Mayor Rybak's Ethics Task Force presented their report in a City Council Study Session this morning in the Council Chambers.
Ellen Trout, chair of the task force, said, "These recommendations will bring Minneapolis's code in line with the best practices of other cities that have done a comprehensive review of their ethics codes." The Task Force recommended a new Code of Ethics including new or revised policies on conflicts of interest, post-city employment, financial disclosure, nepotism and ethics enforcement mechanisms. These recommendations include: * Require elected officials and top political appointees to abstain from participating in decisions on matters where they have a conflict of interest. * Prohibit officials from accepting employment for one year with companies they negotiated public contracts with while in city employment. * Expand financial disclosure for elected officials, top political appointees and their spouses. * Establish a nepotism policy to prevent people from being able to supervise their close relatives. * Establish an Ethical Practices Board to resolve complaints against high-ranking officials. The overall product was well received, with Council Member Paul Zerby describing the recommended code as a "quantum leap forward" over the existing code. The complete proposed code and a chart describing the major differences between the existing code and the suggested revised code can be found on the City's website at: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/mayor/priorities/ethics/index.asp#TopOfPage. . Laura Sether Office of Mayor Rybak _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
