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Committee adopts updated elected and appointed officials code of conduct, removes two-sponsor censure requirement
Summary
The Madison Common Council Executive Committee unanimously adopted an updated code of conduct for elected and appointed officials on Oct. 28. The update expands the complaint intake and investigative process and clarifies expectations; members amended the draft to remove language that would have required two sponsors for a censure resolution.
The Common Council Executive Committee unanimously adopted an updated elected and appointed official code of conduct and approved an amendment striking a requirement that a censure resolution be sponsored by at least two members.
Alder Tishler, who shepherded the revision process, said the draft incorporated feedback from ‘‘the 12 boards, commissions, [and] committees’’ and added guidance on interactions with media, staff and members of the public. She said the revision "incorporates a lot of people's voices." Director Hilson reported she and City Attorney Haas had reviewed the draft and were comfortable with it, but noted the city is still updating personnel policies on harassment and discrimination and that the code might require future changes after that work concludes: "we may request, some modifications after we've completed that process."
Several members raised concerns that a two-sponsor requirement for a censure resolution could be misused; Alder Lankella moved to remove the two-sponsor language and the amendment was seconded and approved. The committee then voted unanimously to adopt the code of conduct as amended. The revised code expands complaint-reporting and investigation processes to cover all code-of-conduct complaints rather than limiting them to specific categories, and it sets a defined process for how censure items appear on the council agenda.
