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Boise ethics commission to draft opinion on city planner's role on external music advisory board
Summary
The Boise Ethics Commission received Request for Advisory Opinion 25-02 from Matilda (Tilly) Bubb, a cultural planner, about serving on a two-year Boise State University advisory board on the music economy. Commissioners directed staff to draft an opinion that examines whether service is appropriate as a city employee, as an individual, and whether a $250 stipend would raise ethics concerns.
The Boise Ethics Commission on Jan. 8 received a formal request (25-02) from Matilda Bubb, a cultural planner in the Department of Arts and History, seeking guidance on whether she may serve on a temporary advisory board for a Boise State University-led research project on the statewide music and creative economy.
Bubb told commissioners the advisory group is a two-year research board; she said she would waive the $250 stipend or seek to have it donated to the city and that the duties she would perform fall within her city job description. "I feel like absolutely cannot accept the $250," Bubb said, describing concerns about fiduciary duty and the perception of a conflict.
Commissioners pressed for clarification about what, if any, work product Bubb would produce. A commissioner asked whether her role would amount to issuing a report; Bubb said she expects to act in an advisory capacity, reviewing researchers' work and offering input rather than serving as a report author. That, she said, is why she prefers participation in an official city capacity: it would allow her to bring policy recommendations back to the city.
Staff told the commission there is no prepared draft determination yet but said it would prepare a draft advisory opinion for the next regular meeting. Commissioners asked staff to address three specific questions: whether participation is appropriate in the capacity of a city employee, whether participating as an individual would be permissible if the city capacity is problematic, and whether acceptance or receipt of an honorarium (here, a $250 stipend) would trigger ethics-code concerns and what materiality standard should apply. "Staff can make that happen," a staff representative said when asked to include the stipend analysis.
The commission formally marked the request as received and gave direction to staff to draft the advisory opinion and return it for review and potential publication. No final determination was made at the Jan. 8 meeting; the commission's draft will be discussed at the next regular meeting or a special meeting if an earlier decision is needed.
The request cites a two-year term and work tied to Boise State University's Policy Institute; Bubb provided a job description and an email from the Policy Institute director as supporting materials. The commission did not adopt a formal waiver or finding on Jan. 8.
