Who Should Decide re Reimbursement of Legal Fees?
Can local legislators be trusted with the discretion to reimburse
their colleagues for legal fees in ethics proceedings? This question
is raised by a decision of the Wellington, FL council a few weeks
ago.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://gotowncrier.com/2014/03/letter-the-rule-of-law/" target="”_blank”">an
editorial in the Town-Crier Online</a>, Wellington's mayor was
found by the county ethics commission to have accepted an illegal
gift to his defense fund, was sent a letter of instruction, and
returned the gift. And yet, the council reimbursed him for legal fees spent in the ethics proceeding.<br>
<br>
The editors say that Wellington actually has
clear rules for determining reimbursement of legal fees (I couldn't
find them):<blockquote>
The action complained of must arise out of the official's public
duties. <br>
The action must have served a public purpose.<br>
The village must have a pecuniary interest in the outcome <br>
The official must have been exonerated of all charges. </blockquote>
The editors argue that accepting a legal defense fund contribution
is not an official function and serves no public purpose. Further,
the village had no pecuniary interest in the outcome of the ethics
proceeding, and the mayor was not exonerated.<br>
<br>
And yet, because the council had discretion, it could ignore or very
liberally interpret the rules in order to help out their colleague,
using taxpayer funds.<br>
<br>
Generally, rules for allowing reimbursement of legal fees for ethics
proceedings are far less detailed than these. All that is required
is that the official was found not to have violated an ethics
provision and that the fees be reasonable.<br>
<br>
It is best that the decision to reimburse be made either by the
ethics commission itself (since it has all the information and is,
presumably, independent) or by another independent body or
individual, such as an auditor, inspector general, or ombuds. When the local legislative body is given the discretion, and interprets it so that it personally benefits a colleague, it looks bad for everyone involved.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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