A Miscellany
<b>A New Use of a Nonprofit as a Conduit</b><br>
Pay to play appears to be as creative a field as cellphone apps. <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/d.c.-investigators-had-early-shot-at-thom…; target="”_blank”">An
article in the Washington <i>Examiner</i> on Sunday</a> points to a new
way to get developer money into an official's
pockets via a nonprofit organization. A zoning agreement stipulated that the developer would donate
$55,000 to the Business Council as part of its community
contributions. The Business Council was a nonprofit established by a council member, who appointed
its members, including one of his own staff members as its
treasurer.<br>
<br>
Because the zoning agreement did
not require the developer to make the payment until the first home
was sold, and the city's office of campaign finance reported on
the situation before the payment was made, no payment was actually made, so we don't know where it would have gone. But in January,
the same council member pleaded
guilty to directing city grant money to another nonprofit, which then
turned most of it over to the council member. So it doesn't take
much imagination to guess what would have happened had the
developer made the payment.<br>
<br>
Officials, as well as their family and staff members, should not
be involved with nonprofits that get money directly or indirectly
from their government or from anyone seeking benefits from their government. Nonprofits are abused so often by elected
officials that such relationships cannot be permitted.<br>
<br>
<b>Don't Try This at Home</b><br>
If a city or county wants to know how not to set up an ethics
program, Luzerne County, PA is a good place to look. I've written
about the problems with its ethics program a few times in the past
(see <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/problems-luzerne-countys-new-ethics-p…; target="”_blank”">my
most recent post on the program</a>). Now, according to <a href="http://citizensvoice.com/news/county-employees-refuse-to-sign-ethics-co…; target="”_blank”">an
article in yesterday's <i>Citizens' Voice</i></a>, many employees are
refusing to sign the county's questionable ethics pledge.<br>
<br>
One reason is that the AFSCME local isn't happy with the
penalties. You've got to get the union on board when you set up an
ethics program.<br>
<br>
Another reason is that those who work in the judicial branch
and some independent agencies insist that they are not subject to
the ethics code and shouldn't have to sign.<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, the county controller, a member of the county ethics
commission who has taken upon himself to handle anonymous tips and
turn them into ethics complaints when warranted, has said he will
file an ethics complaint against every employee who does not sign
the form.<br>
<br>
The county manager, however, says that even if they don't sign the
pledge, officials and employees are still subject to the code. So
not to worry.<br>
<br>
The ethics commission chair wants to talk with employees and resolve
these disputes. I think the county should recognize that its ethics
program is a mess, and start all over again. There's no shame in learning from your mistakes, or in taking a look at best practices.<br>
<br>
<b>Individual Officials Selecting EC Members</b><br>
Is it good to have an ethics commission member selected by a single
government official? The new Wayne County, MI (Detroit) ethics
commission shows some problems that can arise from this. One problem
involves the other side of the appointment: removal. If an
ethics commission member is subject to removal by a single official,
it makes that member look even less independent.<br>
<br>
Another problem involves special relationships with the appointing
official, and even with other officials through political
participation. According to <a href="http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/some-wayne-count…; target="”_blank”">an
article on the WXYZ website Monday</a>, the county treasurer's
appointee is a close friend, who rents space to the treasurer's son.<br>
<br>
The county prosecutor's appointee to the EC has given hundreds of dollars in
cash and in-kind contributions to the prosecutor's campaigns, as
well as over a thousand dollars in contributions to the county
executive's campaign in 2010 and 2011.<br>
<br>
Ethics commission members need to appear independent and unbiased.
Giving officials the power to appoint and remove those who will
provide them with advice, investigate them, and rule against them
undermines the appearance of their independence and impartiality.<br>
<br>
<b>A Bill in Pennsylvania to Create a More Independent EC</b><br>
<a href="http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/ethics-agency-conflicted-1.1361265&…; target="”_blank”">An
editorial yesterday in the Scranton (PA) <i>Times-Tribune</i></a> noted
that the Pennsylvania ethics commission, which has some
jurisdiction over local officials, is not independent of political
leaders (it uses the word "conflicted") and is woefully underfunded.
The editorial supports a bill "languishing" in the legislature
that would </span>create a nominating committee for the
commission, including ethics experts, a district attorney, and
good-government advocates (an alternative to community
organizations; but who would select the members of the nominating
committee?). Under the languishing bill, the commission would be given the same authority as a
law-enforcement agency to gather information. Sounds good to me.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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