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News
Ethics Training Opens Eyes
October 28, 2008
(By Nelsy Rodriguez, Staff Writer, North County Times)
After city officials spent nearly two hours Tuesday examining the many situations that can put elected officials into comprised and potentially criminal positions, some wondered why anyone would ever run for office.
“It’s like golf,” said Murrieta Public Safety and Traffic Commission Chairman Ken Nordstrom. “There are more ways to get it wrong than get it right.”
Attorneys from the San Diego firm Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz held an ethics training session for elected and appointed city officials dealing in public business. Members of the City Council and six commissions reviewed issues of transparency in government, reporting personal financial interests, handling public contracts and the misuse of public funds.
Public officials are required by law to review ethical standards every two years, City Attorney Leslie Devaney said.
“The public’s expectations of you are even higher than the law,” Devaney told those in attendance. “And avoiding conflicts of interest is your responsibility.”
With regard to public meetings, Devaney said new restrictions on serial meetings limit how much discussion of public business can be done outside of a public meeting. If one commissioner e-mails another about an item that they will soon be reviewing, and the second commissioner forwards the e-mail on to another commissioner with the intent of getting a consensus, those commissioners will have violated a law that prevents city business from being conducted without the public’s knowledge.
Legal representatives suggested that Murrieta officials should keep personal records of gifts they receive and, while it may seem tacky, they should always ask a giver what the gift they receive is worth. A public official is allowed to receive up to $390 a year in gifts.
When attending parties, the representatives urged officials to go a step further by calculating the total cost of the party and dividing that by the number of invited guests to determine whether that would need to be declared as a gift.
When negotiating with a car dealer, the officials were encouraged to investigate whether a discount was standard for all paying customers or a particularly good one for the public official.
“It would be wrong”, said attorney Christina Cameron, regarding financial favors for public officials. “If the public read about it in the paper, they would be sure that (you were) getting a better deal.”
Regarding campaign contributions, current officials and even City Council candidates were warned of accepting contributions that might later be suspected of a quid pro quo exchange.
“During the campaign season, promises are going to be problematic, (even) when there is no smoking gun,” said attorney Priscilla Dugard.
Murrieta officials have not always been on the right side of conflict of interest allegations. A former city councilman who had also been mayor pleaded guilty in 2007 to criminal counts of submitting a false document and conflict of interest. Jack van Haaster who was ousted from the City Council in a 2005 recall election, admitted to failing to declare his financial interest in a road paving project when he voted on it.
Inadvertent conflicts, those in attendance Tuesday said, are the most risky. Without knowing, one could wind up in serious trouble.
“It’s scary to think what you can innocently and inadvertently get yourself into, even just in perception,” Dugard said.
To inquire about or request AB1234 Ethics training, CLICK HERE.
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