by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Time and momentum are running out for the current City Council to refine the charter amendment on the ethics policy it recently passed, and the City Ethics Commission is offering its support of proposed legislation that would do so.
The Ethics Commission met Monday night at City Hall to discuss its proposed rules and procedures and Ordinance 2011-167, which defines the development and powers and duties of the Ethics Commission.
That ordinance, as well as 2011-197, was introduced by District 5 council member Art Shad, whose term expires because of term limits. He will be replaced by Lori Boyer.
“We are operating on a time schedule if we want to get these bills through before we have a new City Council and new mayor,” said City Ethics Officer Carla Miller. “There’s no perfect solution really.”
Some of the issues the Ethics Commission wanted to discuss regarding 2011-167 included qualifications for commission members and the structure for selecting members.
The legislation was developed, in part, to remove politics from the selection process.
Currently, one member is selected each by City Council, the mayor, the Duval County School Board, the Civil Service Board, the state attorney and the chief judge of the Circuit Court. The remaining three members are appointed by majority vote of the commission for a total of nine members.
The alternative selection process that has been proposed relies on nonpolitical bodies to select members of the commission.
The list includes the dean of Florida Coastal School of Law, the director of the University of North Florida Ethics Center, the president of the Jacksonville League of Women Voters, the president of the D.W. Perkins Bar Association, the director of Jacksonville Community Council Inc. and the president of Florida State College at Jacksonville. Three members would be appointed by the Ethics Commission.
After reviewing the list, current Ethics Commission members discussed changes Monday and agreed to suggest to City Council that the appointment by the Perkins Bar Association could be replaced by The Jacksonville Bar Association and minority representation on the commission could be maintained by OneJax, which operates as “an interfaith organization that promotes respect and understanding among people of different religions, races, cultures and beliefs.”
Also, the president of FSCJ could be replaced by the state attorney on the selection committee.
The list would have to be reviewed to have six groups choosing one member each and the commission selecting three.
Commission member L.E. Hutton explained why the state attorney, an elected official, should be included in the selection process.
“The state attorney is not only selected by this community, but surrounding communities also, and they also bring a certain expertise to the table relating to the qualifications that the commission is looking for, specifically law enforcement,” said Hutton, who was appointed to the commission by the state attorney.
“I’m not saying that because I was appointed by the state attorney. That’s got nothing to do with it. I don’t feel we should foreclose elected officials from the appointment,” said Hutton.”
The commission also discussed the qualifications section of Ordinance 2011-167.
The current code does not specify qualifications, but the proposed ordinance outlines that “each member shall have one or more of the following qualifications: an attorney with litigation experience; a certified public accountant with forensic audit experience; a former elected official; a former judge; a higher education faculty member or former faculty member with experience in ethics; a former law enforcement official with experience in investigating public corruption; a corporate official with a background in human resources or ethics; a former board member of a City of Jacksonville independent authority; a former government executive with ethics experience.”
One member of the public felt the qualifications excluded some taxpayers and warned the commission of encouraging elitism.
“I have here in my hand a summons for jury duty,” said Dan Carr of Jacksonville.
“There are no qualifications other than being a taxpayer, as far as I know. If I can be considered suitable to determine, hopefully not, the life or death of a defendant, then a common taxpayer like me should be suitable to serve on the commission,” said Carr.
While the Ethics Commission was not responsible for the development of the legislation, it wanted to review it and provide City Council with its position on the proposed ordinances.
Ordinance 2011-167 will be discussed Monday by the City Council Rules Committee. Ordinance 2011-197, which establishes the “Ethics Office, Compliance & Oversight,” was introduced March 24 and is scheduled for a public hearing at the full council’s April 12 meeting.
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