Citizens' Views of Ethics Reform in Jacksonville

Anonymous

Sun, 06/12/2011 - 04:14

Ethics Codes

I don't write about Jacksonville much, because my colleague at City
Ethics, Carla Miller, is the city's ethics officer. She has been
working hard to ensure that the city's ethics commission is given more
authority and independence, and that the city's ethics laws are
improved. This week, the council will be moving closer to approving, or
undermining, reforms. 
 
Instead of giving my opinion of what she is seeking, which is basically
the same as hers, I will share the recent, thoughtful opinions of citizens, first that of <a href="http://www.lilesgavin.com/Attorney_Profiles/Rutledge_R_Liles.aspx" target="”_blank”">Rutledge
R. Liles</a>, a former ethics commission member and president of the
Florida Bar, whose <a href="http://jacksonville.com/opinion/letters-readers/2011-06-11/story/ethics…; target="”_blank”">letter
to the editor appeared yesterday in the Florida Times-Union</a>:<ul>

I served on the Ethics Commission for about three years and resigned
out of frustration. I thought it was a waste of time.
I was convinced that, despite our commitment as commission members
to assuring observance by officials of basic rules of ethical conduct,
we did not have the support of those officials or the power to
effectively accomplish anything of significance.
We existed only on paper. Having served on Florida Bar grievance
committees and the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission for
years, I saw how investigations into unethical conduct should occur. I
was not seeing any semblance of such a system here.
We had no power, and we were constantly rebuffed. Local government
officials simply paid lip service to the efforts of the commission. You
would not believe how much time we spent debating simple issues, such
as the enactment of rules pertaining to the bestowing of gifts, free
dinners and tickets to sporting events on elected and appointed
officials, as well as city employees by those doing business with the
city.
We never had any authority to control such gratuities, obviously
designed to curry favor. We never had the authority to investigate
serious ethical matters.
It is imperative that Jacksonville have a strong, independent Ethics
Commission. It should have a budget in line with other cities of
comparable size. It should have jurisdiction over the independent
authorities. It should be empowered to act on reported matters, as well
as conduct its own investigations upon learning of possible misconduct.
Often, employees report unethical conduct but fear reprisal if their
identity becomes known. There should be enforceable rules governing the
acceptance of gifts and other conduct.
The chairman should be appointed by commission members, not the
mayor or City Council. The members with whom I served never displayed
any "witchhunt" mentality. We just wanted an honest and responsible
government that the public could respect and depend upon. Is that an
unreasonable expectation?
To our elected officials who fight such a system, I would ask this
question: "What are you afraid of?" Act with integrity, and you have
nothing to fear.</ul>
And here are some <a href="http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2011-06-11/story/reader-feed…; target="”_blank”">views from members of the Times-Union's Email
Interactive Group</a>:<ul>

The track record for Jacksonville is not great. I would suggest a
mechanism that most actions of the Ethics Commission would initiate
from a complaint; however, the commission should be able to request
that an investigation be started upon probable cause that an ethics
violation has occurred absent a specific complaint.
The independent authorities serve us well, generally; however,
"independent" means outside of the politics of the City Council and the
mayor – not outside of proper oversight. —Robert Fagin
This office should be allowed to initiate its own investigation;
waiting for a complaint is like closing the barn door after the horse
is out! —Betty Jo Felker
I think any ethics committee should be independent and act when
deemed necessary. It should not be appointed by the mayor. Too much
opportunity to cover a crony's tracks. —Rich Hunt
Ethics officers have no place in Jacksonville. Let's fix some
potholes instead, and let our government work as it was intended. The
only ethics officer I need is a free press; and The Times-Union does a
quite adequate job of that. —Thomas W. Diekmann</ul>

And here's <a href="http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2011-05-25/story/good-govern…; target="”_blank”">the
Times-Union May 25 editorial</a>, which focuses, of all things, on how
a strong ethics program brings big savings to a community:<ul>

The best of city government provides an important service and
actually pays for itself. Such is the case with the city of Jacksonville's Ethics Office.
As reported in an analysis of the ethics hotline from 2007 to 2011,
the Ethics Office provided important services:
— It provided an outlet for complaints. Some were unfounded, but
without an answer, they would have fed the rumor mill with unwarranted
allegations.
— It educated the public. When people understand their government,
they are more likely to trust it. For instance, there has been a steady increase in city employees
calling the ethics officer directly for advice on issues. This is the
ideal.
— Improvements were identified. Some activities may be legal and
ethical but far from the best practices. The Ethics Office provides an
outlet for constructive suggestions.
— Complaints were handled timely. Valid ones are corrected promptly.
Not valid ones were answered quickly.
In short, reports Ethics Officer Carla Miller, "A foundation has
been laid for an effective communication tool with the community and a
way for corruption and waste to be identified and handled."
Not the least, the office has paid for itself. Miller identified savings ranging from $579,483 to $938,527. The
cost of the part-time position for 31/2 years was about $262,000.
Miller personally takes most of the hotline calls.
The key savings involved a tip involving a problem with a $1.4
million bid for a disparity study. Miller suggested pulling back the
contract. It was rebid at a lower cost.
Another complaint involved a proprietary bid, which was cancelled
after the Ethics Office flagged it. Instead, an existing contract was
extended at a savings.
Now city leaders need to look for improvements in the office. Miller proposes a roundtable discussion with the inspector general, City Council auditor and all independent authority auditors and ethics
officers to focus on best practices.
For instance, local conflict of interest laws are confusing and
poorly worded. No one has ever been charged in these areas, Miller
writes. "Either the laws do not relate to what is happening, the laws are
poorly written or no one ever does anything wrong," she wrote.
All in all, an independent and assertive Ethics Office can find
problems early, educate the public and even save the taxpayers money. And that's the point.</ul>

Robert Wechsler 
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics 
 
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