Gifts, bribery, conflicts of interest: all were topics discussed Tuesday afternoon in a three-hour long training for public officials.
The Imperial Irrigation District held an ethics public workshop Tuesday afternoon to go over the dos and don’ts of being a public official.
Through the three-hour meeting, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore attorney Mark Meyerhoff presented different state laws dealing with ethics, including those related to personal financial gain, receiving gifts, government transparency laws and laws related to fair processes. The presentation was geared toward elected officials and designated employees.
Training is required every two years under state law, Meyerhoff said.
“It’s never too much ethics training,” he said.
The Legislature defined what the training consisted of, he said. He didn’t though, answer questions related to specific situations as there are many different issues to take into account.
An overwhelming theme was that district officials cannot put their own personal financial interests ahead of serving the district. It’s the general duty of any public official to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
One of the closing notes of the discussion was that while public officials don’t have to know all the laws, they should recognize when there may be a conflict and go to their managers or legal counsel, he said.
The training went really well, said Vance Taylor, IID ethics officer and assistant counsel. It’s something that’s been done before, but this time it was set in a public workshop.
The district has been working to be more transparent, appointing an ethics officer and putting in ethical policies, he said. It may help facilitate public confidence in the IID.
The five IID Board of Directors members, management staff and a few members of the public turned out for the workshop.
The training was pretty much like it always has been for the past five years, said Director Jim Hanks. There was some new information dealing with new technology though.
Hanks has been calling for fiduciary training for the elected officials, which some people had thought was the same as ethics training, he said. It’s not the same though.
“Until we’ve had (the fiduciary) training I think there’s going to be a splintering of the board,” he said.
He hopes the district will be able to bring in a fiduciary training session and that other elected officials from throughout the Valley come to it, he said. It would be healthy for the region as a whole.
Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.
The Imperial Irrigation District held an ethics public workshop Tuesday afternoon to go over the dos and don’ts of being a public official.
Through the three-hour meeting, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore attorney Mark Meyerhoff presented different state laws dealing with ethics, including those related to personal financial gain, receiving gifts, government transparency laws and laws related to fair processes. The presentation was geared toward elected officials and designated employees.
Training is required every two years under state law, Meyerhoff said.
“It’s never too much ethics training,” he said.
The Legislature defined what the training consisted of, he said. He didn’t though, answer questions related to specific situations as there are many different issues to take into account.
An overwhelming theme was that district officials cannot put their own personal financial interests ahead of serving the district. It’s the general duty of any public official to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
One of the closing notes of the discussion was that while public officials don’t have to know all the laws, they should recognize when there may be a conflict and go to their managers or legal counsel, he said.
The training went really well, said Vance Taylor, IID ethics officer and assistant counsel. It’s something that’s been done before, but this time it was set in a public workshop.
The district has been working to be more transparent, appointing an ethics officer and putting in ethical policies, he said. It may help facilitate public confidence in the IID.
The five IID Board of Directors members, management staff and a few members of the public turned out for the workshop.
The training was pretty much like it always has been for the past five years, said Director Jim Hanks. There was some new information dealing with new technology though.
Hanks has been calling for fiduciary training for the elected officials, which some people had thought was the same as ethics training, he said. It’s not the same though.
“Until we’ve had (the fiduciary) training I think there’s going to be a splintering of the board,” he said.
He hopes the district will be able to bring in a fiduciary training session and that other elected officials from throughout the Valley come to it, he said. It would be healthy for the region as a whole.
Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.
