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Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics gives annual presentation to Wellington council
Summary
Gina Levesque, intake and compliance manager with the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics, presented the commission’s role, educational resources and advisory‑opinion services to the Village Council. She emphasized prevention, training and the commission’s independence.
The Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics gave its annual presentation to the Wellington Village Council April 22, outlining the commission’s role in oversight, education and enforcement for public officials and advisory board members.
Gina Levesque, intake and compliance manager, described the commission as an independent oversight body created after a 2009 grand‑jury recommendation. She said the commission provides advisory opinions and training to help 12,000-plus covered officials, employees and certain vendors and lobbyists across Palm Beach County and its 39 municipalities. Levesque said the commission has issued nearly 560 advisory opinions to date and stressed prevention and education as the primary tools for avoiding violations. She also reviewed the commission’s sanction authority, which includes reprimands and fines up to $500 per violation.
Levesque told council members that advisory opinions, forms and complaint information are publicly available on the commission’s website and encouraged officials to “ask first, act later” when they are unsure about a rules question. She provided contact details for training and inquiries and offered to answer questions from the council.
Council members thanked the commission representatives and invited follow‑up contacts for training and advice.
