Staff Writer
The effort to bring back an ethics code to the City’s Charter moved forward Monday as the City’s Ethics Commission members were handed the latest version of legislation.
City Council member Glorious Johnson introduced Ordinance 2010-616 in July to return the Ethics Code to the City Charter. The code was removed from the Charter in the early 1970s in response to the adoption by the Florida Legislature of a statewide ethics law that applied to all public officials.
The current Ethics Code, Chapter 602 of the City’s Municipal Code, can be changed at the local level with the vote of the City Council. If the code is returned to the charter, any changes would have to be made by the state Legislature.
“This is hot off the presses,” said Ethics Officer Carla Miller. “It is the effort to combine the suggestions of the Ethics Commission with the original bill introduced by Council member Johnson.”
Attorney Steve Rohan of the City’s Office of General Counsel didn’t stop by the regular monthly meeting only to drop off the new copies of the legislation. He also stopped by to update the commission on where the legislation was in the process.
The General Counsel’s Office is “taking a look at whether or not the City’s Ethics Commission has authority over the independent authorities,” said Rohan. “No one has asked us to do this. This is simply the OGC discussing present legislation.”
If approved in its current format, the officers and employees of the consolidated government of the City of Jacksonville, its constitutional officers and independent agencies and districts would be subject to the City’s Ethics Code.
The code would also provide for an independent ethics commission that would have jurisdiction over the following topics: conflicts of interest, the ethics hotline, education, transparency, procurement, campaign ethics, campaign finance and lobbying.
The legislation also allows the ethics commission to levy civil fines for violation of the ethics code and it would also have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and require the production of records.
“I don’t want anyone to be surprised when an opinion comes out,” said Rohan. “It may be oral or written. We’ll just have to see.”
The legislation is being reviewed by the City Council Rules Committee and awaits a vote by the City Council.
The Charter Revision Commission voted to support returning the ethics code to the charter in its February report to the City Council.
The next meeting of the Ethics Commission will be 5 p.m. Oct. 25 at a location to be determined. The commission will try to move the meeting to a location to facilitate public participation.
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