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Council outlines framework for a Board of Ethics; asks manager and attorney to refine complaint process
Summary
Councilors debated and largely agreed on a framework for the newly created Board of Ethics: the board may investigate complaints and offer recommendations, but disciplinary authority will remain with the city manager for employees and with the council for elected officials.
The council discussed proposed rules and regulations for the new Board of Ethics after city attorney review found the board’s initial draft contained powers not authorized by the adopted code. The attorney had told staff the draft gave the board investigatory and disciplinary powers beyond the code’s advisory remit.
City Manager Fonda Crowe and councilors debated who should receive and process complaints and which body should exercise investigatory versus disciplinary authority. Councilors generally supported an advisory Board of Ethics with investigatory capacity to analyze complaints and make recommendations, while retaining discipline of employees with the city manager and discipline of elected officials with the city council.
Under the framework the council endorsed, complaints involving city employees will be routed to the city manager for initial handling; the manager may refer matters to the Board of Ethics for review, but final disciplinary power for employees remains with the manager. Complaints involving the city manager will be received by council. Complaints involving council members will bypass the manager and be routed for Board of Ethics review or directly to council for action. Council asked the city manager to consult the city attorney and return with amended code language and a draft set of rules and regulations for the board; the manager also will draft options for how complaint forms are filed and how respondents will be notified.
Councilors stressed the need for guardrails to prevent politically motivated or "rogue" investigations and to keep the process transparent to the subject of a complaint and to council. Several councilors recommended a required annual report from the Board of Ethics to council and recommended that complaint-filing options include the city clerk plus alternative filing routes for complainants who prefer anonymity or are uncomfortable filing with city staff.
The council asked staff to bring back proposed code amendments and draft Board of Ethics rules and regulations at a future meeting, with the goal of holding a public hearing if any code revisions are required. The mayor and city manager said they expect to deliver revised language and draft rules in time to consider a public hearing by February.
