March 20, 2006

KING COUNTY BOARD OF ETHICS MEETING NOTICE

AGENDA

1. Approval of Agenda

2. Introduction: Viviane Diaz, Administrative Specialist, Office of the Board of Ethics

3. Approval of Meeting Minutes of Febuary 21, 2006.

4. Request for Advisory Opinion Re: Post Employment.

5. 2006 Financial Disclosure Program. Report.

6. Statement of Principles. Status report.

7. Staff Report.

   • Staff informational response summary

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
Columbia Center
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 March 20 , 2006, Meeting
of the King County Board of Ethics

The March 20, 2006, 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, Ph.D., Chair
Roland H. Carlson
Rev. Paul F. Pruitt
Jerry Saltzman

Margaret T. Gordon, Ph.D. had an excused absence.

Others in attendance:
Catherine A. Clemens, Executive Director, Board of Ethics
Alan Abrams, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Board Counsel
Viviane Diaz, Administrative Specialist III, Board of Ethics

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

Chair Price Spratlen asked for introductions from those present.

2. Introduction: Viviane Diaz, Administrative Specialist, Office of the Board of Ethics. Ms. Clemens introduced Viviane Diaz, new staff to the office of the Board. Ms. Diaz briefed the Board on her professional background and the Board welcomed her.

3. Approval of Meeting Minutes of February 21, 2006. Rev. Pruitt moved and Mr. Carlson seconded that the Board approve the February 21, 2006, meeting minutes. The Board unanimously adopted the motion and the minutes were approved.

4. Request for Advisory Opinion Re: Post Employment. Ms. Clemens explained to the Board that the requestor, Fennelle Miller, asked to participate from home via telephone due to health reasons. Ms. Clemens then attempted to reach Ms. Miller for a conference call at the number Ms. Miller had provided; however, no one at the location knew Ms. Miller. Ms. Clemens made three attempts to reach Ms. Miller with the same result.

Following discussion, Mr. Carlson moved that the matter be tabled until the requestor provides detailed information on the scope of work of any future contracts to allow the Board to adequately compare past and anticipated job duties. Rev. Pruitt seconded the motion and the Board unanimously approved the motion to table the matter.

5. 2006 Financial Disclosure Program. Ms. Clemens briefed the Board of the status of the 2006 financial disclosure program and noted that filing was proceeding well. In addition, Ms. Clemens briefed the Board on a request for suspension of the filing requirement by an employee of the Department of Public Health who is on family leave. Following discussion, Mr. Saltzman moved to approve the request for suspension of the requirement to file statements of financial and other interests; Mr. Carlson seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.

6. Statement of Principles. Chair Price Spratlen briefed the Board. She and Mr. Saltzman met with the executive on February 27 for a quarterly meeting and discussed the Statement of Principles and related activities. During that meeting, the executive agreed to provide funding support for the signing ceremony and subsequent research by a University of Washington student. She also received a similar commitment from the president and provost of the University of Washington. The initiative will move forward when the new quarter begins. She will also continue to encourage the state ethics agencies to participate. Mr. Saltzman moved that the Board express acknowledgement of the tremendous effort by the chair and Dr. Gordon to move the initiative forward; Rev. Pruitt seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.

7. Staff Report. Staff Informational Response Summary. The executive director reported that she issued 11 written staff informational responses (SIR) between February 13, and March 13, 2006, as requested by employees and elected officials of King County. Ethics issues addressed by the responses included: high speed internet installation in employees' homes; jurisdiction (3); donations by employees and use of county resources; paid travel from vendor; employees campaigning for elected officials (2); attendance at seminars and acceptance of vendor paid lunch; and outside employment (2).

Mr. Saltzman moved and Mr. Carlson seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. The Board unanimously approved the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 2:32 p.m.

Approved this 15th day of May, 2006, by the King County Board of Ethics.

Signed for the Board:

__________________________________________________

Dr. Lois Price Spratlen, Chair