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Ethics Board: Who Should Choose?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mayor or Council?
That’s what the Sandy Springs City Council will have to decide on Tuesday when it votes on its Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct.
It’s not that the Council disagrees on proper conduct for city employees and officials, it’s just they can’t seem to agree on who should appoint a 5-member Board of Ethics that will hear cases focused on whether or not the ethics code was violated.
On one side, there’s Mayor Eva Galambos, City Councilman Rusty Paul and Councilman Tibby DeJulio who think the Mayor should choose the board’s members much in the same way she chooses other committee or board members with the Council’s approval.
City Councilwoman Ashley Jenkins and City Councilman Dave Greenspan want the Council to choose the board’s members, with a few conditions. The pair believes the board should be as independent as possible. Nothing against Galambos’ judgment, they say, but what happens if 10 years from now an ethics violation against the mayor is brought before the board and its members feel some allegiance to the person who appointed them.
What do you think? Who should choose the city’s Board of Ethics?
Read the proposal on the city’s Website (page 22)
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Sandy Springs




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Comments
By Jason
October 13, 2006 02:00 PM | Link to this
Why not have them appointed by the mayor and then confirmed by the council? Also stagger the terms of the members of the board so it is unlikely that a majority of the board will have been appointed by the current mayor or council.
By Brenda
October 16, 2006 02:08 PM | Link to this
I think that the BOARD OF ETHICS for the city of Sandy Springs should be chosen by the city council.I agree with Ashley Jenkins.It is hard to remain unbias when the code violator are member of the commitee. Therefore the Ethic Board should be the decision of the city council.