October 1, 1998

KING COUNTY BOARD OF ETHICS MEETING NOTICE

When: Monday, October 1, 1998; 10:30 a.m.

Where: E224 King County Courthouse Conference Room

PROPOSED AGENDA

1. Approval of Agenda. (2 minutes)

2. Code of Ethics Requirement for Financial Disclosure. (45 minutes)

cc: Ron Sims, King County Executive
King County Councilmembers
Duncan Fowler, Director--Ombudsman, Office of Citizen Complaints
Carl Johansen, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sheryl V. Whitney, Director, DIAS
James J. Buck, Acting Deputy Director, DIAS

Minutes of the October 1, 1998 Special Meeting of the King County Board of Ethics

The October 1, 1998 Special Meeting of the King County Board of Ethics was called to order by Chair Price Spratlen at 10:30 a.m.. Board members in attendance were:

King County employees in attendance:

1. Agenda. Mr. Carlson moved the agenda be approved; Judge Feinsod seconded the motion and the agenda was approved. Chair Price Spratlen reminded the Board that Ms. Cathy Clemens, Ethics Administrator, was on vacation. She said Mr. Johansen would fill in for her at today's meeting and had agreed to keep notes in order to prepare meeting minutes for the Board's consideration.

2. Code of Ethics Requirement for Financial Disclosure. Chair Price Spratlen asked Mr. Johansen to lead the discussion on the draft ordinance that would revise the financial disclosure requirements in the Code of Ethics.

Mr. Johansen reviewed the timeline for transmitting a proposed ordinance to the Executive and Council. He said that whether a proposed ordinance would be transmitted by October 9, 1998 would depend on the Board's discussion and determinations at today's meeting. He said the review process for the draft ordinance, which included review by those inside and outside of the county, had occurred between September 8 and 22, 1998.

Mr. Johansen distributed two hand outs: (1) a table summarizing the comments on the draft ordinance that were received by Ms. Clemens by September 22, 1998 and including his responses to those comments; and (2) a copy of notes he prepared for today's meeting.

Chair Price Spratlen asked Mr. Johansen to start with a discussion about which county employees should be included in the proposed ordinance as being required to disclose their financial interests. After Mr. Johansen explained which employees were included in the current Code of Ethics and which employees were determined by the Board of Ethics as required to disclose their financial interests, Judge Feinsod said he would like to have more consideration and discussion about which employees should file disclosure reports. He said the current list of such employees seemed overly broad.

Rev. Pruitt said in past years, the Board had had concerns about the influence members of boards and commissions and employees could have on awards of contracts. He said that concern resulted in some employees being included on the current list.

The Board members had a general discussion on the purposes of disclosure and the duty of each employee to advise their supervisor if they identify any potential conflict of interest in the performance of their duties and responsibilities. The Board members also discussed whether the list of employees specifically included in the Code of Ethics for purposes of filing disclosure statements should be amended to add additional employees.

After in-depth discussion, Mr. Carlson moved and Rev. Pruitt seconded a motion that the proposed ordinance should include the list of employees now included in the Code of Ethics and also include employees who have "contract management authority" (as described in the notes distributed by Mr. Johansen) and those who manage, invest or authorize the expenditure of county funds. Mr. Carlson said that other groups of employees, such as administrative assistants, deputy prosecuting attorneys, members of boards and commissions, and those in the Assessor's Office, while not listed in the ordinance, could still be required to submit disclosure statements by action of the Board. The motion was approved without dissent.

Mr. Johansen lead the Board through the hand out that summarized the comments received on the draft ordinance. At 11:45 p.m., Chair Price Spratlen left the meeting. Mr. Carlson agreed to serve as temporary chair for the remainder of the meeting. The Board considered each comment received on the draft ordinance. The Board gave directions to Mr. Johansen on certain amendments to the draft ordinance and on responses to certain comments. The Board expressed its appreciation at receiving thoughtful and thorough comments and requested that Ms. Clemens, with assistance from Mr. Johansen, respond to those who submitted comments.

The Board asked Mr. Johansen to send a revised draft ordinance to all Board members for review prior to transmittal to the Executive and Council. The Board asked Mr. Johansen to set a deadline for comments from Board members in order that the Board could transmit a proposed ordinance by October 9, 1998.

At 12:02 p.m., Rev. Pruitt moved to adjourn the meeting; Judge Feinsod seconded the motion; the motion was approved unanimously and the meeting was adjourned.

Approved this _______ day of ________________________, 1998 by the King County Board of Ethics.

Signed for the Board: __________________________________________________

Dr. Lois Price Spratlen, Chair