An Exemplary Ethics Officer Report on a Specific Ethics Matter
An <i>Ethics Matters</i> newsletter from the Atlanta ethics officer is always
a valuable occasion for those interested in local government ethics.
<a href="http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/boards/ethics_matt…; target="”_blank”">The fall newsletter</a> is no exception (to subscribe, e-mail [email protected]). This is the first
of two blog posts about matters raised in the fall newsletter.<br>
<br>
One newsletter article concerns a matter <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/having-concessionaires-and-contractor…; target="”_blank”">I
wrote about in June</a>. The matter involves a farewell dinner paid for
by companies doing business with the department, with funds passed
through the local chamber of commerce, which meant that no report was
legally due on gifts made for the occasion.<br>
<br>
After the local newspaper wrote about this matter, the mayor asked the
ethics officer to report on it. <a href="http://www.atlantaga.gov/client_resources/government/boards/board_of_et…; target="”_blank”">The
report</a>, dated August 24, determines that donations from prohibited
sources may be used for a retirement party, as long as they are offered
to and accepted by the city, and are properly reported. Although the
checks were payable to the chamber of commerce, the ethics officer
found them to be "in the nature of gifts to the department," and found
that "while the use of a private group to handle the funds may have
been well intentioned, it resulted in less transparency and
accountability" by circumventing disclosure rules.<br>
<br>
The report moves on to the issue of employees targeting prohibited
sources for donations. The Board of Ethics had already responded to
this issue by providing guidelines for solicitations made by employees
on behalf of the city:<ul>
• The official or employee must solicit in an official capacity<br>
• The solicitation must be made for a city purpose, project, or program<br>
• The fund-raising campaign should make a broad public appeal for
support<br>
• The solicitation should not target prohibited sources<br>
• The gift must be given to the City of Atlanta or one of its agencies<br>
• The gift must be publicly disclosed on an online gift report form<br>
• The gift cannot be calculated to influence any vote, decision, or
official action</ul>
These are clear, excellent guidelines, and the ethics officer
determined that they were not followed in this matter.<br>
<br>
What I love most about how Atlanta's ethics officer handles matters
such as this is that she doesn't just stop when the particular matter has been dealt with. She goes on to
consider problems that still exist. In this case, under the
guidelines, soliciting prohibited sources is allowed as part of a broad
public appeal. She writes:<ul>
This review has raised serious questions about whether the current
advisory opinions that allow solicitations of prohibited sources as
part of a broad public appeal operate in the best interest of the City
and in keeping with the purpose of the Ethics Code. Accordingly, we
plan to seek a formal advisory opinion from the Board of Ethics on the
circumstances under which city employees can solicit donations from
companies doing business with or seeking official action from their
city departments.</ul>
Also worth noting is the report's conclusion, which takes a very
practical, problem-solving approach to the matter:<ul>
However well intentioned, the planning committee’s decision to hold a
hybrid event – part private and part public – created appearance
problems. By asking for financial support from companies that do
business at the airport, city employees placed themselves and the
donors in an untenable position; what was intended to be a celebration
honoring a public servant for his 12 years of service instead became a
subject of controversy in which motives were questioned. In the future,
the better practice would be to host a more modest affair funded
entirely by the City and persons in attendance. If the business
community wishes to honor a retiring official or employee, it may
establish a private planning committee to organize and raise funds for
the event.</ul>
Local government ethics programs across the country should look at this
report, and its underlying advisory opinion, as an example to copy in
approaching ethics matters. They should also recognize from this report
how important it is to have an ethics officer. An ethics commission
without professional staff that reports to it could not produce such
important analyses of matters that come before it, and government
officials would not be able to seek reviews of such matters in a
timely, professional manner. City attorney involvement, even when it does not politicize a matter, is not enough. The same report by a city attorney would be less likely to look beyond the current law, nor provide such practical suggestions for the future.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
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