City panel proposes stronger ethics policy

In the wake of the Patrick Cannon scandal, a Charlotte City Council committee has proposed strengthening the city’s ethics policy by giving more clarity for when an elected official can accept gifts and also requiring more information about an official’s personal finances.

The committee, however, has not endorsed requiring elected officials to disclose their interaction with lobbyists or people trying to do business with the city.

And it’s unlikely that a more detailed ethics policy would have prevented Cannon’s brazen behavior, which culminated with him accepting a briefcase stuffed with $20,000 in the mayor’s office.

In the Cannon case, the former mayor knew that taking bribes was wrong, and he fretted to an undercover agent about how he would look “in an orange suit” if caught.

But David Howard, who chairs the council’s Governance and Accountability Committee, which drafted the changes, said the changes can make a difference.

“This is about transparency,” he said.

He acknowledged that no policy can prevent someone from breaking the law: “Nothing that we can do would have stopped somebody from doing wrong. There is no policy that’s going to do that.”

Some of the proposals include a more thorough financial disclosure form; a better definition as to what food and gifts an elected official can and can’t accept; and a new way for complaints against elected officials to be investigated.

The current financial disclosure form for elected officials asks them to list any business entity in which the official or a member of their household is an owner, officer or director. The elected official and his or her spouse must list their jobs.

The current form also asks them to list all property they own inside Mecklenburg County.

The proposed policy would also require them to list any property that they lease to or from the city or that they have bought or sold from the city. The minimum threshold for reporting is $10,000.

The officials would also have to report their interests – generally considered stock – in companies that are doing business or trying to do business with the city.

New gift policy

The current ethics policy does not address accepting gifts or meals.

The proposed policy generally prohibits the practice, though it does leave some significant exceptions.

The biggest exception is for event tickets, which could include a concert or a sporting event.

The draft policy allows for the elected official to accept a ticket, along with food and beverages, at an event “where the official is clearly representing the city and where the city has a legitimate purpose in being represented.”

That could include events sponsored by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the Charlotte Chamber, the Foundation for the Carolinas along with colleges and universities.

It’s unclear what events would be acceptable for an elected official to attend for free.

Could an official accept free tickets to a Panthers game to see firsthand the city’s $87.5 million investment in improvements to Bank of America Stadium?

Would it be acceptable to attend a concert at city-owned Time Warner Cable Arena for free?

City Attorney Bob Hagemann said “the proposed policy would require an evaluation of all of the facts in a given situation. For that reason, I cannot and will not respond to generalized hypothetical questions.”

Mecklenburg County has wrestled with the issue of free tickets in the past. In 2011, commissioner Bill James complained about commissioners accepting free CIAA tickets that were distributed from the county manager’s office after being received by the CRVA. The county stopped the process.

In the Cannon case, the undercover agents acting as developers flew Cannon and his wife to Las Vegas on what the federal government said was part of a scheme to bribe him.

The proposed policy would prohibit such a gift. But it can be argued the existing policy prohibited that as well, under numerous provisions relating to the mayor and council members acting “with integrity and independence from improper influence” and “remaining incorruptible.”

No review of lobbying

The city of Chicago requires lobbyists to register with the city and to also submit “activity reports” detailing their political contributions and when they met with city officials.

Charlotte doesn’t have similar rules.

Hagemann said the Charlotte committee’s focus was on the “conduct of elected officials” – not the conduct of third parties.

Howard said it’s not realistic to require elected officials to make a record of all people trying to influence their vote. That would include not only representatives of for-profit companies, but neighborhood leaders as well.

“People who are thinking about building a development come to us – that happens all the time,” Howard said. “But when it comes to meetings, the majority of people are in the community. We could (make disclosure lists) forever.”

New investigator

In the current ethics policy, the city attorney is tasked with investigating complaints against an elected official. That provision has made Hagemann uncomfortable since he would be required to investigate the people who are responsible for hiring him and setting his pay.

The new policy would allow the attorney to send the case to an independent investigator.

The full council may consider the changes at the end of the month or in early March.

This story was originally published February 6, 2015 at 4:29 PM with the headline "City panel proposes stronger ethics policy."