Mission Statement

The Ethics Commission exercises authorities granted to it under the Public Ethics Law to promote the public's trust of County government and to ensure the impartiality of County employees, including elected officials, in the execution of their responsibilities.

Budget Overview

The total recommended FY26 Operating Budget for the Ethics Commission is $365,818, a decrease of $50,655 or 12.16 percent from the FY25 Approved Budget of $416,473. Personnel Costs comprise 89.47 percent of the budget for two full-time position(s) and no part-time position(s), and a total of 2.00 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 10.53 percent of the FY26 budget.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following is emphasized:

• Effective, Sustainable Government

Program Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable). The FY25 estimates reflect funding based on the FY25 approved budget. The FY26 and FY27 figures are performance targets based on the FY26 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY27.

Initiatives

• Enhance the Commission's training program by creating a process by which all County employees will receive one hour of ethics training in accordance with the training mandate contained within the Public Ethics Law. The process will include both live virtual training and an alternative video training for those unable to attend the live sessions.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• Enhanced the Commission's ability to offer increased training opportunities for County employees.

• Implemented a training video to support the mandatory one-hour online ethics training program for new employees. This video is available for those unable to attend the live on-line training provided by Commission staff.

• Implemented an improvement to the lobbying activity reporting system to require reporting of the specific matters on which lobbying has occurred. When activity reports were filed in July 2024, lobbyists were required to list each matter on which lobbying occurred during the reporting period, using bill numbers, formal designations, or other specific references or details to describe the matter.

Program Descriptions

  Ethics Program Compliance

Financial Disclosure: The Public Ethics Law requires filing of financial disclosure reports by certain County employees. The Ethics Commission administers the electronic filing system for reporting and coordinates with the Office of Human Resources and all County agencies regarding the status of filers. It resolves all anomalous circumstances and questions...