Ethics Board

ETHICS BOARD Minutes Thursday, December 8, 2016 5:00 P.M. City Council Room CALL TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order at 5:12 PM in the City Council Room. PRESENT: Justin Hogan, Chair, John Ellis, Brendan Chudy, Marilyn Rivers, Tony Izzo, Advisor, Michelle Grocé ABSENT: None Approve Meeting Minutes: There was one correction to the minutes from the previous meeting. A board member was marked as “absent” instead of “excused”. Old Business: Justin Hogan reiterated that a communication strategy between board staff and counsel that has been detailed needs to be followed in order for the board to fully execute their responsibilities. Mr. Hogan cited two recent situations in which material was not communicated and/or delivered in a timely or acceptable fashion. Review & Discuss Submissions to the Board: Tony Izzo began discussion on the proposed amendments to the Ethics Code by a number of our citizens. Entitled, “Proposed Ethical Standards for Land Use Members”, these changes to the Code would affect three specific departments, [1] Zoning, [2] Planning, [3] Design Review. The Amendment focuses on the use of “Disclosure” and “Recusal” as appropriate mechanisms to ensure Board Member accountability and consistency in all decisions. Mr. Hogan asked whether there are any other municipalities utilizing this higher standard of accountability for certain, specific Boards, as opposed to applying these elevated standards to non land-use boards. Mr. Izzo stated that these proposed amendments would have to be predicated on some kind of finding that Land-Use Boards have something unique and special that allows for this enhanced policing, however, he cannot, at this time cite any other municipalities that have enacted similar standards. There were several questions raised among board members including a concern over enforcement standards and responsibility for a Board member who does not recuse. With regard to ex-parte conversations, Marilyn Rivers stated that this would be most difficult to maintain. She would like to have a clear definition of what is considered an ex-parte conversation. John Ellis stated that “without meaningful teeth”, these proposed changes amount to nothing more than “words”. Mr. Chudy further stated that without a means of enforcement, this would amount to nothing more than an academic exercise. The board agreed we need to invest time and research in order to be prepared to fully consider amendments to the Code. Ms. Rivers expressed interest in reviewing similar legislation from other municipalities. Tony Izzo stated that the “Conference of Mayor’s” is a good source of information, as well as internet research. Executive Session: Motion to move into an executive session was made by Justin Hogan, and seconded by Brendan Chudy. The Board moved out of executive session at 6:22 PM. Motion to adjourn was made by Justin Hogan, seconded by John Ellis. Meeting Adjourned at 6:27 PM on December 8, 2016. Next Meeting: Thursday, January 12, 2017 at 5:30 PM in the City Council Room. Respectfully submitted: Michelle Grocé, Office of the City Attorney