members or nonpartisan?

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Ethics Codes & Reform June 18, 2008

The Benefits of Hyperlinking Ethics Codes, and the Dependency of Children

According to an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, a county commissioner in Ohio voted on a contract that went to her non-dependent son, and she is being investigated by the Ohio Ethics Commission.

Enforcement & Complaints June 17, 2008

Pension Forfeiture

My state, Connecticut, has just added itself to the at least 14 states that provide for public official pension forfeiture. Like some of the other states, its new law covers municipal officials.

Conflicts of Interest June 12, 2008

Pension Fund Boards and Conflicts of Interest

Who should be on a local government pension board? Should conflicts of interest be taken into account? These two questions are closely interrelated, because the common answer seems to be that those with the greatest conflict are also the most appropriate members.

There are two values at odds here: letting employees and retirees manage their own pensions, and the public interest in having tax dollars handled by disinterested and competent individuals.

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Transparency & Disclosure June 11, 2008

Blogging by Local Government Officials - A New Kind of Transparency

Once again, California is in the vanguard. This time, it's blogs by mayors, city managers, and other local government officials (for list, click here; not all of these are government officials' blogs, but many are and it's not hard to tell them apart).

Enforcement & Complaints June 10, 2008

Standards of Proof in Ethics Enforcement

The standard of proof for determining whether an ethical violation occurred has become an issue in Louisiana's ethics reform. After looking at several local government ethics codes, as well as the ethics codes of the states that have jurisdiction over local government officials, I don't think standards of proof have become enough of an issue in most jurisdictions.

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