Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Failed Disclosure

For city appointees, answering a few simple questions proves harder than you'd think.
June 12, 2008
By Betsy Yagla

City Hall says it's serious about how it does business. Last year, the Board of Aldermen created a code of ethics, and in early 2007 Mayor John DeStefano's department heads signed a related ethics pledge. Too bad that seriousness doesn't seem to apply to the city's more than 45 boards and commissions.

Sean Matteson, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano's chief of staff, instructed appointees on Dec. 14 to fill out a simple one-page ethics disclosure form. But a records search shows that more than 100 board and commission members have yet to do so. Many others filed late.

Boards and commissions in New Haven hold real power: The Police Commission votes on the firing, hiring and retiring of police officers. The Civil Service Board shapes the tests given to hire and promote city employees. The Board of Zoning Appeals decides the physical fate of the city—which buildings get built and which are denied.

As such, the volunteers that serve on these boards are asked to complete a modest form that asks such innocuous questions as: "Are you related to anyone who works for the city?" and "Does your organization contract with the city?"

The form was due Jan. 18 and Matteson warned non-compliance "could result in removal from commission or board." But, four months later, nearly half of the forms haven't been filed. More than 100 of the city's 265 board and commission members (discounting aldermen and city employees, who fill out different forms) failed to act, but no one has been removed.
How can the DeStefano administration claim to take ethics seriously when there's such a high non-compliance rate?

DeStefano spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga says, "We expect people to turn in these ethics forms," adding that another round of "please-fill-it-out" letters will soon go out to these appointees.

Other cities and states require disclosure that is far more involved than New Haven, says Rob Wechsler, an expert on municipal ethics. Those forms ask board members and employees to disclose financial interests, for example—a topic the New Haven form ignores. In several Oregon towns, employees and public officials resigned recently rather than fill out an eight-page financial disclosure form required by state law.

In New Haven, where the form isn't so invasive, "people probably just forget," says Wechsler. If city government wants people to comply they could ask committee chairs to remind their members, or impose a late fee, he says.

"You're not going to dismiss 100 people [from boards], but you can fine them $20," suggests Wechsler.

Ironically, one person who would face such a fine is a member of the two-person Board of Ethics, Rev. Samuel Ross-Lee of Immanuel Baptist Church, who did not return several calls for comment.

Told that even the ethics board wasn't in compliance, Mayorga says, "This is something that also needs to be dealt with."

Another form scofflaw is Rev. Boise Kimber, a fire board commissioner and politically connected minister who set off an investigation into city towing practices when his car escaped towing back in April.

Asked why he hasn't filed, Kimber says, "I don't know if I didn't. I'll have to check." He was told he hadn't. "If I didn't," Kimber said, "I'm sure I'm planning on it."

A few of the questions on the form: Is Kimber related to anyone who works for the city? "What's the next question?" he asks. Does his church contract with the city or apply for grants through the city? No, he says.

Men of the cloth aren't the only ones who couldn't be bothered with the short form. Of New Haven's 45 boards and commissions not one has a 100-percent compliance rate.

Only one member of the four-person civil service board filed. Not one member of the Building Permit Appeals board did. Of the six-person Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority only one—a Board of Education employee—filed. The list goes on and on.

Matteson doesn't have authority to remove all non-compliers. City charter gives the mayor power over some boards and the Board of Aldermen power over others. It's a complicated matter to remove someone from a board or commission, Mayorga says. Much more complicated than filing out a simple form.

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