Summary of Recent Board Action
Following a lengthy meeting on July 23, 2014, at which it considered all the available evidence, findings of fact, and motions presented to it, pursuant to §§2-156-385(3) and (4) of the revised Governmental Ethics Ordinance, the Board of Ethics voted unanimously [in Case No. 13009.OLIG] to take no action, dismiss and close a case involving an investigation of an elected City official who, the investigation showed, had left a voicemail message on the telephone line of a business constituent.
The Board's vote was based on careful consideration of the Ordinance's fiduciary duty provision, the facts, and applicable case law. The Board concluded that the facts adduced showed that the elected official was not acting or using his official authority or position to further the kind of purely private interest for which the City's ethics laws prohibit the use of an official's City title or authority.
The Board is grateful to the investigating authority and the subject of the investigation for their work and cooperation in helping the Board to advance our City's understanding of what is proper and not proper under our ethics laws.
In other matters, the Board also: (i) received reports of several written advisory opinions issued to departing City employees, apprising them of how the City's "revolving door" or post-employment opinions apply to their post-City employment plans. See Case Nos. 14021.Q, 14023.Q and 14025.Q.; and (ii) received reports of the 76 City employees and officials found to have violated the City's Governmental Ethics Ordinance for failure to timely file 2014 Statements of Financial Interests [their names are posted on the Board's website, as required by law], and the one (1) lobbyist found to have violated the Ordinance for failure to complete annual required ethics training; and (iii) approved the commencement of three investigations by the Legislative Inspector General, in Cases 14027.OLIG, 14028.OLIG, and 14029.OLIG.