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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995/11/02 Board of Ethics Minutes CITY OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA MINUTES OF A BOARD OF ETHICS MEETING November 2, 1995 city Attorney's Conference Room 4:15 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Richard Schulman, Douglas Cochrane, Virgil Whitehead, Joanne Carson, and Billy Kelley MEMBERS ABSENT: Susan Herney, Lionel McQuillon OTHERS PRESENT: Toni McKean, Training Coordinator Bruce M. Boogaard, City Attorney Lorraine Kraker, Secy. to City Attorney The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman Schulman at 4:15 p.m. 2. Roll Call. Roll was called and all members were present except Susan Herney, who asked to be excused due to jet lag. MSUC (Carson/Cochrane) to excuse Susan Herney. Lionel McQuillon submitted his resignation as he is moving to Los Angeles. His resignation letter will be on the November 7, 1995 Council Agenda. 3. Approval of Minutes MSUC (Carson/Whitehead) to approve the minutes of October 2, 1995 with the following corrections. Page 4: 2nd Paragraph - 3rd line change the word "preceding" to "proceeding". Last Paragraph Joanne Carson asked if there is a need to continue to meet weekly. She understood about the past weekly meetings because of the items that had to be taken care of in a timely manner prior to board members coming to the end of their term on the board. She would have to resign if the Board continues to meet every week. Page 5 Second Paragraph Ms. Acton reminded the Chair and Board members that this meeting will have to be posted and published. The Chairman requested that the Board be allowed the flexibility to have the meeting posted "as the Chair calls". Board of Ethics 11-02-95 Minutes Page 2 Third Paragraph MSUC (Carson\Cochrane) to approve the schedule for the Board of Ethics meetings as called by the Chairman as necessary on the first Thursday of the month from 4:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Fourth Paragraph Mr. Schulman brought to the members' attention that the location of the meeting was printed incorrectly on the City Council's agenda, it should be listed as the Attorney's Conference Room. Fifth Paragraph Eliminate the word "having" in the second line. 1. Oral Communications. Member Schulman suggested adding to the agenda a section for "Member's Comments". Mr. Schulman mentioned Virgil Whitehead had a videotape available from the Boeing Ethics Program and asked if the members would be interested in viewing it at the next meeting. The consensus was to place it on the next agenda at the end of the meeting. After watching the tape, the Board can decide if it is worthwhile to share with the employees. 4. Report on Leadership Chula vista. Richard Schulman and Toni McKean attended the meeting on October 31, 1995 for the 10-minute time slot allotted and gave a general rundown on the program and what we are trying to accomplish in the city in terms of a pro-active approach and educational awareness. Toni invited the participants to attend the City's program on January 30, 1996 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 in the Council Chambers. Member Schulman requested that we be involved in the Chamber's program on a regular basis. MSUC (Carson/Cochrane) to ask the Chairman to write a letter to the Chamber indicating our interest in providing information about the Ethics Program for future meetings and conferences. virgil Whitehead noted that ethics should be a part of any seminar the city puts on. Member Kelley stated we should share information with the Education Committee which can be an additional lead into the business sector via the Chamber. 5. Follow UP Report - Ethics Proqrams. Ms. McKean has scheduled a "Person of Character" Seminar for January 30, 1996. The Planning commission has reserved her time for 1-1/2 hours at its December 20, 1995 meeting. She is preparing Board of Ethics 11-02-95 Minutes Page 3 an outline of the program similar to "Ethics Beyond the Code" but packaged differently for their responsibilities. Ken Lee and Toni will work together on the specifics and the Chairman will approve the proposal outline. In regard to the letter from the Mayor and Council to all b/c/c members, Ms. McKean mentioned she was not specifically listed as the contact person, and perhaps the Board can pass the word on to the Mayor and Council that she is the appropriate person. Richard Schulman inquired if Toni, Candy or John Goss could send out a follow-up letter stating Toni McKean is the contact person. Member Schulman stated Toni might want to keep track of the hours she is spending on ethics for the budget cycle next year. Richard Schulman noted he was very impressed with the Mayor and Council's letter. Member Schulman inquired if Candy Emerson had talked to the civil service Commission. Toni will check and report back. The 1/30/96 session is available to everyone. Member Whitehead inquired if there was a time frame for each department. Toni responded not to her knowledge. Mr. Schulman asked if there were regular employee training sessions or departmental team building meetings where ethics could be placed on their agendas. Ms. McKean stated there is no longer the infrastructure available but there are staff meetings, departmental retreats and department head meetings on Wednesday mornings. It was recommended that either Susan Herney or Richard Schulman attend the department head meeting to plug the seminar as the January date approaches. In conclusion, Toni McKean will obtain answers to the following questions and have the information available when Lorraine sends out the next agenda: (1) Follow up with a letter to the boards and commissions notifying them Ms. McKean is the appropriate contact person. (2) Whether Candy Emerson has connected with the civil Service commission. (3) Getting on the department head agenda. Board of Ethics 11-02-95 Minutes Page 4 Further discussion districts, the YMCA, News. ensued regarding branching out to school and churches with a news release to the star One-Liners Douglas Cochrane will check with Harriet Acton to bring her one- liners to the next Safety commission meeting. Joanne Carson left hers at home but mentioned "How many times do you have to lie to become a liar"? Billy Kelley suggested turning them over to the Chair and, if appropriate, they can be used. The secretary will forward them to the Chair for review and selection. The Board asked the secretary to check with Toni McKean to see if the hand-outs with one-liners from the Josephson Seminar could be used by the Board or were they copyrighted. If they can be used, the secretary will forward those to Chairman Herney. 6. Mission Statement Workshop - Part II. The Board decided to carry this item over to the next agenda. MSUC (Carson/Whitehead) to add the Board's Mission Statement to the bottom of their letterhead or announcements and to so notify Ms. McKean. 7. Discussion of Campaiqn contribution Ordinance. Joanne Carson questioned whether it was worth the Board's time and effort to discuss this issue further. Member Schulman stated some members wanted to throw out the whole thing because the controls did not work. Are there other approaches to dealing with possible problems of undue influence on members of the Council as a result of campaign contributions? One of the things mentioned was how could we make the information more up front and accessible to the public rather than sitting in the City Clerk's office. Although it's not legal, the city Attorney indicated the way to put the kibosh on it is to say you can't vote on something affecting a person who has been a political contributor. It puts an intolerable chill on the First Amendment freedom of expression to support your political ideologies. Joanne Carson noted if a person received X $ from a source and discloses the reason why they were voting the way they did on a particular issue and verbalized those reasons, it would make them stop and think. If a lot of money was donated to Board of Ethics 11-02-95 Minutes Page 5 their campaign, a person could be slanted toward a particular direction. Douglas Cochrane indicated he is for regulation if it can be enforced and inquired what the penalty is for violating these regulations? The Attorney stated a violation of FPPC rules would be fines. The Board reviewed the various PAC statements and discussed the five-year accounting prepared by Virgil Whitehead and felt for the dollar amounts involved, there was a lot of paperwork with little activity to be looked at. Billy Kelley commented he like Ms. Carson's analogy that a person has to reason their assessment on how they came to a particular conclusion which gives the public a more informative outlet. The City Attorney was asked his opinion of requiring disclosure. He stated he was proposing to close the loophole by regulating the amount of contributions that could be given to an independent expenditure committee rather than require simultaneous disclosure. Billy Kelley questioned who evaluates the documents to insure their compliance. The Attorney stated the opponent in any campaign will look at violations occurring. It is then brought to the attention of the press and the District Attorney. virgil Whitehead asked if as a committee can we make a recom- mendation to change the ordinance as written to put a cap on the limitation of the IECs on the contributions received. MS (Whitehead/Cochrane) to amend the ordinance as written to include a limitation on independent expenditure committees and ask the city Attorney to draft an amendment to the ordinance. The Attorney pointed out we have a special and general election coming up and a person could receive double fundraising. Douglas Cochrane asked if it could be legal to word it such that a person cannot receive more than one contribution for an elected position within a two year period. Motion Amended to include that the limit apply to both elections if they are held concurrently at least within a designated time frame and authorize the City Attorney to draft an amendment and submit it to the Council with this general sense and without the Board Board of Ethics 11-02-95 Minutes Page 6 approving the specific wording. opposed. ) Motion carries 5-1 (Schulman MSUC (Carson/Whitehead) to adjourn the meeting at 5:55 p.m. The next meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 7, 1995 at 4:15 p.m. c{J~ fL. cfI~ Lorraine A. Kraker C:\ethics\minutes\11.02-95