Story posted Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Ethics Panel Looking To Grow
By TOM ROBB Journal & Topics Reporter
The Niles Board of Ethics and Citizen's Compliance Plan Committee (CCPC) is looking for more members as they move forward into the next phase of their work.
The CCPC and ethics board finished their joint review of a draft ethics code last week but ethics board members say there is still much work to be done and fewer and fewer CCPC members helping.
Niles is in the midst of implementing an ambitious nine-point ethics reform plan introduced by Mayor Robert Callero last year.
Among reforms called for in the plan was the establishment of a board of ethics, an ethics violations reporting hotline, a new code of ethics that would apply to all village employees and officials and a comprehensive review of village operations, practices, policies and procedures.
Since the plan's introduction, the board of ethics and a citizen's subcommittee that would work to implement the plan has been established, the reporting hotline and procedures to process complaints has been established and a draft ethics code has been written and is being reviewed.
CCPC chairman Rob Kurfirst complained at a recent ethics board meeting that citizens on the CCPC have been slowly leaving the committee as many of these goals were accomplished.
The group, that at its inception had 16 members, now has about seven or eight regular participating members.
Among those who left the CCPC was Chris Hanusiak who was recently appointed to the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals and then appointed village trustee. Hanusiak said he had to step down from the "citizen's" CCPC because he became a village official.
Niles residents interested in working with the CCPC should contact Village Attorney Joe Annunzio.
After several joint meetings between CCPC representatives and ethics board members hashing out details of the CCPC's draft, the ethics board will now take a few meetings to construct a draft ethics code it will present to the full village board within the next few months.
Proposals in the code expand disclosure requirements and limit village employees and officials opportunities for conflicts of interest.
Kurfirst said the CCPC drafted the most restrictive policies possible regarding prohibitions against conflicts of interest saying the ethics and village boards could loosen those recommendations if they wished.
Ethics board members gave high praise to the CCPC for their thoughtful and deliberate work drafting the code.
What comes next is the "compliance" part of the subcommittee's work.
CCPC members will be conducting reviews of all village departments, policies and procedures to ensure proper oversights are in place, will review the roles of the village manager, village attorney and structure of village boards, commissions and committee structure and will make recommendations for changes to the board of ethics who will make recommendations to the village board.
Kurfirst expressed concern that the ethics code expresses the CCPC's authority to demand documents in the course of the next phase of its work.
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