A month ago, I wrote a
blog post about the Broward County (FL) inspector general's
recommendations for ethics reform. A principal recommendation
was to require all local officials, who are under the county ethics
program's jurisdiction, to seek ethics advice from an ethics officer
rather than from their city attorneys.
According to an article this weekend in the Sun-Sentinel, the local officials in at least two cities, Coral Springs and Tamarac, are not happy about this recommendation. What they are saying is good evidence for the need to take ethics advice out of the hands of numerous untrained lawyers and placing it in the hands of a trained, centralized individual or commission that can provide consistent and independent advice.
According to an article this weekend in the Sun-Sentinel, the local officials in at least two cities, Coral Springs and Tamarac, are not happy about this recommendation. What they are saying is good evidence for the need to take ethics advice out of the hands of numerous untrained lawyers and placing it in the hands of a trained, centralized individual or commission that can provide consistent and independent advice.