Book Excerpt 2: A Checklist of Ethics Commission Activities
<br>Here is one of the most useful sections of my new book <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/ethics%20book" target="”_blank”"><i>Local Government
Ethics Programs</i></a>. Summer is upon us, and most ethics
commissions that do not have a case before them do not meet. In
fact, many ethics commissions are nearly
inactive all year long. But this doesn't have to happen. There's a lot that needs to be done.<br>
<br>
Many ethics commissions rarely if ever hold meetings, because they are waiting
passively
for complaints to be filed and requests for advisory opinions to be
made
(sometimes they also have trouble getting a quorum; sometimes this
is a result
of their inactivity or of their passivity when officials fail to fill
positions on
the commission). They do not schedule meetings, or hold ones that have already
been scheduled,
until they receive a complaint or a request.<br>
<br>
The most common rationalization for not improving an ethics
program is that no one uses or complains about the one we have, no
complaints
are filed, few advisory opinions are sought. Therefore, there must
not be any
ethical problems, everything's good, nothing needs to be improved,
nothing
needs to happen.<br>
<br>
There are two reasons for this state of inactivity.
One, the
ethics program is passive. No one knows about it, no one understands
it, and
therefore no one lifts a finger. After all, if the ethics commission
doesn’t
care enough to meet, why should other officials get involved?
<br>
<br>
The second
reason is that ethics programs themselves have a trust problem. The
members of
an ethics commission have been selected by the very people they're
supposed to
be keeping an eye on. The ethics commission has no teeth, and is
completely
dependent on the good will of the very people they're supposed to be
keeping an
eye on. In short, without trust and independence, who in their right
mind would
make use of an ethics commission? So the few complaints that are
filed are
political, which further undermines trust in the ethics program. And
officials
get their advice from the city or county attorney’s office.
<br>
<br>
Passivity
is not a responsible approach to authority over government ethics.
There is no
reason for an ethics commission not to meet regularly. There is a
great deal
more that an ethics commission can do. Below is a checklist of the
activities
that ethics commissions can and should be participating in. <br>
<br>
1. <b>Training</b>. Create or
improve ethics training, for officials and for ethics commission
members. This
may include (1) working with nearby ethics commissions, a local
public
administration program, or a municipal association to create or
expand ethics
training; (2) creating or getting permission to use online training
materials;
(3) drafting regular (say, quarterly) newsletters, to keep ethics
issues in the
minds of officials and employees; (4) sending ethics commission
members to a
good training program, or having a trainer come to the city or
county to train
the members and to train local trainers, as well; and (5) discussing
sections
of this book together, as well as selecting advisory opinions from
other
jurisdictions to discuss. When ethics commissions do not have staff,
as most do
not, meetings without an important agenda can be used for
self-educational
purposes. Think of an ethics commission as a government ethics book
group. <br>
<br>
2. <b>Advice</b>. Just because
there are no requests for advisory opinions doesn’t mean that an
ethics
commission cannot provide guidance on ethics matters. General
advisory
opinions, sometimes called Advisory Alerts or Guidelines, are useful
ways to
make ethics provisions more clear and concrete (see <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/files/lgep1-0%20-%20Robert%20Wechsler.htm#Gen…; target="”_blank”">the
discussion of general advisory opinions</a>). Ethics
commission members can do things to get officials accustomed to
seeking ethics
advice from them. For example, they can ask high-level officials to
publicly
seek ethics advice; they can hold a public meeting, asking officials
and
citizens to ask about ethics matters; they can include in the
newsletter advice
from nearby cities and counties, so officials can learn to see what
sort of
situations lead officials to seek advice. No ethics commission
should sit on
its hands waiting for officials to come to them, if officials in its
city or
county aren’t yet used to asking for advice.<br>
<br>
3. <b>Ethics Code Recommendations</b>.
At least once a year, an ethics commission should hold a discussion
about the
quality of the ethics program and the ways in which it might be
improved. This
discussion need not be limited to ethics provisions, nor need it be
limited to
one meeting. It’s best if one or two issues are dealt with at each
meeting over
a period of months. The commission may also consider such topics as
the ethics
commission’s independence, its authority to file complaints,
extension of
jurisdiction to cover contractors and others, staff, attorney, and
budgetary
needs, cooperation or consolidation with nearby ethics commissions,
annual and
applicant disclosure, procurement policies, the establishment of a
hotline,
legal fees, attempts by officials to undermine the ethics program,
etc. The
results of this discussion should be made known to the local
legislative body
in the form of recommendations, including recommended changes to the
ethics
code. A good goal is make formal recommendations on an annual basis,
often as
part of an annual report. But it is valuable to make recommendations
any time
there is discussion of ethics reform in the legislative body or in
the
community. <br>
<br>
4. <b>Annual Report</b>. Many
ethics codes require that an ethics commission draft an annual
report of its
activities, but even if one is not required, it is a good idea both
for the
local government and for the ethics commission itself. It is a good
opportunity
to consider what the commission has been doing, and what it is has
not been
doing. See <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/files/lgep1-0%20-%20Robert%20Wechsler.htm#Ann…; target="”_blank”">the
section on annual reports</a>. <br>
<br>
5. <b>Community Outreach</b>.
Citizens and the press usually have a limited understanding of
government
ethics and what an ethics commission and an ethics program do. An
ethics
commission can send speakers to community groups, consider how to
better
educate the press and bloggers on ethics issues, and improve its
website (see <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/files/lgep1-0%20-%20Robert%20Wechsler.htm#Web…
section
on ethics program websites</a> and <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/files/lgep1-0%20-%20Robert%20Wechsler.htm#Pub…; target="”_blank”">the
section on public relations</a>). <br>
<br>
6. <b>Website</b>. Creating and
maintaining a good website is one of the best uses of an ethics
commission’s
time. An ethics commission’s website reflects its importance and
value to the
community, and it is the best and least expensive way to educate the
public and
government officials and employees about government ethics. No
website, or a
website that only provides the names of the ethics commission
members, means a
lost opportunity. See <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/files/lgep1-0%20-%20Robert%20Wechsler.htm#Web…; target="”_blank”">the
section on websites</a> for ideas
on what can be done. <br>
<br>
7. <b>Rules of Procedure, Bylaws,
and Regulations</b>. If an ethics commission lacks bylaws, regulations,
or
rules of procedure, especially those relating to enforcement, they
should be a high priority. They should also be reviewed annually, to
see whether
changes in the program, changes to state or local laws, and the
commission’s
own learning experiences require changes to these documents. Entire
areas may
be added, such as settlement procedures, the consideration of
situational
forces in investigations and enforcement procedures (including the
addition of
respondents complicit in violations), or confidentiality rules. <br>
<br>
8. <b>Awards</b>. Ethics
commissions are not restricted to enforcing ethics laws in a
negative sense.
They may also give awards and other sorts of recognition to those
who encourage
open discussion of ethics issues, report ethical misconduct, or
choose not to
indulge in it themselves when those around them do. And they can do
this on an
ongoing basis, just like they give advice and deal with tips and
complaints.
See <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/files/lgep1-0%20-%20Robert%20Wechsler.htm#Awa…; target="”_blank”">the
awards
section</a>. <br>
<br>
9. <b>Current Events</b>. If an
ethics commission is allowed to initiate investigations, it should regularly
discuss current events in its city or county. Its members should
understand
what is going on, read the local newspapers, and have access to tips
either
through a hotline or informally made via phone, e-mail, or in
person. Some of
their discussions will be confidential, done in executive session.
But with
respect to public information, such as newspaper articles and blog
posts, the
conversations can be public. Such discussions not only lead to
possible
investigations, but also act as training exercises, helping members
to better
understand government ethics and the customs of their particular
government,
and as a way to create a working team of individuals, which will be
helpful
when there are difficult advisory opinions and ethics enforcement
actions. It
also will deter misconduct if officials know the ethics commission
is regularly
discussing their handling of conflicts, even when no complaint has
been filed.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
203-859-1959