Chasing corruption out of Broward
OUR OPINION: Take a tough stance on public ethics rules
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Broward ethics task force moves to tighten gift rules
Broward's ethics task force wants to tighten the screws for county commissioners: no gifts of any kind from lobbyists or contractors; no gifts over $50 from anyone else.
The task force assigned to draw up a code of conduct for commissioners approved the restrictions Wednesday. The rules would be much stronger than those in state law, which bans gifts meant to influence an official's vote but allows gifts of up to $100 from lobbyists and their employers.
Toughen Miami-Dade anti-corruption code
Why can't the Ethics Commission do something about this?
That question often comes up whenever a scandal erupts in Miami-Dade County -- and for good reason. Voters approved an independent watchdog in 1996 to rein in county shenanigans and they expect action.
Unfortunately, the sly foxes at the Miami-Dade Commission are the ones guarding the ethics hen house.
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Anti-corruption forces need more independence
I n the coming months, Miami-Dade County will join the rank of communities throughout the state that are revamping their ability to fight corruption.
Broward County's Ethics Task Force is trying to tighten the rules on gifts to county commissioners. Palm Beach County recently adopted a new ethics code, created an ethics commission and established the position of inspector general. At the state level, Florida's Commission on Ethics wants more power to initiate investigations.
Where are Miami-Dade's reform efforts? On the sidelines, where they've been for months. But that may be about to change, and, when it does, there's one reform effort officials should consider: giving our corruption watchdogs more financial independence.
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Enough stalling: Toughen ethics rules
A s corruption scandals mount involving city commissioners, county officials and school board members in Broward and Miami-Dade, loopholes in state and local ethics laws have finally come into focus for public officials in denial.
In some instances, the law has worked as it should.
Miami Commissioner Angel Gonzalez was caught fixing a job for his daughter with a contractor who benefits from city projects. That no-show job was discovered thanks to a tip the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust received. It handed the findings to prosecutors. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to using his office for a family member's gain.
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Give ethics laws fangs to attack abuses
S limy shenanigans at the Public Service Commission have resulted in one of its lobbyists leaving under fire and three staffers either resigning or put on leave for giving private messaging codes to Florida Power & Light.
The PSC's palsy-walsy relationship with the utilities it regulates is not new. Year after year, allegations surface, investigations ensue, grand juries are empaneled.
Yet in too many cases Florida's Ethics Commission does little to nothing. The Legislature set it up that way.
Voters who approved the Broward Ethics Task Force in 2008 to develop a code of conduct for county commissioners must have been prescient.
In 2009, Broward was rocked by FBI arrests of County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, Broward School Board member Beverly Gallagher and former Miramar commissioner Fitzroy Salesman. Eggelletion pleaded guilty in December to federal money-laundering charges. He's also accused of accepting a $3,200 golf membership to vote in favor of a developer's project.
The task force must have had the golf gift in mind last week when it proposed tighter rules for gifts county commissioners can accept.
It's long overdue.
State law bans gifts meant to influence an official's vote but allows gifts worth up to $100 from lobbyists and their employers. That's a lot of freebies.
The task force wants to ban gifts, period, from lobbyists and contractors and limit gifts from anyone else to $50 or less.
That's a start -- although why public officials should be allowed to accept any gifts other than honorary plaques is anybody's guess. A sense of entitlement, perhaps, that comes with holding public office?
The task force must set new ethics rules to help the County Commission avoid the appearance of impropriety. Besides gifts, the panel is looking at rules that would limit commissioners' outside employment to avoid conflicts and their control over county contract awards. It also wants to create an ethics czar -- the equivalent of Miami-Dade County's Inspector General, who investigates county agencies.
Task force members are conflicted over whether the ethics czar should be able to launch investigations independently, without first receiving a complaint.
That's a no-brainer.
The state's Ethics Commission must wait for a complaint, as does the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission -- which ties their hands and protects powerful politicians feared by would-be whistle blowers. Both state and Miami-Dade ethics commissioners are seeking authority to conduct independent investigations.
Broward should get ahead of the curve and give its ethics boss independence to begin probes.
The County Commission can either approve the new ethics rules or put them to voters in November. Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl rightly wants to ask voters to expand the task force's ethics rules to other government officials -- the sheriff, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, clerk of courts and elected city officials. The School Board should be included, too.
Broward residents have seen their share of public corruption in recent years, and it's clear they've had enough abuse. The task force should develop a tough, but workable, set of ethics rules that apply to public officials countywide.
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