Refine | icma.org

Displaying 217 - 225 of 371 results

Tenet 7 reminds members in service to a local government regardless of whether it is on a full-time, part-time, or an interim basis to “refrain from all political activities which undermine public confidence in professional administrators.” Members may not run for any elected office or accept appointment to any elected office while in service to a local government.

Members have been sanctioned for the following unethical conduct in running for office:

A member was an elected official while he worked as a city manager. The member had an affirmative responsibility to comply with the ICMA Code of Ethics and when notified that his dual responsibilities violated the Code, he failed to take timely action to remedy the situation.
A member sought elected office for school board and was unsuccessful. The member later accepted an appointment for a vacant school board position while still serving as a city manager.
While serving as city manager, a member established a committee to explore the possibility of running for elected office. The member raised funds, created a very visible online presence, and leveraged his office for the benefit of his campaign.
A former city manager sought elected office while not in service to local government but, in the last months of the campaign the member applied for local government executive positions.
While serving as village manager, a member unsuccessfully ran for elected county sheriff.
A member unsuccessfully campaigned and received an endorsement for an elected position on her employing governing body.
While serving as county manager, a member launched his candidacy for a seat in the state legislature by seeking and receiving endorsements, raising funds, and developing an online campaign presence. The member ran unopposed.
A member held both the appointed position of assistant city manager and elected city treasurer.

Applicable Tenet and Guideline

Tenet 7. Refrain from all political activities which undermine public confidence in professional administrators. Refrain from participation in the election of the members of the employing legislative body.

Guideline on Running for Office. Members shall not run for elected office or become involved in political activities related to running for elected office, or accept appointment to an elected office. They shall not seek political endorsements, financial contributions or engage in other campaign activities.

Tenet 7 reminds members in service to a local government regardless of whether it is on a full-time, part-time, or an interim basis to “refrain from all political activities which undermine public confidence in professional administrators” and participating “in the election of members of the employing governing body.”

Specifically, members in service to a local government may not participate in political activities to financially support or endorse the candidacy of any individual seeking elected office at any level of government. There is no exception if the candidate a member wishes to support is in another jurisdiction of local government or in a different state entirely since members in service to a local government may not support a candidate for any elected office.

Applicable Tenet and Guidelines

Tenet 7. Refrain from all political activities which undermine public confidence in professional administrators. Refrain from participation in the election of the members of the employing legislative body.

GUIDELINES

Elections of the Governing Body. Members should maintain a reputation for serving equally and impartially all members of the governing body of the local government they serve, regardless of party. To this end, they should not participate in an election campaign on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for the governing body.

Elections of Elected Executives. Members shall not participate in the election campaign of any candidate for mayor or elected county executive.

Elections. Members share with their fellow citizens the right and responsibility to vote. However, in order not to impair their effectiveness on behalf of the local governments they serve, they shall not participate in political activities to support the candidacy of individuals running for any city, county, special district, school, state or federal offices. Specifically, they shall not endorse candidates, make financial contributions, sign or circulate petitions, or participate in fund-raising activities for individuals seeking or holding elected office.

Selecting a chief administrator is perhaps the most important decision elected officials will make for their community. Members may assist a community in the process by serving as an executive recruiter in a consulting capacity, as a volunteer advisor to the process, or a member of the search committee as long as they can be fair and impartial and will not be a candidate for the position. The following advice is offered to help members navigate this issue:

Members can volunteer their time to serve as an advisor to the process or as part of a search committee as long as they will not be a candidate for the position.
In an advisory capacity, members may help the governing body identify the preferred attributes and skills of the next manager; write the job description and job advertisement; outline the process; develop the schedule; make recommendations about the interview questions and process; review resumes; and evaluate candidates. Members have an ethical obligation not to rank candidates and should not recommend candidates.
Because the selection of the manager is uniquely the governing body’s responsibility, members should be careful about influencing the selection of a candidate. To that end, members should avoid participating in the interview with the governing body as well as governing body sessions where decisions are made about finalists and the final candidate.
Members who provide this service on a consulting basis should follow the guideline on private employment.
If a member who is serving as a consultant or in an advisory capacity is offered the position or decides to apply for the position, he or she should immediately withdraw as an advisor and the position should be re-advertised. In this way, any appearance of improper influence is avoided.
Members may respond to inquiries from elected officials by providing professional advice, but a member should not seek out officials to offer their commentary on a candidate’s qualifications for the position.

Applicable Tenets and Guidelines

Tenet 3. Demonstrate by word and action the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all public, professional, and personal relationships in order that the member may merit the trust and respect of the elected and appointed officials, employees, and the public.

Guideline on Public Confidence. Members should conduct themselves so as to maintain public confidence in their position and profession, the integrity of their local government, and in their responsibility to uphold the public trust.

Guideline on Conflicting Roles. Members who serve multiple roles—either within the local government organization or externally—should avoid participating in matters that create either a conflict of interest or the perception of one. They should disclose any potential conflict to the governing body so that it can be managed appropriately.

Tenet 12. Public office is a public trust. A member shall not leverage his or her position for personal gain or benefit.

Guideline on Private Employment. Members should not engage in, solicit, negotiate for, or promise to accept private employment, nor should they render services for private interests or conduct a private business when such employment, service, or business creates a conflict with or impairs the proper discharge of their official duties.

Teaching, lecturing, writing, or consulting are typical activities that may not involve conflict of interest, or impair the proper discharge of their official duties. Prior notification of the appointing authority is appropriate in all cases of outside employment.

Guideline on Representation. Members should not represent any outside interest before any agency, whether public or private, except with the authorization of or at the direction of the appointing authority they serve.

PM Magazine Article

Pay Attention to Ethics in the Hiring Process (May 2018)

Serving a public organization often provides employees with access to confidential information or knowledge of news before it is made public. Members are reminded to refrain from any investments that would compromise their objectivity in their local government position or would create an actual or perceived conflict of interest.

Applicable Tenets and Guidelines

Tenet 3. Demonstrate by word and action the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all public, professional, and personal relationships in order that the member may merit the trust and respect of the elected and appointed officials, employees, and the public.

Guideline on Public Confidence. Members should conduct themselves so as to maintain public confidence in their position and profession, the integrity of their local government, and in their responsibility to uphold the public trust.

Tenet 12. Public office is a public trust. A member shall not leverage his or her position for personal gain or benefit.

GUIDELINES

Investments in Conflict with Official Duties. Members should refrain from any investment activity which would compromise the impartial and objective performance of their duties. Members should not invest or hold any investment, directly or indirectly, in any financial business, commercial, or other private transaction that creates a conflict of interest, in fact or appearance, with their official duties.

In the case of real estate, the use of confidential information and knowledge to further a member’s personal interest is not permitted. Purchases and sales which might be interpreted as speculation for quick profit should be avoided (see the guideline on “Confidential Information”). Because personal investments may appear to influence official actions and decisions, or create the appearance of impropriety, members should disclose or dispose of such investments prior to accepting a position in a local government. Should the conflict of interest arise during employment, the member should make full disclosure and/or recuse themselves prior to any official action by the governing body that may affect such investments.

This guideline is not intended to prohibit a member from having or acquiring an interest in or deriving a benefit from any investment when the interest or benefit is due to ownership by the member or the member’s family of a de minimus percentage of a corporation traded on a recognized stock exchange even though the corporation or its subsidiaries may do business with the local government.

Confidential Information. Members shall not disclose to others, or use to advance their personal interest, intellectual property, confidential information, or information that is not yet public knowledge, that has been acquired by them in the course of their official duties.

Information that may be in the public domain or accessible by means of an open records request, is not confidential.

ICMA members have an ethical obligation to further their own individual professional development to enhance their ability to effectively serve their organization as well as ensure their organization’s personnel decisions are based on fairness and impartiality.

It is important to recall that hiring systems based on political patronage, the definition of “who you know” instead of “what you know,” helped propel ICMA’s founding. Hiring decisions first appeared in the ICMA Code of Ethics in the 1938 version, “The city manager handles all matter of personnel on the basis of merit. Political, religious, and racial considerations carry no weight in appointments, salary increases, promotions, and discipline in the municipal service.” The guideline on equal opportunity was added in 1972 and was last revised in 2023.

Applicable Tenets and Guidelines

Tenet 8. Make it a duty continually to improve the member’s professional ability and to develop the competence of associates in the use of management techniques.

GUIDELINES

Self-Assessment. Each member should assess his or her professional skills and abilities on a periodic basis.

Professional Development. Each member should commit at least 40 hours per year to professional development activities that are based on the practices identified by the members of ICMA.

Tenet 11. Manage all personnel matters with fairness and impartiality.

Guideline on Diversity and Inclusion. It is the member’s responsibility to recruit, hire, promote, retain, train, and support a diverse workforce at all levels of the organization.

PM Magazine Articles

Relationships in the workplace

When a member engages in a personal relationship in the workplace, it runs contrary to the member’s ethical duty as outlined in Tenet 3 to maintain public trust and confidence in the position as well as the member’s responsibility to mitigate the organization’s exposure to legal and financial risks.

Members have been sanctioned for the following personal relationships:

A manager was not forthcoming with the governing body about her romantic relationship with the assistant manager until an anonymous letter prompted her to disclose it. This delay created the opportunity to place employees who were aware of the relationship in a difficult position and the relationship itself exposed the organization to significant legal and financial risks.
An assistant manager failed to disclose an ongoing romantic relationship with his supervisor until an anonymous letter prompted him to do so. This relationship had the potential to strain the effective working relationships between the assistant manager and the other employees who report to the manager by causing unnecessary conflict within the organization due to the appearance of him receiving special treatment.
A manager had a personal relationship with a subordinate employee for whom he made decisions on performance, promotions, and compensation. The manager and the subordinate employee lived together for at least the last six months of his tenure as the manager while he was her direct supervisor.
A manager had a romantic relationship with a subordinate employee and later disclosed the matter to the governing body after the couple began dating. Throughout the course of the relationship, the member provided salary increases to the employee and performance evaluations.
An administrator engaged in a personal relationship with a subordinate employee for approximately four months.
A manager engaged in a personal relationship with a subordinate employee, failed to make timely disclosure of the relationship to the governing body, and took no steps to resolve the ethics issue the conduct created.

Applicable Tenet and Guideline

Tenet 3. Demonstrate by word and action the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in all public, professional, and personal relationships in order that the member may merit the trust and respect of the elected and appointed officials, employees, and the public.

Guideline on Relationships in the Workplace. Members should not engage in an intimate or romantic relationship with any elected official or board appointee, employee they report to, one they appoint and/or supervise, either directly or indirectly, within the organization.

This guideline does not restrict personal friendships, professional mentoring, or social interactions with employees, elected officials and board appointees.

Disclosure of personal conflicts

When a member has a conflict of interest in appearance or actuality or has received personal financial gain as a result of a relationship with an individual or organization, the member has an ethical obligation to disclose the potential conflict to the organization, as well as follow the organization’s appropriate policies and/or procedures in place as well as state law.

Applicable Tenet and Guideline

Tenet 12. Public office is a public trust. A member shall not leverage his or her position for personal gain or benefit.

Guideline on Personal Relationships. In any instance where there is a conflict of interest, appearance of a conflict of interest, or personal financial gain of a member by virtue of a relationship with any individual, spouse/partner, group, agency, vendor or other entity, the member shall disclose the relationship to the organization. For example, if the member has a relative that works for a developer doing business with the local government, that fact should be disclosed.

Political neutrality is the cornerstone of the local government management profession and has been a core value in every version of the Code of Ethics since membership first adopted it in 1924.

Any local, state, or federal issue has the potential to be both galvanizing and polarizing in the community and within a member’s own organization. A commitment to political neutrality ensures the member is always seen as objective and fair as well as the source of unbiased information.

ICMA’s Committee on Professional Conduct, the Executive Board subcommittee that determines whether a member’s conduct has violated the Code, has consistently concluded a member cannot effectively serve the organization when the member engages in political activity such as endorsing candidates, writing an article supporting the candidate, making financial contributions to candidates, or running for office themselves. A member has the right and responsibility to vote for candidates for elected office but may not financially support or endorse candidates for any local, state, or federal office.

Tenet 7 and its guidelines have been revised over the years to provide a framework for members on how they may engage while maintaining their commitment to the highest ethical standards expected of individuals working in service to a local government.

Applicable Tenet and Guidelines

Tenet 7. Refrain from all political activities which undermine public confidence in professional administrators. Refrain from participation in the election of the members of the employing legislative body.
GUIDELINES
Elections of the Governing Body. Members should maintain a reputation for serving equally and impartially all members of the governing body of the local government they serve, regardless of party. To this end, they should not participate in an election campaign on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for the governing body.
Elections of Elected Executives. Members shall not participate in the election campaign of any candidate for mayor or elected county executive.
Running for Office. Members shall not run for elected office or become involved in political activities related to running for elected office, or accept appointment to an elected office. They shall not seek political endorsements, financial contributions or engage in other campaign activities.
Elections. Members share with their fellow citizens the right and responsibility to vote. However, in order not to impair their effectiveness on behalf of the local governments they serve, they shall not participate in political activities to support the candidacy of individuals running for any city, county, special district, school, state or federal offices. Specifically, they shall not endorse candidates, make financial contributions, sign or circulate petitions, or participate in fund-raising activities for individuals seeking or holding elected office.
Elections relating to the Form of Government. Members may assist in preparing and presenting materials that explain the form of government to the public prior to a form of government election. If assistance is required by another community, members may respond.
Presentation of Issues. Members may assist their governing body in the presentation of issues involved in referenda such as bond issues, annexations, and other matters that affect the government entity’s operations and/or fiscal capacity.
Personal Advocacy of Issues. Members share with their fellow citizens the right and responsibility to voice their opinion on public issues. Members may advocate for issues of personal interest only when doing so does not conflict with the performance of their official duties.

PM Magazine Articles

Gift giving and receiving becomes a focus of renewed attention in December, but it is an issue that requires diligent attention for members any month of the year. Local government employees, from the manager to the road crew, work very hard to improve the lives of residents. Sometimes residents or vendors want to thank employees for their service by giving them a gift and/or gratuity. Whether it comes in the form of sporting event tickets or homemade baked goods, gifts can easily create the appearance that such a "thank you" will translate into special treatment later.

Managers are reminded to consider how their approach to gifts sets the tone for the organization and that creating an internal policy, with assistance from Tenet 12 of the ICMA Code of Ethics, can be helpful to guide all employees on what they can accept and what they need to respectfully decline. In addition, many state laws address gifts in the workplace and members should ensure their conduct complies with any applicable laws or regulations.

Applicable Tenet and Guideline

Tenet 12. Public office is a public trust. A member shall not leverage his or her position for personal gain or benefit.

Guideline on Gifts. Members shall not directly or indirectly solicit, accept or receive any gift if it could reasonably be perceived or inferred that the gift was intended to influence them in the performance of their official duties; or if the gift was intended to serve as a reward for any official action on their part.

The term “Gift” includes but is not limited to services, travel, meals, gift cards, tickets, or other entertainment or hospitality. Gifts of money or loans from persons other than the local government jurisdiction pursuant to normal employment practices are not acceptable.

Members should not accept any gift that could undermine public confidence. De minimus gifts may be accepted in circumstances that support the execution of the member’s official duties or serve a legitimate public purpose. In those cases, the member should determine a modest maximum dollar value based on guidance from the governing body or any applicable state or local law.

The guideline is not intended to apply to normal social practices, not associated with the member’s official duties, where gifts are exchanged among friends, associates and relatives.

PM Magazine Article

It can be helpful to review dilemmas your peers in the local government management profession have faced and how they have navigated those issues. Keep in mind, ICMA ethics staff are available to confidentially discuss the issue and offer advice for consideration.

Examples of real scenarios members have faced and tips on ethical decision-making are highlighted in the articles below.