City Related

This week, a citizen in the village of Niles, IL (pop. 30,000) made
a proposal for applicant disclosure, something every ethics program
should have, but most do not. According to <a href="http://niles.suntimes.com/news/12092763-418/niles-ethics-board-defers-d…; target="”_blank”">an
article in yesterday's Niles <i>Herald-Spectator</i></a>, the proposal

According to <a href="http://www.kcmayor.org/http:/www.kcmayor.org/uncategorized/ethics-refor…; target="”_blank”">the
blog of Kansas City, MO's mayor</a>, Sly James, the KC Commission

Across the nation, there have been numerous occasions when local government
officials oppose disclosure requirements, sometimes even the most
minimal ones (for example, the name of an elected official’s
employer). Arguments are made about privacy, identity theft, and
overweening government. There is talk about rights, but never about
obligations.<br>
<br>
But the bottom-line argument is that if you require financial
disclosure, no one will volunteer for local boards and commissions.

Here's an interesting conflict question. According to <a href="http://tewksbury.patch.com/articles/rauseo-tells-selectmen-he-may-have-…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the Tewksbury <i>Patch</i></a> this week, a special town
meeting in Tewksbury, MA will soon vote on whether to go to referendum on the
question of replacing the town meeting with a council. The question

One of the most damaging aspects of ethical misconduct in government
is that it decreases the amount of citizen participation in
government activities. People feel that their local government is
rigged to help politicians and their families, friends, and business
associates. It's not worth spending time getting involved in a
rigged system, unless your goal is to be part of the in crowd.<br>
<br>

It's amazing the lengths people will go to when they are accused of
bribery. Take Zehy Jereis, a former Yonkers, NY party chair who gave
nearly $175,000 to a Yonkers council member, and is being accused of
doing this in order to get her to make a pivotal vote in favor of his

The independence of ethics commissions and their staff is the single
most important aspect of a government ethics program. <br>
Who selects the commission members and their staff, and how, colors
everything about an ethics program and determines, more than any
other factor, whether the public has confidence in the commission's
advice and enforcement of an ethics code. So the news from Washington, DC and Atlanta is not good.<br>
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What is corruption? I try not to use this word with respect to
government ethics, because it is commonly thought of as having to do
with criminal misconduct such as bribery, kickbacks, fraud, and
embezzlement. There is, however, the term "institutional corruption," which
deals with legal misconduct that undermines public trust. And right
there in the middle is government ethics, which involves illegal but
not criminal misconduct. All very confusing.<br>
<br>

In November 2010, Broward County, FL voters approved an ethics code
for officials of the cities in the county (the code also applies to
the county commissioners). The code finally became effective January
2, 2012.<br>
<br>
Three cities in Broward County (home to Ft. Lauderdale) have put referendum questions on
the January 31 ballot seeking to strike the applicability of

It's not every day that a neighboring town makes <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/nyregion/connecticut-police-officers-…; target="”_blank”">the
front page of the New York <i>Times</i></a>. It's especially surprising when
the reason is, at heart, a local government ethics problem.<br>
<br>