Vineyard City Council delays adoption of code of conduct, approves closed session on personnel matter

City Attorney Jamie Bikesley presented an overview of open-meetings and ethics requirements and the council discussed a proposed Code of Conduct (Ordinance 2025-01) before voting to continue the ordinance for further work and moving into a closed session to discuss an individual's character or health.

Bikesley told the council that “as you all know, the city council is a public body. You're subject to the open and public meetings act, and that means all of your meetings have to be conducted openly and you have to deliberate openly when you act.” She reviewed notice requirements, minute and recording rules, the criminal penalty for violations and the city’s ethics-disclosure process, including that the city will circulate new disclosure forms and that disclosures will be posted on the city website. She also summarized the Municipal Officers and Employees Ethics Act and the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) as they relate to confidentiality and records.

The council then discussed the proposed Code of Conduct, a draft ordinance that would apply prospectively to the council and to boards, commissions and committees. Bikesley said the code groups standards into general responsibilities, legal and ethical standards, meeting protocols and prohibited conduct, and that violations are categorized as minor (enforceable by a majority vote) or serious (requiring a two-thirds vote). She described possible sanctions ranging from a verbal reprimand or loss of assignments for minor violations to formal censure, suspension from leadership roles or referral to authorities for serious violations.

Council members raised process and scope concerns. Several said the draft had arrived with too little time for review; one council member said, “From a I found out about this effort yesterday, 24 hours before the meeting.” Others asked for a clearer, written procedure for how complaints would be initiated, investigated and considered. Council Member Brett Claussen urged that any procedure require that “everybody has to say something, including the person that is under scrutiny,” to ensure the subject of a complaint has a chance to respond. Council Member Sarah Smith reminded colleagues that the mayor has allowed postponement of items and said, “if there's anything on the agenda we don't feel comfortable with, we can ask it to be postponed.”

Preferences diverged on enforcement and scope. Some council members worried the standards (for example, harassment, bullying or social-media conduct) were subjective and could chill speech or be used politically; others supported stronger, clearer procedures to protect volunteers and staff and to address repeat misconduct. Bikesley said the Municipal Officers and Employees Ethics Act allows councils to refer matters to the state ethics commission or to create a local ethics commission and agreed to provide details to the council.

As a next step the mayor proposed forming a small subcommittee to redline the draft and return a revised ordinance to the council. Two members volunteered to serve on that subcommittee and council staff offered to work with them on a revised draft to bring back to the council at its January 29 meeting.

Votes and formal actions: the council adopted a motion to continue consideration of Code of Conduct, Ordinance 2025-01, to the January 29 meeting (motion made and seconded on the record) and later approved a motion to go into a closed session "to discuss the character, professional competence, or physical and mental health of an individual." The council announced that no action would be taken after the closed session and that the meeting would conclude following the closed session.

The council's next steps include staff circulation of the revised disclosure forms and Bikesley's follow-up on (1) model procedures for initiating and investigating conduct complaints, (2) the state ethics-commission referral option and (3) suggested redlines for the draft ordinance. The council scheduled further consideration of Ordinance 2025-01 for its Jan. 29 meeting.