Appearance Problems Surrounding a Request to Audit a County EC

Anonymous

Mon, 04/08/2013 - 08:23

County Related

Appearances are very important in government ethics. A situation
that has arisen with respect to a proposed state audit of the Palm
Beach County ethics commission has created serious appearance
problems.

According to <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/pal…; target="”_blank”">an
April 2 article in the Palm Beach Post</a>, state senator Joseph
Abruzzo requested an audit of the Palm Beach County EC. He described the audit
as a benefit to the EC:<blockquote>

"It is a good thing to audit government agencies, especially those
that look over others. The commission should welcome the audit with
open transparency as it adds credibility to the entire process. I am
a strong supporter of our inspector general and ethics oversight in
Palm Beach County. It is critical that proper training and
procedures are in place. The audit will help disclose how the
commission operates."</blockquote>

By itself, this would make the audit appear like a good thing for
everybody. Unfortunately, if one looks further, the appearance changes. 
 
A visit to <a href="http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/AgencyList.aspx">the
state auditing office's website</a> shows that it almost never
audits local agencies. It looked at some water management advisory
committees back in 2007, and in 2003 it audited a number of school
districts' financial management practices. But that's about it. The
state leaves local auditing to local auditors. 
 
So one wonders why the senator did not mention how unusual his
request was. <a href="http://www.integrityflorida.org/integrity-florida-letter-to-senator-jos…; target="”_blank”">A
letter to the senator from Integrity Florida</a>, dated April 5,
raises a possible answer to this question:<blockquote>

"We understand that your request for the review of Palm Beach
County’s
Ethics Commission came less than a week after your legislative
assistant, Philip Massa, failed to get the Ethics Commission's
executive director job."</blockquote>

In other words, there is a question whether the senator misused his office to retaliate for a slight to his aide. 
 
According to <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/ethics-commissioner-accuses-legi…; target="”_blank”">another
article in the Palm Beach Post</a>, Sen. Abruzzo had this to say
in response to the same observation made by a member of the EC:<blockquote>

“That is one of the most irresponsible comments I have ever heard.”</blockquote>

The EC member said that he welcomed the audit and would embrace
recommendations that improve the office. “But that is not what this
is about,” he said. “And you all know it.” 
 
According to the article, "Abruzzo said he is considering
introducing a bill that would 'ensure compliance and proper training
for ethics boards.' The lawmaker said he plans to meet with the
ethics commission after the state’s legislative session ends to
discuss the legislation." 
 
I don't know what he means by "compliance," but proper training is a
good thing, something that most EC members do not get. But if his
concern is about ECs in general, why not audit the whole lot of
them? Why, knowing that your aide has applied for an EC job, would
you risk making it look like you had a vendetta with this one
particular EC? 
 
Why would any government official act and speak in a way to allow a
reporter to write, as Andrew Marra did <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/opinion/editorial-why-is-abruzzo…; target="”_blank”">yesterday in a Palm Beach
Post editorial</a>? "State Sen. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, is a man
who believes in coincidences. At least, he expects Palm Beach County
residents to believe in them." Marra called the audit request "a
bizarre, nearly unprecedented move that smacks of retribution and
political intimidation." And he said that the senator's request
"seems of a piece with the organized resistance from many public
officials to the implementation since 2009 of the ethics commission
and the countywide Office of Inspector General." 
 
Abruzzo may, as he says, be completely innocent. But the appearance
is one of petty retribution at best, and at worst, part of a
concerted effort to undermine the EC. 
 
A Lobbying Arm 
There is another problem that concerns me even more. The senator who
called for the audit works for the law firm Weiss, Handler &
Cornwell. This firm is closely related to a separate legal entity, All
Florida Solutions, which is a lobbyist for the city of Boca Raton, whose
officials are under the jurisdiction of the Palm Beach County EC. Boca Raton has tried to prevent paying for the county's inspector general and has failed to establish required reporting policies relating to possible misconduct. 
 
This is where it's time to acknowledge that another local government
audit, of the Delray Beach
Community 
Redevelopment Agency,
has been requested. According to <a href="http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/04/04/delray-mayor-attacks-abruzzo-cle…; target="”_blank”">an
April 4 article in the BixPac Review</a>, it was requested by a
different state senator, but "pushed" by Abruzzo. 
 
According to the mayor of Delray Beach, Abruzzo's law firm is the
city's lobbyist. This suggests a serious conflict, which would
require that Abruzzo have nothing to do with the matter. 
 
Abruzzo defended himself against the idea that he has a conflict "with a lengthy statement, noting that the
firm he works for is legally separate from the city’s lobbying firm,
which he identified as All Florida Solutions. According to the
Florida Secretary of State’s Office, the registered agent for All
Florida Solutions is Henry Handler, a founding partner of Weiss,
Handler and Cornwell." 
 
Google "All Florida Solutions" and you will find nothing but a
corporationwiki page saying that the Handler of Weiss, Handler is
the firm's director and president. Otherwise, it has no apparent
existence, except on paper in the secretary of state's office. Even
the Delray Beach mayor considers the law firm, not the lobbying arm,
to be his city's lobbyist. 
 
This difference between law (the creation of a separate lobbying
arm) and appearance (the senator's boss runs the lobbying firm and
no one differentiates between the two) suggests the need for a
different sort of audit. Only a lawyer would believe that a legal
differentiation of entities matters when it come to government
ethics. This legal approach to government ethics is far more
dangerous to a government ethics program than whatever concerns the
senator might have about the Palm Beach County EC. Perhaps an audit needs to be done to establish best practices for officials dealing responsibly with conflicts, which would include a focus on appearance and reality instead of legal niceties. 
 
There is another coincidence in Delray Beach. According to <a href="http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-04-03/news/fl-delray-audit-scanda…; target="”_blank”">a
Sun-Sentinel article on April 4</a>, the criticism of the
redevelopment agency started immediately after a municipal election
in March. The criticism did not come from the senator, but it still
makes the audit request look like political retaliation. That's not
what audits should be for. It is important to request an audit when
it does not appear to be tied to any event that makes the request
seem like it's in an individual's personal or political interest.
Otherwise, the audit system will look like a political tool rather
than a benefit to the public. 
 
The EC's Role 
The final appearance problem involves the EC itself. Whatever
the appearance problems surrounding the audit request, it is not appropriate for EC
members to question the motives behind such a request or to make it look like they
oppose an audit of their agency. This makes it look like they have something to
hide. This is the impression one gets from reading some of the
comments to <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/opinion/editorial-why-is-abruzzo…; target="”_blank”">yesterday's
Post editorial</a>, for example:<blockquote>

When any Government agency complains about being named as a target
in an audit, it makes me worried. 
 
Palm Beach County is tagged as "Corruption County" from both FORBES
and TIME magazines. So, what is all the balking at oversight of the
oversighters?</blockquote>

An EC should leave accusations to good government groups like
Integrity Florida. 
 
Conclusion 
If Sen. Abruzzo is serious about improving how local ethics
commissions are managed, he should change his audit request to one
that covers all local ethics commissions. This will also make his
bill, presumably to be based on the results, that much more
valuable. But since it will cost the state a great deal of money,
the senator should make it clear exactly what his concerns are. 
 
The same thing goes for the Delray Beach redevelopment agency. It is my understanding that many
of these agencies have been involved in questionable practices. It
is wrong to pick one out. If there's a problem, do a study of the
whole bunch, and from this try to develop best practices. Don't act
in a way that appears to the public like a political vendetta. 
 
Robert Wechsler 
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics 
 
---

Search

Appearance Problems Surrounding a Request to Audit a County EC

Tags

Share This Page