DEPARTMENT: Office of the City Auditor
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Kevin Barthold
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Ethics Code and Municipal Campaign Finance Code
SUMMARY:
The Ethics Review Board will update City Council on proposed amendments to the Ethics Code and Municipal Campaign Finance Code.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Ethics Review Board has been evaluating proposed changes to the Ethics Code and Municipal Campaign Finance Code since 2016. As part of this process, the ERB has considered input from City staff, evaluated 3 CCRs submitted by Councilmembers, sought input from a local ethics research expert, and performed a thorough review of both Codes.
The ERB Chair presented the proposed amendments to the Governance Committee on September 20, 2017. At the direction of the Governance Committee, the ERB will present their recommendations to the City Council.
ISSUE:
The ERB has performed research and held multiple meetings to review the Ethics Code and Municipal Campaign Finance Code. The ERB has developed a slate of recommendations regarding waivers, the Compliance Auditor position and City Auditor independence, ethics education, the City Attorney's role in providing ethics advice, the hiring of independent counsel, and the ERB appointment process.
Additionally, the ERB had undertaken a complete review of the Ethics Code and Municipal Campaign Finance Code and is prepared to make recommendations for changes to further strengthen the Codes and increase clarity of the Code provisions.
The ERB will present their recommendations to the City Council. A summary of the current Code provisions and proposed Code revisions follows at the end of this Agenda Memorandum.
ALTERNATIVES:
City Council can provide additional guidance regarding these matters.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends consideration and approval of all of the Ethics Review Board's re...
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