Department of City Attorney's Office
Reference: Updates to Article 2-10 The Code of Ethics
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Alicia Calder?n, City Attorney
Date Prepared: May 27, 2022
PURPOSE
To update the City's Ethics Code and add a process for reviewing ethics complaints and an administrative hearing process to assure home rule independence and assure the City's Ethics Code is up to date with legal interpretations and decisions since it was first passed in 2006.
STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS
Innovative, Data-Driven, Results-Focused City Government
Financially Responsible
BACKGROUND
The City of Brighton is a home rule municipality. A majority of the voters in 2006 passed an initiative to promote ethics in government. This became Article XXIX of the State Constitution. Article XXIX Section 7 states that "Any county or municipality may adopt ordinances or charter provisions with respect to ethics matters that are more stringent than any of the provisions contained in this article. The requirements of this article shall not apply to home rule counties or home rule municipalities that have adopted charters ordinances, or resolutions that address the matters covered by this article." For a number of years, all home rule municipalities that had adopted an ethics code were exempt from Article XXIX and the statewide Independent Ethics Commission created by the article. In 2016, the Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) issued Position Statement 16-01 that found that for a home rule entity to be considered as having addressed the matters in Article XXIX, the ordinance must address certain areas: gift ban limits and exceptions, an independent commission or independent model to address complaints, a complaint, investigation, and enforcement process, penalty provisions, and a process for covered individuals to seek ethical guidance.
While a couple home rule entities challenged the IEC Position Statement ...
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