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Council affirms ethics counsel must be independent; town attorney excluded for cases requiring independence
Summary
During review of Section 13.3, council members agreed the ethics counsel should be independent and not the town attorney; staff said the commissioner 'shall assign independent legal counsel to advise and represent the commission.'
Council members flagged Section 13.3 of the draft ethics ordinance, which addresses ethics counsel, and agreed that the counsel should be independent rather than the town attorney in situations where independence is required.
"The commissioner shall assign independent legal counsel to advise and represent the commission," read a council member from the draft. Another member added, "Correct. Independent." The council took this as confirmation the ordinance should explicitly prohibit using the town attorney when independence is necessary.
Members asked staff to show the working draft with the recommended change and to propose how that independence will be operationalized in practice (e.g., who selects and who pays outside counsel). The group said they will notify commissioners after the language is finalized so the commissioners can appoint counsel when required.
