Ethics Code Needed




To the Editor:

In furtherance of my recent letter relating to a code of ethics, the New York State Bar Association Task Force on Government Ethics has recommended a new Article 18 of the General Municipal Law in the areas of (1) Conflict of interests (2) Independent Boards of Ethics to effectively interpret, administer and enforce Article 18 (3) Ethics training and education of ethics board members and other officers and employees of the municipality (4) the confidentiality of ethics advice and enforcement by the local Board of Ethics (5) New York State should be required to provide guidance regarding proper process and procedure in the conducting of internal investigations of agency/departmental employee actions and (6) clarity and training needs to be provided to local government officials as to the effects of state lobbying laws and municipal officials in their official capacity as lobbyists in their capacity as those being lobbied and as attendees/speakers at functions.

The recommendations may be found in their entirety on the internet at www.nysba.org. In the final report the bulk of those recommendations were recently adopted by New York State.

It is recommended that the Village of Garden City commence a study to modify or improve its code of ethics as soon as possible.

Joseph A. Calamari

PS Thank you, Mr. Lamberti, for monitoring Village payouts.



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