04-10-12 Public Safety, Pesonnel CommitteePUBLIC SAFETY/PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
April 10, 2012
Committee members present: Council Member K. Michael Plunkett
Council Member Joan Bloom
Others present: HR Manager Mary Ann Hardie
Citizen Don Hall
Council Member Plunkett called the meeting to order at 7:19 pm.
DISCUSSION ON CODE OF ETHICS (RELATING TO COUNCIL MEMBERS)
Council Member Michael Plunkett opened the discussion by stating it was unclear as to what action/direction
should be taken at this point with regard to this as Council had not given any specific direction regarding this
topic although one or some council member(s) may have wanted to discuss this further. Council Member Joan
Bloom stated that she had reviewed the City of Kirkland's Code of Ethics and the Mountlake Terrace Code of
Ethics and there were some concerns that she had with using a code of ethics similar to theirs.
Council Member Bloom further stated that she was not aware that there was a code of ethics for Council
Members. HR Manager Mary Ann Hardie affirmed this. Council Member Bloom stated that she would like to
build a policy regarding a code of ethics and that this process needs to move forward. Council Member
Plunkett stated that he was willing to discuss this topic since it was on the agenda, but that that he may not be
interested in moving this forward [for Council consideration].
Ms. Hardie stated that she had discussed this HR Committee subject with Carrie Hite (Parks, Recreation &
Cultural Services Director) prior to the meeting and that they both agreed that HR would likely not be the best
(nor most appropriate) committee for this forum. Additionally, while HR had provided samples of codes of
ethics from other cities it would seem that the City Attorney and/or the City Clerk's Office [or Council] may be
more appropriate for this process. Ms. Hardie also emphasized that HR was willing to continue to provide
information as needed to the committee to assist with the process, but that this was not a [specific to] HR
function since it did not pertain to employee related policies.
There was some discussion that followed by the committee about what the process would be to create a code
of ethics policy for Council members, creating a committee for this and whether or not the HR Committee was
the appropriate committee for the discussion.
Council Member Plunkett emphasized his concern about the subjectivity of some of the other policies from
other cities and that [while the City may not have a specific code of ethics for Council Members] there are state
laws that Council Members must follow. Council Member Bloom stated that she understood Council Member
Plunkett's concerns but that due to the expressed interest/concern from the citizens about the possible need
for this policy, she felt it was important for: 1) The City of Edmonds to have this policy; 2) this information to be
available to citizens (as well as being part of transparency of information and citizen participation); and 3) there
to be continued work toward the creation of such a policy. Council Member Plunkett stated that he would like to
make this information easier for citizens to access.
Council Member Bloom stated that since there does not usually appear to be a large agenda for the HR
Committee, that the work on this code of ethics policy could be done at this committee and that the Cities of
Kirkland, Mountlake Terrace and another city may be reviewed for further policy consideration. Council
Member Plunkett agreed that this could be kept on the HR Committee Meeting agenda and that further review
of the policy will occur at the next meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
Citizen Don Hall stated that he agreed with Council Member Plunkett that some of the code of ethics policies from
other cities that he had come across did appear to be too subjective. Citizen Hall further stated that he became
more interested in this topic of discussion after it was discovered that Council Members were not considered to be
employees of the City and are not held to the same City Personnel Policy standards although [perhaps] they should
be. This process will likely require a lot of "hands on" work and will be a difficult process.
The meeting adjourned at 7:44 pm
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