Ethics office to add pre‑ and post‑tests to training; annual report draft released for board review

Tallahassee ethics staff told the board Sept. 16 that they will begin administering pre‑ and post‑tests for new‑employee ethics training in the new fiscal year and will collect data from the city’s learning management system to measure training effectiveness.

Ethics Officer Dwight Floyd said the office has identified an assessment instrument and will require trainees to reach an 80% threshold to pass. Floyd explained the office will track whether employees achieve 80% on their first attempt to measure retention and training effectiveness rather than simply eventual mastery. Staff said the assessment rollout will begin with newly developed training while staff will explore methods to evaluate annual training already in the learning management system.

The board reviewed a draft annual report that staff plans to finalize in October. The draft includes the campaign contribution refund program, advisory opinions and a summary of training and budget information. Board members were asked to submit edits and suggested the ethics office add a clear statement in the report about how previously issued advisory opinions can be accessed online. Administrative Specialist Tasker Leverson Green agreed to look into whether the city can add a searchable index for advisory opinions.

No formal vote was taken; the board directed staff to incorporate edits and return a final annual report in October.

Why this matters: The testing and data collection will give the ethics office measurable metrics for training effectiveness and support the board’s new emphasis on measurable objectives. Making advisory opinions easier to search would help public transparency and legal clarity.