New Cuyahoga County Ethics Code
This week, according to an article in the Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i>,
Cuyahoga County (which includes Cleveland) passed a new ethics code,
largely based on <a href="http://charter.cuyahogacounty.us/pdf_transitioninfo/en-US/COERecommenda…; target="”_blank”">the
recommended code</a>
drafted in October by the Code of Ethics Workgroup, set up by the Cuyahoga County Transition Advisory Group Executive
Committee (the transition referred to is a change in form of
government; see <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/ethics-reformform-government-spat-cuy…; target="”_blank”">my
blog post</a> on this).<br>
<br>
I could not find the final code. But the only major change mentioned online involves allowing county employees with seats on nonpartisan government
bodies to keep their jobs (see <a href="http://westlife.northcoastnow.com/nonpartisan-elected-officials-can-kee…; target="”_blank”">a
West Life article from January</a>).<br>
<br>
<b>Good Things</b><br>
The best parts of the ethics provisions are the code's lobbyist and
contractor
registry, disclosure, and gift provisions, and its requirement to
disclose knowledge of ethical or criminal violations, which is part of
the whistleblower protection provision.<br>
<br>
With respect to administration, the best part is the selection of
ethics board members by "leaders of established countywide,
nonpartisan, nonprofit entities interested in good government and
institutional integrity." The council will choose which leaders to ask
for submissions of names, but the code makes some recommendations of
organizations:<ul>
NAACP, the Norman Minor Bar Assn., an inter-faith clergy group, the
Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Young Presidents’ Organization, the
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the City Club, a local
university ethics faculty, the Center for Community Solutions, the
North Shore Federation of Labor, a County employee association or the
League of Women Voters.</ul>
Another great thing is that there will be an ethics officer who will be
selected by and accountable to the ethics board.<br>
<br>
Most special about this ethics program is that it includes an Internal
Ethics Committee consisting of representatives from each office and
department to act as ethics liaisons and to help with communication and
ethics training. This is unusual outside of larger bureaucracies.<br>
<br>
Another excellent provision allows for anonymous tips and gives the ethics board
the authority to initiate an investigation.<br>
<br>
In addition, an inspector general will be hired, but the details about
this have not yet been worked out.<br>
<br>
<b>The Problems</b><br>
There are problems with the code, however. Since the state ethics code
applies to local governments, and the state ethics commission has
jurisdiction over their officials and employees, the Cuyahoga code says
that "the intention of this Code to reinforce rather than to replace
that principled oversight." The entire state code is incorporated by
reference into the local code (and most of its provisions are right out
of the state code, whether they're "good" provisions or not), but it is
not clear whether the local ethics board or the state EC would have
jurisdiction over a case where both codes dealt with the same matter. This could cause confusion and issues involving which body(ies) to file a complaint with.<br>
<br>
According to the <i>Plain Dealer</i> article, the state EC has said that the
Cuyahoga ordinance provides "a solid foundation as Council moves
forward with restoring and rebuilding integrity and confidence in
county governance." So it's on board, at least.<br>
<br>
A related problem is the fact that the Ohio ethics code makes ethics
violations criminal offenses. And so does the Cuyahoga code. I don't
think government ethics enforcement should be criminal (as I've argued
in a <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/617" target="”_blank”">past blog post</a>).
At least the county code's penalty provisions do not include any criminal remedies.
If the board feels there is a criminal violation, it is to turn the
matter over to the state EC or the criminal authorities. But it's not clear what about a matter makes it ripe for criminal enforcement of the very same ethics provision. Is it clear, provable intent?<br>
<br>
The penalty provisions are good. They provide the board with a range of possibilities, including warning,
admonition, and censure, as well as a contract ban, restitution, and
recovery of damage and litigation costs. In addition, the board can
recommend suspension, dismissal, and even removal from office.<br>
<br>
The principal problem I found with the code's ethics provisions is the
inclusion of discrimination and sexual harassment provisions. These are
not government ethics issues and should not be handled by a volunteer
board. There are professional officials and boards to deal with these
complex, extremely time-consuming matters.<br>
<br>
For more on Cuyahoga County ethics reform, see the following blog posts:<br>
<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/ethics-reformform-government-spat-cuy…; target="”_blank”">An
Ethics Reform/Form of Government Spat</a><br>
<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/new-cuyahoga-county-executive-puts-ne…; target="”_blank”">New
Ethics Policy</a> (January 2011)<br>
<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/vendor-codes-conduct-sound-better-the…; target="”_blank”">Vendor
Code of Conduct</a><br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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