Vermont ethics commission outlines municipal rollout, urges staffing and enforcement options

Christina Simret, executive director of the Vermont State Ethics Commission, told the Senate Government Operations Committee on Jan. 30 that the commission has shifted this year from setting municipal ethics rules to standing up services and support for municipalities as the Statewide Municipal Code of Ethics takes effect.

"The ethics commission is primarily a service based organization," Simret said, describing the commission's roles: receiving and referring complaints, offering advisory opinions, providing ethics advice and operating training.

Simret said the commission has seen a steady rise in contacts: when she began there were three formal complaints in a year; in 2023 the commission received 23 complaints and 47 complaint inquiries, and the office logged 23 requests for guidance. In January alone she said the office received 14 requests for guidance, 12 of them from municipal officials.

The commission is implementing a new online financial-disclosure system and expanded disclosure questions, Simret said, and has launched a 45-minute online training for municipal officials subject to the new statewide municipal code. "We are very steadily getting people taking it at a rate of between 80–95 per week," she said. Simret…