December 2003 · Volume 85 · Number 11

Ethics Inquiries

Mayor and Council Battle

Scenario: The town administrator, appointed by the mayor, called to discuss a dispute between the mayor and the town council. The town charter gives the mayor authority to nominate candidates for all of the town’s boards and commissions. Recently, however, the town council has refused to act on three nominations, leading to some commissioners’ remaining in place after their terms have expired.

The mayor is furious about the situation, especially after the town attorney issued an opinion that this group of commissioners whose terms had expired should be considered “holdovers.” These “holdover” commissioners retain their posts until they are replaced.

The mayor now is threatening to sue the city to get action on his appointments. At one of their daily meetings, the mayor began to air his frustrations about the situation with the town administrator. The town administrator, worried that such discussions might have to be disclosed if the lawsuit goes forward, asked for advice.

Response: While it may be difficult, the town administrator should tell the mayor not to discuss the matter with her if he intends to sue the city. If there is a legal battle between the mayor and the council, the administrator needs to keep a professional distance from the dispute.
Allegation of a Kickback

Allegation of a Kickback

Scenario: The county manager was stunned to learn that the city’s police chief is spreading rumors about him. The most serious allegation is that the county manager got a kickback from the finance director in return for approving the finance director’s four-month leave of absence. A local reporter told the county manager about the allegation in confidence, noting that the chief had made other allegations of misconduct.

Later, the county manager learned that the police chief had made the same allegation to the county attorney. The chief told the county attorney that he had no proof of a kickback but was repeating a rumor he had heard.

The county manager is concerned that the police chief will continue to repeat these allegations and that he has been doing so in order to avoid facing discipline for poor performance. While he would like to share the reporter’s conversation with the county attorney, he promised the reporter he would keep it confidential. How can he put these issues behind him without disclosing the reporter’s conversation?

Response: The county manager does need to confront the issue directly, and he can do so by working directly with the county attorney. He can suggest that the county attorney meet with the chief and ask for any and all documentation the chief has about the manager’s alleged misconduct. Taking the initiative to get the issues out in the open is the best way to short-circuit a smear campaign.

Ethics advice is a popular service provided to ICMA members. The inquiries and advice are reviewed by the Committee on Professional Conduct, the ethics committee of the ICMA Executive Board. Some of the inquiries are revised and published as a regular feature in PM, to give guidance to members in the big and little ethical decisions they make daily. If you have a question about your obligations under the ICMA Code of Ethics, call Elizabeth Kellar at 202/962-3611, e-mail, ekellar@icma.org or Martha Perego at 202/962-3668, e-mail, mperego@icma.org.

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