The Independence of New Orleans' Ethics Program
The New Orleans Ethics Review Board, formed in 2006, certainly wins an
A for independence. According to the <a href="http://nolaethics.com/uploads/File/Legislation/City%20Code%20of%20Ethic…; target="”_blank”">city
ethics code</a>, six of its seven members are chosen by the mayor (with
council approval) from nominees submitted by the heads of five local
private universities (the seventh is the mayor's to select).
Unfortunately, the result is that the majority of board members work
at the universities.<br>
<br>
This independence is taken another step. According to the <a href="http://nolaethics.com/uploads/File/Legislation/OIG%20Ordinance.pdf" target="”_blank”">Inspector
General ordinance</a>, the IG is selected by the ethics review board.
Within the IG's office is an independent police monitor. So the
principal ethics and compliance personnel are in the same independent
office.<br>
<br>
And best of all, according to the board's <a href="http://nolaethics.com/uploads/File/ERB%20Annual%20Report.pdf" target="”_blank”">2008
report</a>, in October 2008 "the citizens of New Orleans voted to amend
the Home Rule Charter to ... establish a shared funding appropriation
for the Ethics Review Board and the Office of Inspector General." More
specifically, §9-401 of the <a href="http://www.cityofno.com/Portals/Intelliport/Resources/HomeRuleCharterCN…; target="”_blank”">Home
Rule Charter</a> provides:<br>
<br>
<ul> The OIG, in conjunction with the
Ethics Review Board, shall receive an annual appropriation from the
Council in an amount not less than .75% (three-quarters of one percent)
of the General Fund operating budget, adopted pursuant to Section
3-115(2), which individual appropriation may not be vetoed by the
Mayor, .... The Council may by ordinance, adopted by unanimous vote of
a quorum, provide for deviation from this percentage in cases of
natural disaster or other extreme circumstances. Of the budget
percentage specified in this paragraph, an amount shall be allocated
for the operation of the Ethics Review Board adequate to implement its
functions efficiently and effectively.<br>
</ul>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/09/after_new_inspector_gene…; target="”_blank”">an
article</a> in this week's New Orleans <i>Times-Picayune</i>, a new inspector
general, Edouard Quatrevaux, was selected by the board. It will be
interesting to see what the ethics review board and inspector general
do with their unusual yet valuable independence and protected budget.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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