Board of Ethics Discussion

[Robert Owen]

Regarding our discussion on the potential merits of establishing a Board of Ethics in the Charter, I ran a search on Boards of Ethics in Home Rule Municipalities in Texas and found the following references.

Based on recent search results, several Texas home rule cities have established ethics boards or commissions, which are often created by city ordinance but may be empowered through the city's charter. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Examples of Texas home rule cities with ethics boards include:

• Austin: The city has an Ethics Review Commission. The city's ethics code outlines standards of conduct, gift rules, and restrictions on former city officials. Some of these rules were detailed in a 2017 training presentation.
• Bastrop: The City of Bastrop has an Ethics Commission. Note: The minutes from the 4/10/24 (item 5) are interesting and demonstrates BOE apparently can go beyond just finance and conflict of interest issues. https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgov...T-Agenda-b302ca1c32df474aa2784e3bb57a3d23.pdf
• Kyle: The City of Kyle's Ethics Commission was created to ensure public trust by enforcing the city's ethics ordinance. The ordinance sets standards of conduct and disclosure requirements for city officers and employees.
• Seguin: The City of Seguin has a nine-member Ethics Commission appointed by the city council.
• Oak Point: The City of Oak Point has a Code of Ethics Ordinance that outlines procedures for filing and reviewing complaints against city officials. [1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9]

How ethics boards are established
Home rule cities can generally take any action not prohibited by the Texas Constitution or state statutes, as long as the authority is granted in the city's charter. While the charter defines the city's structure, a city can adopt a separate ethics ordinance to create and define the powers of an ethics board or commission. This practice aligns with the home rule principle of local self-government. [4, 10, 11, 12, 13]

The purpose of ethics boards
City ethics boards or commissions typically serve to:

• Promote public trust: By enforcing ethical standards, they help maintain confidence in local government.
• Investigate complaints: They review and investigate allegations of misconduct or conflicts of interest involving city officials and employees.
• Interpret ethics rules: They may issue advisory opinions to help officials navigate ethical dilemmas.
• Enforce penalties: They can recommend or impose penalties for ethics violations. [1, 4, 7, 9, 14]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.cityofkyle.com/cityadministration/page/ethics-commission
[2] https://www.cityofbastrop.org/page/cs.boards_ethics
[3] https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/LG/htm/LG.9.htm
[4] https://www.tmcec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Texas-Ethics-Gift-and-Honorarium-Laws.pdf
[5] https://www.saspeakup.com/K7024
[6] https://www.austintexas.gov/content/ethics-review-commission
[7] https://www.seguintexas.gov/517/Ethics-Commission
[8] https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=412253
[9] https://www.oakpointtexas.com/DocumentCenter/View/290/Code-of-Ethics-Ordinance-PDF
[10] https://townofsunnyvale.org/DocumentCenter/View/2697/Charter-FAQ?bidId
[11] https://www.cityofbridgeport.net/557/Home-Rule
[12] https://www.randlelawoffice.com/local-governmental-entities/adopting-home-rule-city-charter-texas/
[13] https://townofsunnyvale.org/DocumentCenter/View/2697/Charter-FAQ?bidId
[14] https://www.law.uh.edu/libraries/ethics/opinions/501-600/eo567.pdf

 

[Robert Owen]

Following up on the 11/5 CRC meeting I've attached sample Board of Ethics charter language for discussion.

• Hutto
• Lakeway
• San Antonio

In addition, I've linked the City of Brownsville and the City of Corinth ordinances. Brownsville and Corinth don't establish a BOE via charter, but I found the ordinance language interesting though way too detailed for a charter.

• Brownsville
• Corinth

I found this comment interesting when searching:
Limitations: Texas state law does not permit a board to operate with complete autonomy, as a city cannot delegate its entire authority without council oversight. The City Council typically retains some final authority, such as imposing suspensions or removing board members for neglect of duty.

 

[Robert Owen]

I've attached snippets of Boards of Ethics created by various charters and drafted this language as a starting point for a LV BOE.

Lago Vista Proposed Language

Section 7.06 Board of Ethics

• The city council shall, by ordinance, establish an independent Board of Ethics that has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the interpretation and enforcement of the City Charter, Code of Ethics, and the conflict of interest and financial disclosure ordinances.
• In addition to the qualifications in Section 7.02, no member of the board may hold elective or appointed office under the city or any other government or hold any political party office.
• The Ethics Review Board shall consist of seven members. The Mayor and each member of the City Council shall nominate one member of the Board. Each nominee shall be confirmed by a majority vote of the City Council. No member of the Board shall serve for more than three full terms. Members shall serve two- year terms coterminous with that of the nominating City Council Member. Appointments made during an existing term shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term.
• Due to its nature, the Board of Ethics shall interact directly with the City Manager and City Attorney and shall not have an appointed Council liaison.
• The members of such commission shall be appointed, supervised and removed by the City Council and shall meet upon a complaint or grievance being filed or at the request of the Council, the City Attorney, or the City Manager.
• Insofar as possible under State law, the Council shall authorize the board to issue advisory opinions, conduct investigations on its own initiative and on referral or complaint from officials or resident, gather and hear evidence, compel availability of City Staff witnesses and documents, refer cases for prosecution, advise and recommend City Council final action, and in the event of a possible conflict of interest with the City Attorney, to hire independent counsel, subject to reasonable budget limitations.

 

[Lynda Aird]

I've attached snippets of Boards of Ethics created by various charters and drafted this language as a starting point for a LV BOE.

Lago Vista Proposed Language

Section 7.06 Board of Ethics

• The city council shall, by ordinance, establish an independent Board of Ethics that has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the interpretation and enforcement of the City Charter, Code of Ethics, and the conflict of interest and financial disclosure ordinances.
• In addition to the qualifications in Section 7.02, no member of the board may hold elective or appointed office under the city or any other government or hold any political party office.
• The Ethics Review Board shall consist of seven members. The Mayor and each member of the City Council shall nominate one member of the Board. Each nominee shall be confirmed by a majority vote of the City Council. No member of the Board shall serve for more than three full terms. Members shall serve two- year terms coterminous with that of the nominating City Council Member. Appointments made during an existing term shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term.
• Due to its nature, the Board of Ethics shall interact directly with the City Manager and City Attorney and shall not have an appointed Council liaison.
• The members of such commission shall be appointed, supervised and removed by the City Council and shall meet upon a complaint or grievance being filed or at the request of the Council, the City Attorney, or the City Manager.
• Insofar as possible under State law, the Council shall authorize the board to issue advisory opinions, conduct investigations on its own initiative and on referral or complaint from officials or resident, gather and hear evidence, compel availability of City Staff witnesses and documents, refer cases for prosecution, advise and recommend City Council final action, and in the event of a possible conflict of interest with the City Attorney, to hire independent counsel, subject to reasonable budget limitations.

Thank you, Robert.

I recommend adding to the Proposed Language:

The city council will consider for appointment to the Board of Ethics only those persons who have demonstrated their civic interest, general knowledge of the matters to be acted upon by the board, independent judgment and availability to prepare for and attend meetings and hearings.