Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ethics Disclosure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Internal audit recommends mayor/council continue wet-signature disclosure; council debates online posting
Summary
Internal audit briefed council on conflict-of-interest questionnaires and recommended continuing the city's PDF fillable form with printed wet-ink signatures for mayor and council while retaining electronic options for staff; council discussed posting disclosures online but declined a proposal to require publication.
FAYETTEVILLE — The city’s internal audit director told the Fayetteville City Council on Thursday that city conflict-of-interest questionnaires meet the city code of ethics and recommended continuing the current approach for mayor and council disclosure: a PDF fillable form printed and submitted with a wet-ink signature.
Rose Rasmussen, internal audit director, said the city has required annual disclosures since 2018 and that staff also uses Microsoft Forms for some city employees to streamline data collection. Rasmussen told the council the state ethics form covers conflicts with state government and cannot replace the city questionnaire, which focuses on city conflicts. She recommended making mayor-and-council forms available for public inspection during normal business hours and optionally posting them on a transparency webpage if the council chooses.
Council debated whether to post mayor-and-council disclosure forms online. Some members argued for greater transparency; others raised privacy and safety concerns about publishing personal information. A motion to continue using the city’s PDF fillable form requiring a wet signature for mayor and council passed; a separate motion to post the disclosures on the website did not receive a second and did not carry.
The council asked staff to return with any additional guidance or options; internal audit said it would continue annual reviews of disclosures.
