December 12, 2005

KING COUNTY BOARD OF ETHICS MEETING NOTICE

When: Monday, December 12, 2005, 2:00 p.m.
Where: Bank of America Tower
701 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor
Conference Room, Suite 3460
Seattle, WA 98104

AGENDA

1. Approval of Agenda

2. Approval of Meeting Minutes of October 17, 2005.

3. Request for Advisory Opinion. Post-employment.

4. 2005 Disclosure Program – Board Members andTimely Filing. Letter review.

5. Statement of Principles.

6. Board Meetings. Review 2006 schedule.

7. Staff Report.

• Staff Informational Response Summary
• New ‘fillable' disclosure forms
• Miscellaneous communications
• COGEL conference – December 4 – 7, 2005
• Member terms - status

8. Appeal Hearing. Update.

9. Executive Session. Review the performance of a public employee.

Upon advance request, reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available by calling 206-296-1586 or TTY Relay: 771

ALTERNATE FORMATS AVAILABLE

King County Board of Ethics
Bank of America Tower
701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3460
Seattle, WA 98104 MS BOA-ES-3460
206-296-1586 Fax 206-205-0725
board.ethics@kingcounty.gov
http://www.kingcounty.gov/ethics/

Minutes of the December 12, 2005, Meeting of the King County Board of Ethics

The December 12, 2005, meeting of the King County Board of Ethics was called to order by Chair Price Spratlen at 2:00 p.m. Board members in attendance were:

Lois Price Spratlen, PhD, Chair
Roland H. Carlson
Margaret T. Gordon, PhD
Rev. Paul F. Pruitt

Jerry Saltzman had an excused absence.

Others in attendance:

Catherine A. Clemens, Administrator, Board of Ethics
Alan Abrams, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Board Counsel
Ruth Harvey, Program Manager, Roads Services Division, Department of Transportation

1. Approval of Agenda. Rev. Pruitt moved and Mr. Carlson seconded that the Board approve the proposed agenda. The Board unanimously adopted the motion.

The chair asked for introductions from those present.

Dr. Gordon arrived at 2:05 p.m.

2. Approval of Meeting Minutes of October 17, 2005. Mr. Carlson moved and Rev. Pruitt seconded that the Board approve the October 17, 2005, meeting minutes. The Board unanimously adopted the motion and the minutes were approved.

3. Request for Advisory Opinion. Ms. Clemens briefed the Board on a request for advisory opinion from a former county employee related to the post-employment provision under the ethics code. Ms. Clemens noted that both Board counsel and administrator suggested to the requestor to revise her questions and provide clarifying information, but the requestor had not yet provided such documentation. Mr. Carlson noted that the request appeared to be for a legal opinion on the applicability on past opinions. Mr. Abrams stated that one should not rely on those rulings for the requestor's present situation since they were based on the earlier code version; however, the manner of the analysis may still apply. The Board discussed past advisory opinions on post-employment and their current relevance. In response to a question from the Board, Ms. Harvey stated that until she knows which jobs the requestor wishes to apply for, she will wait to comment on the matter. When asked about the contract process, Ms. Harvey stated that her agency would look at post-employment when hiring contactors, and would call the ethics office with questions. Mr. Carlson moved to table the request until such time as it had more information; Rev. Pruitt seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. The Board expressed appreciation to Ms. Harvey for attending the meeting.

Ms. Harvey left the meeting at 2:22 p.m.

4. 2005 Disclosure Program – Board Members and Timely Filing. The Board reviewed the draft letters to be sent to Executive Sims and Council Chair Phillips on the matter of timely filing by board and commission members of statements of financial and other interests. Dr. Gordon moved and Rev. Pruitt seconded the motion to accept the drafts; the motion passed unanimously.

5. Statement of Principles. Ms. Clemens offered observations on the differences among the various boards and commissions in Washington State, their respective responsibilities, and current work loads. Chair Price Spratlen suggested the Board work with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC), but if that does not succeed, it should continue its work alone. Mr. Carlson agreed; he stated that other jurisdictions should have the opportunity to join, but we should stay with what we believe in. Dr. Gordon stated that we should not ‘water down' the principles further. Mr. Abrams asked about the next step after finalizing the document. The chair stated that we would invite others to join us and then publicize it. It was agreed that Wayne Barnett, Executive Director, SEEC, be invited to the annual retreat, but first the Board directed the administrator to arrange a meeting among Dr. Gordon, Mr. Abrams, Mr. Barnett, and Ms. Clemens to review the latest drafts and attempt to finalize the principles.

6. Board Meetings. The Board reviewed the 2006 meeting schedule and agreed to hold the annual retreat on the regularly scheduled meeting date of Tuesday, January 17. Rev. Pruitt will confirm availability of meeting rooms. Mr. Carlson moved and Dr. Gordon seconded the motion that the Board accept the 2006 meeting schedule as presented. The motion passed unanimously.

7. Staff Report. Staff Informational Response Summary. The ethics administrator issued 23 written staff informational responses (SIR) between October 7, 2005, and November 29, 2005, as requested by employees and elected officials of King County. The summary is intended to inform the Board of Ethics of the number and range of topics of the SIRs. Ethics issues addressed by the responses include: carpooling and commuter vouchers; business cards for board members; post-employment; wearing vendor logos; solicitation in the workplace for charitable causes (11); use of county resources – cell phones; campaign activities; outside employment; acceptance of honorarium; conflict of interest for board members; acceptance of donated funds; testimonials; and solicitation to employees through payroll. New ‘fill-able' disclosure forms. Statements of financial and other interests and consultant disclosure forms may now be accessed from the ethics Web site and completed on-line, making the forms more user-friendly and convenient. The move will also save the ethics office approximately $950 in annual printing costs. Miscellaneous communications. No action was required or taken. COGEL conference, December 4 – 7, 2005. Ms. Clemens informed the Board that she would be attending the conference as well as appear as a presenter at this year's COGEL conference. Member terms – status. Ms. Clemens provided the Board with a current list of members, their terms, and related membership status information. All members now serve under current appointments and confirmations.

8. Appeal Hearing. The Board noted the memo from Carl Johansen concluding his service as presiding officer in the matter of the Holley appeal. Chair Price Spratlen stated that she would issue a letter of appreciation to Mr. Johansen.

9. Executive Session. At 3:17 p.m., Chair Price Spratlen requested that the meeting move into executive session for the purpose of discussing the performance of a public employee. The Chair announced that the executive session would conclude in 15 minutes. Mr. Abrams and Ms. Clemens left the meeting.

At 3:33 p.m., the Board completed the executive session and resumed its regular meeting. Ms. Clemens returned to the meeting.

Dr. Gordon moved and Rev. Pruitt seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. The Board unanimously approved the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m.

Approved this ­­17th day of January, 2006, by the King County Board of Ethics.

Signed for the Board:

__________________________________________________

Dr. Lois Price Spratlen, Chair