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Council amends Board of Ethics ordinance to remove city solicitor as ex officio member and change finding language
Summary
The council approved an ordinance amending the Board of Ethics code to remove the city solicitor as a non‑voting ex officio member, replace the phrase “vote of innocence of any wrongdoing” with “no finding of a violation,” and add two alternates to the board.
The Concord City Council voted to amend the municipal code governing the Board of Ethics, removing the city solicitor as an ex officio, nonvoting member; revising hearing language to replace a phrase tying findings to "innocence" with language limited to "no finding of a violation"; and adding two council‑confirmed alternates to the board.
The changes were introduced after the rules committee and the Board of Ethics raised concerns that the ordinance’s use of the word "innocence" improperly implied criminal conduct. The city manager summarized the committee recommendation as three parts: (1) eliminate the city solicitor's ex officio, nonvoting role; (2) change the text in section 30-3-29(a)(4) from "vote of innocence of any wrongdoing" to "vote for a no finding of a violation"; and (3) add two alternates—one appointed by the mayor and one by the city manager, both subject to council approval.
Councilors asked about the history of the solicitor’s role on the board. One councilor noted uncertainty about why the solicitor historically served as an ex officio member; the chair of the rules committee said this solicitor is the first to have recognized the potential conflict of serving in that capacity while advising on rules and ethics matters.
The council opened the public hearing; no one offered testimony on the ordinance. After debate, members adopted the ordinance amendment by voice vote.
