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Ethics board discusses giving clearer feedback to complainants after dismissals
Summary
Board members asked staff to draft language for the citizen's guide that would reassure complainants their cases were reviewed—without breaching confidentiality—by stating the number of interviews, pages reviewed and hours spent; the board agreed to revisit the item at a future meeting.
Board members spent an extended portion of the March 26 meeting discussing whether the city's "citizen's guide to the code of ethics" should better explain what happens when a complaint is dismissed so complainants feel their concerns were examined.
Laurie Lyle asked whether the guide can "assure them that we looked at all of their points," noting complainants sometimes feel a dismissal is abrupt and want evidence the board considered their material. The staff member leading the meeting said the board must preserve confidentiality but suggested a middle-ground approach: a brief form or statement noting general steps taken, such as "we interviewed the complainant, we interviewed the respondent, we interviewed two or three other people and we reviewed X pages of documents," without naming those interviewed. "We could say in a general manner that... we reviewed all the documents," the staff member said.
Members agreed the idea would be useful and that staff should draft a short template or standard language that could be added to the citizen's guide; the board did not take a formal vote but agreed to revisit the proposal at a future meeting when a majority could participate. The discussion emphasized the need to strike a balance between providing assurance to complainants and protecting the confidentiality of investigative panels. Staff said they would prepare a draft for consideration at the next meeting.
