Committee discusses ethics-board structure, recommends splitting employee and public-official processes

The Executive & Finance Committee spent an extended session reviewing ethics ordinances used by other Wisconsin counties and discussed options for forming an independent ethics board to hear complaints about public officials.

The presenter (committee staff) summarized research on 21 counties’ ethics arrangements and recommended certain provisions that commonly appear in ordinances: a small citizen panel (three to five members), preference for members with legal or due-process experience, three-year terms, and prohibitions on current public officials serving. Committee members discussed whether to allow county-board members or recent county employees to serve, how to recruit and appoint members, and the role of corporation counsel and the county administrator as advisors.

A central recommendation emerged: create two parallel processes — (1) retain employee/personnel matters under the county’s existing personnel and committee structure (executive/finance or personnel committee) to protect personnel records and confidentiality, and (2) establish a separate citizen ethics board to handle complaints involving elected or appointed public officials. Members favored a citizen board with a trained attorney or legally informed member, five members with alternates, and terms of about three years; several members also suggested limiting recent ties (for example, excluding those employed by or contracting with county government within a recent time window), though the exact disqualification window was left for further drafting.

Committee members requested the drafting of parallel ordinances (one covering employee/personnel matters to remain with the committee and one establishing the public-official ethics board) and asked staff to return a draft ordinance and recommendation prior to the March county-board deadline for the interim appointments.