Ethics Reforms

By Myrna L. de Vera

I will vigilantly work for reforms to ensure our government's consistent practice of high ethical standards and govern with transparency

I will work for reforms to ensure our city officials will consistently practice high standards of ethics so we will have a local government that citizens can trust. I will push to implement processes that will eliminate any show of impropriety or conflict of interest--- real or perceived --- among elected, appointees, and city staff, consequently, bringing back credibility to the Hercules local government.

I propose that the city council governs with transparency, citizen engagement, and responsive leadership by adopting the following reforms:

1. Every council member, commissioner, and staff member should complete a mandatory ethics training, review of the Brown Act, and the Fair Political Practices Act once every two years. In addition, seminars on good governance and moral leadership should also be required of all public officials.

2. The designated chief spokesperson (whether the city attorney or the public relations officer) for the council and city respond to any charges, accusations, editorial, or inquiry in a timely and open manner. Open communication to the public should be a top priority.

3. Subcommittee meetings will be publicly noticed 5 days before the scheduled meeting and minutes submitted to the city council as part of public records. Video tapes will be made to document these meetings, available to the public online through the city's website.

4. The formation of a citizen's advisory commission, along with a hired consultant, to investigate and advise proactively the council on matters of serious integrity allegations, rather than allowing the matter to progress into an investigation by an outside law enforcement agency or the grand jury. The findings and recommendations should then be made available to the public in a report and discussed openly in a city council meeting.

5. The formation of a citizen's advisory commission to advise the council in choosing future city managers and city attorneys, as needed.

6. Require all elected, appointees, and staff to attend conflict resolution, team building, and customer service. The goal of city officials and employees should be to provide excellent customer service to residents.

7. Video taping of the Community Services/Library Commission, posted on the city's website for the public to view, in addition to the current practice of submitting minutes.