January 18, 2007 Ethics in Hamblen County

The Hamblen County Commission is looking at a draft of an ethics policy that was prepared recently by County Attorney Rusty Cantwell and inserted in each commissioner's January 8 packet.

Cantwell has crafted a policy by using parts of the CTAS Model Ethics Policy with certain additions and changes.

Adopting a detailed and strict ethics policy is perhaps the single most important policy action that the county commission will undertake.

The true measure of any ethics policy, however, will lie in how it is interpreted by the county attorney or others, and how strictly, or if, ethics violations are actually addressed.

With such an important undertaking and with lots of other county information, the county website should have been used to post the entire policy where it could be accessed on home or public computers.

The county website is at http://hamblencountygovernment.us.

The ethics proposal is only 10 pages long, but I couldn't find it on the county website. I called the County Mayor's Office and was told it was not there.

It sure would be helpful if budget amendments, ethics policies, grant resolutions, minutes, and other information were put on the county website. I always thought putting county information in the public domain on the internet was one of the main reasons for setting up a county website.
In connection with the ethics proposal and the county attorney's presentation, I haven't seen a public comment from any commissioner, the county mayor, the county attorney, or anyone else--since the January 8 (noon) committee meeting.

[And if I have missed something in the newspaper with comments from any of the above about the ethics policy, I apologize in advance.]

I would very much like to know what each commissioner and others think about conflicts of interest and about the proposed ethics policy.

After all, the strictness of the new ethics policy will show just how committed Hamblen County officials, employees, and boards are to eliminating conflicts of interest (in votes and recommendations) and to providing an open and accountable government.

This is surely the time for an open and wide-ranging discussion among county commissioners, other officials, employees, and the public that "foots all the bills." In other cities and counties, there are numerous newspaper articles about conflicts of interest, letters to the editor, and wide-ranging ethics discussions in progress.

So far, however, the local ethics policy is under the radar. The proposal was presented for discussion at a "public" committee meeting that took place around 12:00 noon on a workday. How many members of the public can make it to noon meetings on a workday?

[NOTE: It's hard to understand (or is it?) why county officials schedule "public" committee meetings where the real discussion is supposed to take place at times when most of the "public" can't attend. If you are able to attend an 11:30 or 12:00 noon committee meeting, however, you can watch as commissioners, the county mayor, and other public officials and employees enjoy a "free" lunch.

Well, shucks, the lunch is not really free. The taxpayers pay for it, and the county officials turn around and schedule these public luncheon meetings at a time when the majority of the public (citizens, taxpayers, voters) can't get there.

More about these noon luncheon meetings on another day! I have opposed them from day one, but there are those who absolutely love to have public meetings when the working public can't make it!]

CREATION AND ADOPTION OF AN ETHICS POLICY

This is the time for a real, substantive, and public discussion about the new ethics policy.

I hope commissioners will express their opinions about the policy today at Commission's 5:00 PM meeting in the large 3rd floor courtroom. I hope the county attorney will be asked to explain the policy to the public today.

I would like to hear the reasoning and thoughts behind each commissioner's vote---and not just hear "aye" or "nay." What do they think about ethics? About the ethics policy? To what ethical standards do they hold?

Does the policy really address conflicts of interest or is it the same-old same-old where it's OK to vote even when family and financial ties are entwined with the votes of commissioners?