I want congratulate Ms. Trout and the City of Minneapolis for actually getting serious about an ethics policy, with at least some teeth. The appointments process for Board members seems right, although one would hop that the Judge will be careful about relying too heavily on recommendations by councilmembers and the mayor, who stand to benefit from politicizing the appointments process.
It seems to me that, like the Charter Commission, no government officials except the Chief Judge should be involved in the appointments process. Another element not clear in the ordinance is the presence or absence of subpoena power to give the Board the clout it needs to investigate complaints and gather the necessary information, even from reluctant witnesses. We tried for years to do this in St. Paul and the good old boys network prevented its passage as a charter amendment - either mandating certain ethical standards and establishing the board right in the charter, or by mandating that the city council do the job and fund it properly - the big trick, of course. By state law, charter commissions in home rule cities must be adequately funded by the cities in their jurisdictions. The same should be true of ethics boards and their enforcement function. Good luck Minneapolis Andy Driscoll former Charter Commissioner Saint Paul -------- What does it matter to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy? � Mahatma Ghandi > From: Ellen Trout <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Like most of the other forum members commenting on the proposed new > Ethics Code, I enthusiastically support it. As the Chair of the Ethics > Task Force, I know that the proposed new Code is a huge improvement over > the current Code. It is clear, it is comprehensive, and it tackles the > tough issues of conflicts of interest, outside employment, nepotism and > what happens when someone violates the Code. I believe that it will form > the basis for building a new, better ethical culture and climate in the > City of Minneapolis. Please take a look at the proposed Code and a chart > showing the major differences between it and the current Code on the > City�s web site at > http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/mayor/priorities/ethics. > > I want to comment on the concern raised by Greg Abbott in his overall > positive review of the Code. Greg was concerned that the sections > designed to prevent elected officials from using their power to > inappropriately influence the judgment of employees is too broad, because > it prohibits the elected officials from asking an employee to do �a > special favor or make an exception for a constituent or other individual > or organization contrary to existing law or adopted City policy.� Greg > said, � I think the proposed guidelines are a little tough by seeking to > outright ban elected officials from advocating an exception to city > policy on behalf of a constituent.� As Greg later pointed out, the ideal > process when an elected official discovers that a City policy has an > unintended or unfair impact on a constituent is to bring the issue before > the whole City Council, and change the policy. > > This is exactly what we hope the proposed new Code�s provision will > achieve. The new Code is not an outright ban on elected official > advocacy on behalf of the official�s constituents. But, by prohibiting > an elected official from �solving� a problem with a special exception, > the elected official, to advocate for his or her constituent, will need > to get the policy changed by taking the issue up with the whole Council. > > We know that this will be a slower process than the case-by-case > exception model, but the Task Force believes it is the right process. It > is a process that will ensure that all citizens affected by the > unintended consequences of a City ordinance or policy will get the > situation corrected, not just those citizens who have the time, > resources, or influence to get a special exception. In addition, it > protects employees from the pressure of an elected official whose > interpretation of or willingness to change a City ordinance or policy may > be different than that of the Council as a whole. I think the proposed > policy will result in the process Greg advocated. > > Finally, I want to correct a statement in Dore Mead�s post on the Ethics > Ordinance about my ethics experience. When I worked as an attorney for > the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis I was the Ethics Advisor. My > boss, the General Council, was the Ethics Officer. > TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
