Dallas Ethics Reform Proposals to Go to Vote November 9

Anonymous

Sat, 10/31/2009 - 06:16

City Related

<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/council-fiefdoms-and-unethical-behavi…; target="”_blank”">Dallas
council members' control</a> over development in their districts led
earlier this month to the<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/extortion-convictions-dallas-fascinat…; target="”_blank”">
conviction</a> of one council member and four associates for extortion. 
 
Now the Dallas mayor, Tom Leppert, is effectively forcing the hand of
the city council to enact ethics reforms to provide more transparency
and oversight with respect to development matters. According to <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/local/stories…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Dallas Morning News</a>, at this week's council meeting,
despite attempts to close debate, the mayor somehow got ten of fifteen
council members to support his reforms, as amended, in a straw poll. A
final vote is expected at the next meeting, on November 9.

Here's
what the ethics reform proposals look like: 
<ul>Lobbyist
Disclosure - Lobbyists (people who make or spend
more than $200 to
influence city officials) will have to register and file quarterly
reports disclosing contacts with
high-level city officials, the issues those officials were lobbied on,
and a list of expenditures used for lobbying on municipal matters,
among other requirements. In addition, on significant zoning cases,
applicants, landowners, and people with contracts to purchase property
must disclose contacts with City Council members and plan
commissioners. 
 
Campaign Contribution
Ban - Ban on campaign contributions from the time a zoning
application is filed until 60 days after it is resolved, and the same
applies to applicants seeking tax abatements, credits,
grants or similar city subsidies, and to those bidding on city contracts (some
argued that this would be prejudicial to incumbents, but this would
hardly offset the advantage incumbents have) 
 
Zoning Oversight -
Council members must get two other council members to "second" any zoning
motion, and acknowledge having
reviewed the case, before it could go to a vote of the full council (an
interesting quote from a council member: "Corruption is
not corrected by my having to do some other council member's work.
Corruption comes when I don't have enough time to do the work that
supports my family." This was the most controversial provision.) 
</div>
 
</ul>
Zoning consultants were strong in their criticism of the first
proposal. One of them told the council, "I think you have diluted the
idea
of transparency. This is more of a public ploy. It's not
going to change corruption – don't get that in your minds." He called
the disclosures cumbersome and costly, and suggested it
was an effort by City Hall to make money. 
 
The zoning consultant is right about these reforms not being enough to
end corruption. But they're steps in the right direction. All of these
are good, important ethics reforms. 
 
Robert Wechsler 
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics 
 
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Dallas Ethics Reform Proposals to Go to Vote November 9

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