New Cuyahoga County Executive Puts a New Ethics Policy First
Cuyahoga County, OH, which includes Cleveland, has been the site of a
large number of arrests of government officials, contractors, and
developers, primarily for making and accepting bribes (see my <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/763">blog post</a>). <a href="http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-news-new-indictment-county-corruption-prob… most recent arrest</a> occurred on December 17.<br>
<br>
As of this week, the county has a new form of government, featuring a county
executive and council, and a new (albeit so far barebones) <a href="http://executive.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/01032011-PR-Ethics-Policy.aspx…
policy</a> announced on Monday as the first act of the new county
executive. The basic ethics policy has only four provisions, as follows:
<ul>
<p>Will not solicit or accept anything of value for themselves or
family members which could improperly influence their official duties; </p>
<p>Will be required to sign an ethics policy statement and receive
training in ethics requirements of the new government; </p>
<p>Will not hold any outside or secondary employment without
approval through the Office of Human Resources, and must avoid any
employment that may conflict with the conduct of their duties;</p>
<p>Will have an affirmative duty to report apparent wrongdoing,
fraud or other unethical behavior they observe as members of the county
workforce – this includes behavior of outside vendors or other third
parties doing business or seeking to do business with Cuyahoga County.</p>
</ul>
The best part of this ethics policy is the intention to provide ethics
training and to require the reporting of unethical behavior. But the
heart of this ethics policy is stronger than its mind. The gift policy
provides little in the way of guidance, and leaves it up to the
official or employee to determine whether it could influence him (few
believe a gift could). The duty to report wrongdoing and unethical
behavior assumes that officials and employees know what these consist
of. And there is no hint of any way of seeking advice, procedures for
reporting, or enforcement of ethics rules.<br>
<br>
Most important, local government ethics in Ohio is under the
jurisdiction of the state ethics commission, but I did not see any
mention of this basic fact. There's not even a link to the commission
on the county website's link page. It will be interesting to see how the county executive's ethics reforms will be integrated with the state ethics program.<br>
<br>
The <a href="http://executive.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/01032011-PR-Ethics-Policy.aspx…
policy memo</a> says that the county Personnel Policies and Procedures
Manual will now apply to all employees in units that report to the
county executive, but neither a Google search nor a search within the
county website led me to this manual. The memo says that copies will be
e-mailed or delivered to all officials and employees, but it would be
nice for everyone to have easy access to the manual on-line. It will be
interesting to see how county ethics reforms will be integrated with personnel
policies.<br>
<br>
The new county executive says that he will install an inspector
general. It will be interesting to see how the IG's office is
integrated with the new ethics program.<br>
<br>
The county executive already arranged for <a href="http://executive.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/IntegrityAudit010411.aspx">an
"integrity audit"</a> by a former FBI agent, which is just now becoming
available, to provide information and recommendations for the inspector
general to hit the ground running. But according to <a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/01/integrity_audit_contains_no_ne…
article in today's Cleveland <i>Plain Dealer</i></a>, the audit contains no
new revelations, and the county executive's spokesman is now calling it
a "cursory review."<br>
<br>
Another idea the county executive has is the drafting of a vendor code
of conduct. This merits <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/vendor-codes-conduct-sound-better-the… own blog post</a>.<br>
<br>
One potentially good thing in the ethics policy memo is its reference
to training "in ethics and professionalism." I hope this means that the
training program will focus on the professionalism of government
ethics, that is, the fact that ethical decision-making by government
officials and employees is not just about acting good, but about acting
professionally and responsibly.<br>
<br>
In addition to an IG and ethics policy, the new county executive
promised in his race to bring transparency to county government. I wish
him well.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
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