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Resident urges standalone ethics commission; city staff says consultant report due in September
Summary
A public commenter asked the Governance and Ethics Committee to form a separate ethics commission. City staff said a consultant, Lieber Cassidy Whitmore, is working on options and the committee will receive final ethics documents and options at its September 8 meeting.
A Santa Clara resident urged the Governance and Ethics Committee to establish a separate ethics commission; city staff said the request is under review and a consultant's analysis is scheduled for presentation in September.
At the start of the committee's May meeting, Wanda Buck, a resident, used public comment to press the body to form an independent ethics committee or commission in 2025, saying it would be “such a positive and ethical action.” Buck noted concern that ethics did not appear on the committee's agenda and urged a broader body than council alone to study a work plan and goals.
City staff replied that the committee has previously received updates on consultant work. The City Manager said the consultant Lieber Cassidy Whitmore was engaged and is carrying out two scopes of work. The City Manager said, “It is on your work plan for the September 8 meeting, to review, and finalize, the ethics documents and then receive an update on, the work and the options around establishing a ethics commission.”
The committee did not take formal action on the request at the meeting; staff described the consultant's schedule and that the committee will receive the consultant's findings and options at the September meeting for further deliberation.
