It is the stated policy of the City of Brea to uphold, promote and demand the highest standards of ethics from all of its employees and officials, whether elected, appointed or otherwise hired. Accordingly, all City elected officials (the Mayor and Council Members), all City employees, and all members of City appointed commissions and/or committees are expected to maintain the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, respect, professionalism, honesty and fairness in carrying out their duties; avoid any improprieties in their roles as public servants; and never use their position or powers for improper personal gain or influence.
In keeping with the commitment to excellence and the highest standards of ethics in public service, the city has adopted the following policies:
- Code of Ethics for Members of City Council and of the City’s Commissions and Committees (Adopted 10-1-2002)
- AB 1234 State Ethics Training Requirements for Local Officials and Certain City Employees
- Code of Ethics for Employees of the City of Brea Administrative Policy
- Conflict of Interest Administrative Policy
- Outside Employment Administrative Policy
- Acceptance of Gifts and Gratuities Administrative Policy
- City of Brea Personnel Rules and Regulations
The policy that most comprehensively addresses issues of employee ethics is our administrative policy titled Code of Ethics for Employees of the City of Brea. This policy was initially adopted on September 2, 2012 and was recently updated on September 2, 2016. The goal was to establish a uniform policy on ethics and accountability for City employees. At the time the policy was originally adopted, every employee was provided with a electronic copy via email with documentation the policy was received and it was posted to our City’s Intranet webpage. In an effort to increase awareness of this policy, following the revisions made in 2016 Human Resources recently required that all new employees be provided with a copy of the policy during new employee orientations and are required to sign an acknowledgement of receipt of the policy. In addition, the City Manager and all Department Directors have signed the 2016 Policy. In the latest version, we added an entire section on reporting wrong doing and updated the section on investigations and enforcement.
The Code of Ethics for Employees of the City of Brea policy covers the following specific categories of ethical conduct and conflicts of interests:
- Use of Public Resources
- Incompatible employment
- Disclosure of Confidential Information
- Gifts and Favors
- Representing Private Interests Before City Agencies or Courts
- Financial and Personal Interest
- Outside Employment
- Investigation and Enforcement
- Reporting Wrongdoing
Moreover, Human Resources also requested that City Attorney Jim Markman review the policy for legal compliance. He has completed his review and has some recommendations for revisions in order to address concerns his office identified regarding the First Amendment rights of our employees in the section about Political Activity. Our office will work with Mr. Markman to revise this section in order to comply with employee’s rights to exercise their free speech rights when engaged in political activity.
In regards to state mandated ethics training, AB 1234 requires that elected or appointed officials and certain designated City employees (usually managers, line supervisors, and analysts) take a two hour ethics training class every two years. This training is offered to our employees and elected officials by City Attorney Jim Markman and is titled “principles of ethics and the law in public service.” The most recent training occurred on Thursday, April 14, 2016. The City Clerk is working on another training date for March or April 2017. Over the last two years at least 57 City of Brea employees have taken the course in order to comply with state requirements.
In general, our administrative ethics policies are appropriately drafted to provide the City the necessary tools to address employee wrong doing and ensure sound ethical behavior. We regularly review our policies and make revisions when appropriate. In the end, the main goal is that all City employees remain independent, impartial, and responsible to the public. They are all bound to observe the highest standards of integrity and ethics.
At the conclusion of any input from the Council on the matter and recommended changes approved by the City Attorney, this Code of Ethics for City Employees will be once again be distributed electronically to all City Employees, reposted on the City's Intranet webpage and we will continue to require all new employees sign the policy as a condition of their hire into the City. |