Strengthening Yorktown’s ethic law was part of my 100-day plan when I campaigned for Supervisor in 2023. I spoke at the October 17, 2023 Town Board meeting and challenged the Board to bring the revisions to the ethics law, proposed by the Board of Ethics in 2022, up for a vote.
When the Board brought up the ethics revisions at the February 6, 2024 Board meeting, I was surprised, but happy that this was moving forward.
Then I read the proposed revisions to the law. Rather than increasing transparency and strengthening the law, the changes significantly weaken it.
Of particular concern:
- Removing the word “indirect” in Section 45-5 A (Rules of Ethical Conduct) and Section 45-8 A (Disclosure Requirements). This critical deletion materially weakens the law by not requiring Town officials and employees from disclosing conflicts of interest where there is indirect benefit and allowing them to participate in decision making where there is indirect benefit.
- Creates a potential loophole for accepting gifts over $75. Rather than disallowing gifts over this amount, which is fairly standard, the proposed law allows such gifts except under “circumstances in which it could reasonably be inferred that the gift was intended to influence him, or could be reasonably expected to influence him in the performance of his official duties or was intended as a reward for any official action on his part.”
- Confining an investigation to the four corners of the original complaint. This would limit the board from looking at whether a breach was a single oversight or a pattern of behavior.
- Lack of public accountability. The Town Board gives itself the option to redact information that would inform the public of the subject of the investigation. It also fails to require a public reporting of the violations themselves.
Along with a dedicated group of volunteers, and a former member of the Ethics Board, I have put together a proposed law that will strengthen Yorktown’s ethics law and increase transparency and accountability. I am making this proposal publicly available below. The document includes the original law, the Town Board’s proposed changes as well as our proposed changes.