Seven employees have received written warnings and three department heads got one-day unpaid suspensions, according to newly released records into an ongoing investigation into ethics violations at Delray Beach City Hall. This is Ethics in Government in action!
According to a SunSentinel article by Marisa Gottesman (the full article is here):
The city began an inquiry earlier this year after an audit revealed that city employees or their relatives allegedly violated ethics laws over a period of at least nine years. The audit, conducted by an outside firm, determined employees allegedly were profiting off city contracts in their private businesses while working for the city.
As a result of the city’s subsequent investigation:
• Seven employees have received written warnings for violating a city policy that prohibits city employees from doing business with the city;
• Three department heads who oversee police, fire and finance departments were placed on one-day unpaid suspensions;
• Officials determined the city’s purchasing department failed to ensure that state or city policies were being followed;
• Officials also found that several employees didn’t report to the city that they were employed outside the city, in violation of city rules.
Ethics in Government – A Real Problem:
Several years back I was invited to speak to the annual meeting for the Florida Association of Counties. I was told at the time that the state of Florida had the highest incarceration rate for elected officials of any state. It’s not that people in Florida are inherently bad, rather it’s easy for people to be tempted and fall into the slippery slope of unethical behavior.
The SunSentinel goes on to say:
“It should be noted that the employees involved did not believe they were in violation of city rules as did the managers,” Cooper stated in his memo. “However, ignorance or failing to follow procedures or following custom and practice that are improper ‘because it has always been done this way’ are not acceptable and reflect a culture that is not acceptable.”
So far, Cooper said more than 23 city employees were interviewed in the investigation, which revealed a “systematic break in purchasing policy and lack of management oversight.”
How do you break the cycle of unethical behavior?
Just having a ethics and compliance document is not enough! Any employee will sign a document that ensures that he/she has the job they desire (or need). To be ethical you must be consistently trained what that looks like and why it is important. I call that ethical muscle memory. You see the question is – when faced with temptation what becomes your natural response? If your natural response is ethical…you can bet it’s because you’ve been taught the value of making ethical choices. My guess is you know the truth behind the saying – Every Choice has a Consequence!
YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!
