City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: APRIL 6, 2016
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of the Alexandria City Council Code of Conduct and Ethics Pledge.
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ISSUE: Consideration of proposed Code of Conduct and Ethics Pledge.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council receive and discuss the Ad Hoc Code of Conduct Review Committee’s proposed Code of Conduct and Ethics Pledge, and determine next steps.
DISCUSSION: On January 30, 2016, Council passed Resolution 2707 (the “Resolution”) (see Attachment 1), creating the Ad Hoc Code of Conduct Review Committee (the “Committee”) to be comprised of nine members. The Mayor and members of City Council appointed one member each and the City Manager, after publicly soliciting applications from candidates with expertise in ethics and government accountability, appointed two members. The Committee was charged with (1) writing a code of conduct and an ethics pledge; and (2) reviewing the findings in a report of the Commission on Integrity and Public Confidence in State Government to determine whether any of the recommendations in that report could be applied to the City.
The Committee met four times in March. Committee members reviewed the directives in the Resolution and legal requirements, shared ideas and resources, and discussed the spirit of the resolution -- promoting an ethical culture in City government. Individual members sought to clarify the scope of the resolution by identifying which government officials would be subject to the code of conduct. There was consensus that elected and appointed officials, including appointed members of boards and commissions, are those to whom the new code of conduct and ethics pledge would apply, not career city staff. The committee consulted with staff and acknowledged that City employees already are subject to a code of conduct and must comply with the City Administrative Regulations (ARs), most notably AR6-1, the Code of Ethics.
After drafting the proposed Code of Conduct (Attachment 2) and Ethics Pledge (Attachment 3), the Committee broadened its discussion to the concept of nurturing and sustaining an ethical culture in City government. Members provided resource materials for posting on the City web page dedicated to the work of the Committee. The Committee encourages the Mayor and City Council to provide leadership in sustaining an ethical culture in Alexandria, and included in its draft Code specific requirements for implementation. The Committee envisions an annual review of the effectiveness of this Code.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Council Adopted Resolution 2707
Attachment 2: Proposed Code of Conduct
Attachment 3: Proposed Ethics Pledge
Attachment 4: Ad Hoc Code of Conduct Review Committee Chair’s Letter
STAFF:
Jean Kelleher, Director, Human Rights
Meghan Roberts, Assistant City Attorney
Noraine Buttar, Special Assistant to the City Manager