Citizens' Views of Ethics Reform in Jacksonville

I served on the Ethics Commission for about three years and resigned out of frustration. I thought it was a waste of time.

I was convinced that, despite our commitment as commission members to assuring observance by officials of basic rules of ethical conduct, we did not have the support of those officials or the power to effectively accomplish anything of significance.

We existed only on paper. Having served on Florida Bar grievance committees and the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission for years, I saw how investigations into unethical conduct should occur. I was not seeing any semblance of such a system here.

We had no power, and we were constantly rebuffed. Local government officials simply paid lip service to the efforts of the commission. You would not believe how much time we spent debating simple issues, such as the enactment of rules pertaining to the bestowing of gifts, free dinners and tickets to sporting events on elected and appointed officials, as well as city employees by those doing business with the city.

We never had any authority to control such gratuities, obviously designed to curry favor. We never had the authority to investigate serious ethical matters.

It is imperative that Jacksonville have a strong, independent Ethics Commission. It should have a budget in line with other cities of comparable size. It should have jurisdiction over the independent authorities. It should be empowered to act on reported matters, as well as conduct its own investigations upon learning of possible misconduct.

Often, employees report unethical conduct but fear reprisal if their identity becomes known. There should be enforceable rules governing the acceptance of gifts and other conduct.

The chairman should be appointed by commission members, not the mayor or City Council. The members with whom I served never displayed any "witchhunt" mentality. We just wanted an honest and responsible government that the public could respect and depend upon. Is that an unreasonable expectation?

To our elected officials who fight such a system, I would ask this question: "What are you afraid of?" Act with integrity, and you have nothing to fear.

The track record for Jacksonville is not great. I would suggest a mechanism that most actions of the Ethics Commission would initiate from a complaint; however, the commission should be able to request that an investigation be started upon probable cause that an ethics violation has occurred absent a specific complaint.

The independent authorities serve us well, generally; however, "independent" means outside of the politics of the City Council and the mayor – not outside of proper oversight. —Robert Fagin

This office should be allowed to initiate its own investigation; waiting for a complaint is like closing the barn door after the horse is out! —Betty Jo Felker

I think any ethics committee should be independent and act when deemed necessary. It should not be appointed by the mayor. Too much opportunity to cover a crony's tracks. —Rich Hunt

Ethics officers have no place in Jacksonville. Let's fix some potholes instead, and let our government work as it was intended. The only ethics officer I need is a free press; and The Times-Union does a quite adequate job of that. —Thomas W. Diekmann

The best of city government provides an important service and actually pays for itself. Such is the case with the city of Jacksonville's Ethics Office.

As reported in an analysis of the ethics hotline from 2007 to 2011, the Ethics Office provided important services:

— It provided an outlet for complaints. Some were unfounded, but without an answer, they would have fed the rumor mill with unwarranted allegations.

— It educated the public. When people understand their government, they are more likely to trust it. For instance, there has been a steady increase in city employees calling the ethics officer directly for advice on issues. This is the ideal.

— Improvements were identified. Some activities may be legal and ethical but far from the best practices. The Ethics Office provides an outlet for constructive suggestions.

— Complaints were handled timely. Valid ones are corrected promptly. Not valid ones were answered quickly.

In short, reports Ethics Officer Carla Miller, "A foundation has been laid for an effective communication tool with the community and a way for corruption and waste to be identified and handled."

Not the least, the office has paid for itself. Miller identified savings ranging from $579,483 to $938,527. The cost of the part-time position for 31/2 years was about $262,000. Miller personally takes most of the hotline calls.

The key savings involved a tip involving a problem with a $1.4 million bid for a disparity study. Miller suggested pulling back the contract. It was rebid at a lower cost.

Another complaint involved a proprietary bid, which was cancelled after the Ethics Office flagged it. Instead, an existing contract was extended at a savings.

Now city leaders need to look for improvements in the office. Miller proposes a roundtable discussion with the inspector general, City Council auditor and all independent authority auditors and ethics officers to focus on best practices.

For instance, local conflict of interest laws are confusing and poorly worded. No one has ever been charged in these areas, Miller writes. "Either the laws do not relate to what is happening, the laws are poorly written or no one ever does anything wrong," she wrote.

All in all, an independent and assertive Ethics Office can find problems early, educate the public and even save the taxpayers money. And that's the point.