City Related

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<b>Update</b>: December 2, 2009 (see below)<br>
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I have often complained about how local government officials and
attorneys approach government ethics matters in an overly
technical manner. Well, ethics commission attorneys can do this, too.<br>
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In terms of the language in ethics codes, I think the rule should be,
If an ordinary person does not read language a certain way, an ethics
commission should not read it that way. If the ethics commission feels

<b>When Is a Confidentiality Waiver Not a Confidentiality Waiver?</b><br>
It is common for ethics codes to allow respondents in ethics
proceedings to waive confidentiality and make the proceeding public.
This is what South Carolina governor Mark Sanford did, according to <a href="http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-heads-s…; target="”_blank”"><b>an

The next round of memoranda have been filed by the parties to the Dixon
case, where the Baltimore mayor (though the case relates to her
activities as council president) is raising a defense of legislative
immunity in a criminal proceeding for perjury (relating to failure to
disclose) to keep out evidence that she knew that a developer who gave
her many gifts was involved in a development with the city.<br>
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Her first defense of legislative immunity led to the indictment being

When a government employee holds or runs for elective office, there can
be conflict of interest problems. The principal problem occurs when the
government employee has to participate in a matter that directly or
indirectly affects his or her agency or department. Whether there is a
conflict depends on how direct the effect is. Another problem involves running for office in violation of the federal Hatch Act.<br>
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Privatizing local government functions can cause conflict of interest
problems, but at least contractors can be held to contracts and
replaced when they run afoul of ethics or other laws or requirements.
The same is not necessarily true when non-profit organizations take
over local government functions not as contractors or grant recipients
(as with social service agencies), but as partial or full replacements.<br>
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Accusing someone of a conflict of interest can lead to trouble,
especially if the person you accuse is a litigious lawyer and you do it outside of an ethics proceeding. This is what
one can read from a $5 million suit filed by a former town attorney
against the town of <a>Victor, NY</a> 
(pop. 10,000) and a member of the town's planning board.<br>
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Many local government ethics codes define a
conflict of interest as existing only when an official stands to receive a
financial benefit from his or her action or inaction. But real and perceived
conflicts exist even when there is no financial benefit to an official.
Important examples include benefits to relatives and business
associates, where the official only benefits indirectly, while others
benefit directly.<br>
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A new argument has been made in the legislative immunity part of the
case against a Baltimore council member who is now the mayor. In a
memorandum to dismiss a new indictment (attached; see below), filed on
September 8, the mayor has argued, on pages 3-10, that testimony by
someone who attended events which the mayor attended in her legislative
capacity cannot be used against her.<br>
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This is an interesting extension of the argument that legislative
immunity prevents any evidence to be introduced regarding a

The New Orleans Ethics Review Board, formed in 2006, certainly wins an
A for independence. According to the <a href="http://nolaethics.com/uploads/File/Legislation/City%20Code%20of%20Ethic…; target="”_blank”">city
ethics code</a>, six of its seven members are chosen by the mayor (with
council approval) from nominees submitted by the heads of five local
private universities (the seventh is the mayor's to select).

Some news in Greensboro, NC led me to a blog post on old news in
Greenburgh, NY, so here's the new news and the old news about two
cities with nearly the same name.<br>
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In Greensboro, NC, a council candidate has thrown down <a href="http://www.electnancyvaughan.com/ethics.html&quot; target="”_blank”">a challenge</a> to
fill out and post online the state financial disclosure form. It's not