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The Conflicts in Upcoming Venice (FL) Council Vote on Settlement of Suit Against Its Members

<i>Update below</i><br>
Recently, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/634&quot; target="”_blank”">I wrote</a> a
bit about the odd Venice, FL ethics program, which
puts the city manager completely in charge. Now Venice is making news
with respect to open government issues, and this has led to a very
interesting conflict of interest issue.<br>
<br>

Citizens and the Advisory Opinion Process

I've always felt torn with respect to whether citizens should be
allowed to ask for advisory opinions that have to do with local
government officials, as can be seen in the<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/mc/full#TOC57&quot; target="”_blank”"> advisory opinion
provision and comments</a> in the City Ethics Model Code Project.<br>
<br>

A New, Improved Local Government Ethics Treasure Trove

What could provide a better education for local government ethics
practitioners than reading through a greatly expanded <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/conflicts/downloads/pdf2/enf%20docs/Enforcement…; target="”_blank”">261-page list of all the cases the New York City
Conflicts of Interest Board has decided or settled from 1992 through last week</a>? The
ethics provisions may not be the same as everywhere, but the problems

Budget Games and Gimmicks

Agreeing on the local government budget is the most important thing
that the government does every year, because it affects every
department and agency. But with the exception of the big issues of the
year, it's a pretty arcane process often accomplished behind closed
doors. Thus, it provides excellent opportunities for unethical conduct,
very little of it dealt with in ethics codes.<br>
<br>

Bond Advisers: Pay-to-Play, Phantom Bonds, and a Serious Lack of Transparency

<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/business/17muni.html&quot; target="”_blank”">An
article in yesterday's New York <span>Times</span></a>
points to yet another clever end run around ethics laws involving
municipal bonds. Bond underwriters are not allowed to make campaign
contributions, to prevent a pay-to-play environment. However, financial advisers, the people who hook local

Leadership and Obstacles to Ethics Reform

I recommend <a href="http://www.icma.org/pm/9009/public/pmplus1.cfm?&quot; target="”_blank”">an
essay by Donald Menzel</a> from the October issue of PM, the magazine of
the International City-County Management Association (ICMA), entitled
"Strengthening Ethical Governance in Local Governments." Menzel is a
former president of the American Society for Public Administration,
author of <i>Ethics