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 FY24 Operating Budget for the Ethics Commission is $391,253, an increase of $15,497 or 4.12 percent from the FY23 Approved Budget of $375,756. Personnel Costs comprise 90.20 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 9.80 percent of the FY24 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 FY23 estimates reflect funding based on the FY23 approved budget. The FY24 and FY25 figures are performance targets based on the FY24 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY25.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• To ensure new employees are aware of ethics requirements, the Commission implemented a system requiring new County employees to sign and submit an acknowledgement form regarding ethics obligations, in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources. In addition, the Department of Technology Enterprise Business Solutions (TEBS) built a system to enroll new County employees in a mandatory one-hour online ethics training program, conducted monthly by Commission staff.

• In coordination with the Boards, Committees and Commissions (BCC) office in the County Executive's office, a new mandatory training module was created for all BCC members. Commission staff engaged TEBS staff to build a framework for BCC members to take the training, with certificates of completion issued for compliance purposes.
• Implemented new program requirements, including making changes to the financial disclosure system's reporting requirements, as a result of ethics law changes in Bill 17-22.

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...