Conflicts of Interest

What is more horrible than the scheme of two eastern Pennsylvania judges to fill two for-profit juvenile detention centers with thousands of youths who would not otherwise have been removed from their families and schools? The fact that they could get away with it in the midst of a world of profess…

One of my pet peeves is that many if not most local government ethics codes limit the definition of "conflict of interest" to situations where an official's interest involves money. But there are many personal interests that create a conflict, even though no money is involved. I learned this severa…

When is a conflict sufficient to require an official to resign (or not take a position in the first place)? This question involves a lot of gray area, and little black and white. What sorts of interest are enough to undermine public trust, and what sorts of interest provide opportunities for offici…

Gifts to local governments have become an issue recently in Sacramento, CA and Richland Hills, TX. I wrote about various aspects of this issue over two years ago. It's time to raise it with respect to concrete examples. Basically, gifts to local governments by businesses and individuals with a busi…

Special districts are an important and growing form of local government, and yet they often fly beneath the radar. In fact, I've only mentioned them once in my blog. And most citizens have no idea what they are or that they exist in their area (I myself can't name one in my area). For this reason, …

The Baltimore mayor's attorney has, only days after his client was indicted, given a course to drafters of local government ethics codes on how not to define "doing business" with a local government. The mayor's attorney, in a press conference, pointed out that Section 2-5 of the Baltimore Ethics C…

The status of a local government attorney is important. An external local government attorney, that is, one not employed full-time by the government, is still seen as the top legal official in town, someone whose word is effectively law, especially at government meetings. Such an attorney is also s…

Here's an interesting case study from Council Bluffs, IA. According to an article in yesterday's Daily Nonpareil, there is an issue involving whether a new county board member who sits on the board of the Iowa West Foundation has a conflict of interest. The foundation hands out big grants from thre…

How do you deal with a department head who helps creates a conflict of interest problem that does not apply to him personally? Few ethics codes contain complicity provisions that deal with this problem. The City Ethics Model Code complicity provision begins: "No one may, directly or indirectly, ind…

For all you local government legislative immunity fans, here's a case you'll enjoy (other local government ethics people should find it interesting, as well). A Virginia state senator has sued members of a city council for what they did in their legislative capacity, despite the fact that she knows…