Ordinance 2010-349 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~ II. EIA TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS The recommendations are divided into five sections. The first four sections are recommendations adopted by the Task Force and the final section represents a separate recommendation supported the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. The Task Force recommendations are organized as follows: 1) The County Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance (Chapter 2-11.1); 2) Commission on Ethics and Public Trust Enabling Ordinance (County Code Section 2-1066 et. seq.; 3) Campaign Finance Laws and 4) Citizens' Bill of Rights. Section Five consists of the Ethics Commission's recommendation. 1) COUNTY CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND CODE OF ETHICS ORDINANCE Chapter 2-11.1 establishes the minimum standards of ethical conduct and behavior for all County and municipal officials and officers, autonomous, quasi-judicial and advisory personnel, department personnel and employees.2 There are twenty-four provisions contained in this ordinance that current and former local public servants are expected to adhere to as public servants in Miami-Dade County. The bulk of the Task Force's work was spent examining this ordinance and the recommendations listed below close some of the loopholes and remove some of ambiguities that current exist within the law, 1. Application of the Ordinance Section 2-11.1(b) Recommendation: The county ethics ordinance should apply to independent contractors, consultants, contract employees and part-time employees. Rationale: The County and the municipalities at times will rely on independent contractors and consultants to perform the work of local government employees. Sometimes a local government employee will sit side-by-side with an independent contractor or part-time employee performing the same job or duties. It is not unusual for some municipalities to outsource most of a department's work. Independent contractors and consultants, especially those standing in the shoes of local government having the authority to obligate public funds or otherwise affect public policy ought to be held to the same ethical standards as their public sector counterparts. One's status should be immaterial; rather the ethics ordinance should cover any individual acting on behalf of his/her local government in an official capacity. Similarly, contract employees and part-time employees are no 2 The county's Conflict ofInterest and Code of Ethics Ordinance was initially adopted in ]972 (Ord, No, 72-82. Since the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics has existed, the county ethics ordinance has been amended twenty-five times. (See Ord. Nos. 99-],99-2,99-] 24,99- ]45,99-150; 00-],00-] 9,46, ]49, 15]; 0]-93,0]-]49,0]-150,0]-162,0]-]99; 02-03; 03-73,107, ]40; 04-55, 04-77, 04-] ]9, 04-204; 05-7] and 06-]48) 7