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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996/02/01 Board of Ethics Minutes CITY OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA MINUTES OF A BOARD OF ETHICS MEETING February 1, 1996 city Attorney's Conference Room 4:15 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Herney, Richard Schulman, Joanne Carson, and Billy Kelley MEMBERS ABSENT: Douglas Cochrane, Virgil Whitehead OTHERS PRESENT: Bruce Boogaard, City Attorney Lorraine Kraker, Secy. to City Attorney Each of the following attended a portion of the meeting: John Goss, City Manager Toni McKean, Training Coordinator David Allen The meeting was called to order by Chair Herney at 4:40 p.m. with the arrival of Billy Kelley thereby constituting a quorum. 1. Oral communications. None. 2. Roll Call. Roll was called and all members were present except Douglas Cochrane, who asked to be excused due to a work commitment, and virgil Whitehead who previously sent a letter on January 17, 1996 asking for a six month leave of absence. Attorney Boogaard reported Mr. Cochrane had telephoned this afternoon at 3 o'clock and after reviewing the materials supplied by Attorney Allen, was convinced that the Board should stand down from further evaluation of the Penny Allen matter and suggested a motion to table the discussion. Member Carson had a conflict of interest in that she worked on Ms. Allen's campaign and would be abstaining from any discussions. Therefore, it was determined there was not a quorum to discuss the matter and it was continued until the meeting of March 4, 1996 at 4:15 p.m. 4. Discussion with citv Manaqer - Implementation of Approved Council Aqenda reqardinq Ethics and Departmental Instruction and Follow UP on Ethics Proqram. John Goss distributed a list of Management Values he developed 11 years ago when he came to the City of Chula vista and briefly discussed some of the provisions: . The organization's most valuable resource is its employees. . Enhanced communications make a more effective organization. . Top management should set an example of the work ethic. They should work hard and long to give their best to the work that we do. Corrected Board of Ethics 2-1-96 Minutes Page 2 . Honesty is dealings with others, and ethical conduct at all times must be paramount in performing one's job. John Goss presented an update on how the Ethics Program is going: . Toni McKean has been working with the departments to have each department develop a code of ethics which is due in February. . The 1/30/96 training needs to be rescheduled to a date certain in the spring. . The city is sponsoring the development of "Character Counts" programs in the local school districts. . Toni McKean has been collecting literature and videocassettes which is available through her office and the Library. . Ms. McKean is meeting with the b/c/c's to facilitate discussions on ethical decisionmaking and has met with the Planning commission and will soon meet with the Library Board. The City Manager suggested having Jeri Gulbranson do a press release on the subject. Member Schulman stated he heard about cutbacks that the City may be facing. His concern was ethical considerations are even more important at a time like this and he was hoping the Ethics Program does not get lost. The City Manager agreed and noted the effort thus far in cutbacks has been through attrition and an on-going hiring freeze. Billy Kelley questioned if individuals within the City of Chula vista understand the process to be used if they were faced with an ethical situation. John Goss explained it would pass through the supervisor who would investigate, and then pass it to a division or department head. Mr. Goss pointed out another reason for training is to clarify the gray areas between ethical and general harassment policies. Member Schulman further questioned what could be done if an employee received directiol) from his supervisor that he considered unethical and felt uncomfortable going to his super- visor. It was suggested a person be designated as an ethics counselor. Mr. Goss noted the Personnel Department is always available to informally fill the role in areas that cannot be handled within the employee's department. Discussion ensued as to assessment evaluations on an annual basis and internal surveys among employees on the perception of how the organization is doing to which ethics can be included. It was suggested that whenever surveys are conducted that an ethics portion be added to assist with feedback. Susan Herney discussed "customary practices" of ethics in other parts of the country and favored institutionalizing the notion of ethics in our . Ci ty government as a standard expected of all employees and volunteers. Board of Ethics 2-1-96 Minutes Page 3 John Goss assured the Board that employees will be strongly encouraged to attend the spring training. The members thanked the city Manager for attending today's meeting. Billy Kelley was impressed with John Goss' analogy of ethics and how he proposed to implement the program and felt reassured that ethics will start at the top and trickle down. 3. Approval of Minutes from Januarv 11. 1996 meetinq. MSUC (Schulman/Carson) to approve the minutes with the following corrections: Page 1: Under "Others Present" show the other City staff besides the secretary were present for only a portion of the meeting. Page 3: Change the words "comes out" to "can come out" in the first paragraph. Have the motion reflect Member Schulman was in favor of inviting the City Manager to attend our meeting, but that he did not wish it to go through the Mayor's office. 5. Status of Vacancies. Secretary Kraker reported she spoke to Judge Thomas Hendrix and explained the City's ordinance for having the Presiding Judge make a recommendation as to appointment. Judge Hendrix agreed to interview applicants and select the best candidates for appointment. The Board reviewed the letter received from Virgil Whitehead dated January 17, 1996 wherein he requested a six-month leave of absence due to a work assignment out of the country. It was decided to refer his request to the Council Subcommittee on Vacancies to determine if such a request could be granted or if Mr. Whitehead would have to be replaced. Attorney Boogaard stated he would ask the Subcommittee to convene next Tuesday. 6. Discussion of Status Reqardinq Two Case Specific situations. (Member Carson abstained from any participation on this matter.) MS (Schulman/Kelley) to drop consideration of taking any action in these two specific cases. The Board discussed the matter and since neither party is connected with the City now, they did not see any action which could be taken which would be meaningful especially in light of the fact that other agencies have dealt with the situations and taken action. Motion withdrawn. Because Attorney David Allen had requested closure on this matter and only three members of the Board were able to discuss it today, Board of Ethics 2-1-96 Minutes Page 4 it was decided to continue the item until next month's meeting when Douglas Cochrane could be present. Susan Herney pointed out this situation provides a good opportunity to learn; to help emphasize the importance of conflict of interest rules for all commissioners; and give us direction on how the Code can be amended to make it more effective. 8. Campaian contribution Ordinance. Attorney Boogaard briefly explained the ordinance presented to the city Council to apply the same contribution limitations and prohibitions now applicable to candidates to independent expendi- ture committees. A candidate cannot receive more than $250 from anyone person and no money can be received from any organization. It was Susan Herney's understanding that several of the candidates appeared at the 1/23/96 Council meeting and spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance. 9. Ethics Ordinance Amendment. continue until the next meeting. 10. California Research Bureau Survev reaardina California Local Government Ethics. The Board reviewed the survey completed preliminarily by the City Attorney. MSUC (Carson/Kelley) to delegate Susan Herney to complete it. 7. Member's Comments. Richard Schulman reported the Ethics Board in Los Angeles in having problems and the head of their staff was fired. Joanne Carson suggested sending thank you notes to John Goss, Beverly Authelet and Vicki Soderquist for their participation in . our meetings. Susan Herney had available the San Diego Union/Tribune article from January 27, 1996 dealing with the campaign ordinance. She also had a copy of "Ethics Journal", a publication of the Ethics Resource Center, if any of the members wished to read it. Chair Herney requested Lorraine to poll the members prior to the next meeting to make sure they will attend in order to have a quorum. The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m. to the next meeting on March 4, 1996 at 4:15 p.m. cP~tL.9(~ Lorraine A. Kraker C:\ethics\.inutes\2-1-96