Ethics Reform IV - Allen County and Columbus, IN et al
<b>Allen County, IN</b><br>
According to <a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130615/LOCAL/306159987/1002/LOC…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the <i>Journal Gazette</i>,</a> Allen County, IN, which
includes Fort Wayne, amended its ethics ordinance after a complaint
was brought against a member of the county council. It turned out
that it wasn't clear whether the ethics ordinance even applied to
elected officials, whether the ethics commission could sanction
officials, or even how the chair is appointed or what constitutes a
quorum (the last two topics could easily have been dealt with in
bylaws).<br>
<br>
It appears from the article that the county commission just did some
housekeeping, bringing more clarity to the ethics ordinance, rather
than attempting any true ethics reform. It did give the EC
jurisdiction over elected officials, but still allowed elected
officials to make determinations re sanctions (the top sanction
being censure). It did increase the EC's membership from three to five,
which is a good thing. But in a county of 355,000, there still is no
ethics program: no ethics officer, no timely advice, no
required training, no disclosure, no rule on withdrawal, no hotline.
The county commissioner spearheading the reform thinks Allen County
has a good ordinance, although he acknowledges there may be more to
do. The county commission should certainly do more.<br>
<br>
<b>Columbus, IN</b><br>
This city of 45,000 not far from Indianapolis seems to be completely
lost when it comes to establishing a government ethics program.
According to <a href="http://www.therepublic.com/view/local_story/City-to-look-at-ethics-rule…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the <i>Republic</i></a>, the mayor pushed for ethics rules for
a year, the city attorney wrote them up, and then the council
brought in an outside attorney who established "legal penalties for
being rude or insulting to other city officials."<br>
<br>
Fortunately, the council tossed that aside, went back to the now
former city attorney's draft, but changed it in two very important
ways. First, they took out the ethics commission and "ethics
attorney," and the penalties, as well. Then, they reduced the
ordinance to a resolution of the council, which has less force.<br>
<br>
Now they're arguing about the gift amount. I wouldn't expect much
from this ethics reform attempt.<br>
<br>
<b>Tallahassee</b><br>
According to <a href="http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20130611/POLITICSPOLICY/130610013/Et…; target="”_blank”">an article in the Tallahassee <i>Democrat</i></a>, the city's ethics
commission is finalizing recommendations for ethics reform,
including an independent ethics officer, a hotline, enhanced
training for employees, and ethics training for vendors.<br>
<br>
<b>South Carolina</b><br>
According to <a href="http://www.thestate.com/2013/06/08/2809998/state-house-for-sale-how-sc-…; target="”_blank”">an
overview article in the <i>State</i></a>, ethics reform in South Carolina
died after a blue-ribbon commission recommended the creation of
an independent board that could enforce ethics rules against state legislators.<br>
<br>
<b>Ontario</b><br>
According to <a href="http://www.lfpress.com/2013/06/18/municipal-conflict-of-interest-act-ne…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the London (ON) <i>Free Press</i></a>, provincial and
municipal officials are calling for changes to be made to the
Ontario conflicts of interest act after a judge dismissed Toronto's
mayor (see <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/judicial-dismissal-torontos-mayor" target="”_blank”">my
blog post</a>). One wonders, however, if they will do anything
more than correctly change the rule that requires judges to treat all ethics
violations equally, dismissing offenders for even minor misconduct.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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