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April 16, 2007

KING COUNTY BOARD OF ETHICS MEETING NOTICE

When: Monday, April 16, 2007, 2:00 p.m.
Where: Columbia Center
701 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor
Conference room, Suite 3460
Seattle, WA 98104

AGENDA

  1. Approval of Agenda

  2. Approval of Meeting Minutes of March 19, 2007

  3. 2007 Financial Disclosure Program.

    • Report
    • Suspension request

  4. Ethics Work Plan – April through June

  5. Multi-Lateral Statement of Principles.

    • Quarterly report
    • Status report and report on conference at UW

  6. Staff Report.

    • Staff informational response summary
    • Public disclosure request

  7. Boards of Ethics. Comments on national board.

  8. King County Board of Ethics. Change in membership.

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

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.metrokc.gov/kingcounty/

Minutes of the April 16, 2007, Meeting
of the King County Board of Ethics

The April 16, 2007, meeting of the King County Board of Ethics was called to order by Chair Price Spratlen, at 2:02 p.m. Board members in attendance were:

Lois Price Spratlen, Ph.D., Chair
Margaret T. Gordon, Ph.D.
Rev. Paul Pruitt

Roland H. Carlson and Jerry Saltzman had excused absences.

Others in attendance:
Catherine A. Clemens, Executive Director, Board of Ethics
Alan Abrams, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Board Counsel
Viviane Diaz, Administrative Specialist, Board of Ethics
Melissa Fisher, Research Assistant, University of Washington Evans School

Chair Price Spratlen called for a moment of silence related to the shooting deaths at Virginia Tech.

  1. Approval of Agenda. Following the addition of two agenda items, Rev. Pruitt moved and Dr. Gordon seconded that the board approve the proposed agenda. The board unanimously adopted the motion.

    Attendees introduced themselves.

  2. Approval of Meeting Minutes of March 19, 2007. Dr. Gordon moved and Rev. Pruitt seconded that the board approve the March 19, 2007, meeting minutes. The board unanimously adopted the motion and the minutes were approved.

  3. 2007 Financial Disclosure Program. Ms. Clemens briefed the board. The King County Board of Ethics is authorized under K.C.C. 3.04.050 to conduct an annual program that requires elected officials, affected county employees, and affected board and commission members to file statements of financial and other interests. The purpose of this program is to ensure the public's trust in government by disclosing any conflicts between our personal and financial interests and our service to King County residents. Because the April 15th filing deadline coincided with a Sunday, the office accepted completed statements received in the ethics office by 9:00 a.m., Monday, April 16th. As of that time, filing statistics were as follows: of 2,461 employees required to file, 13 had not filed, for a compliance rate of 99.4 percent; of 449 board and commission members required to file, eight had not filed, for a compliance rate of 98.2 percent; of 2,910 total number of individuals required to file, 21 had not filed, for an overall county compliance rate of 99.3 percent. Ms. Clemens described the program process that begins each year in December. Steps include early communication with directors, then with designated staff who will coordinate within departments; orientation sessions and packets for all coordinators and board liaisons; regular, weekly reports on compliance status; and special assistance to help ensure success for each department. Ms. Clemens acknowledged Ms. Diaz for her work providing superior customer service communications. The board recognized Ms. Clemens and Ms. Diaz for their outstanding work that made this year's level of success possible.

    The board reviewed two requests for suspension from the filing requirement. Rev. Pruitt moved and Dr. Gordon seconded that the request for suspension from the filing requirement for Greg Kinney, Department of Transportation, be approved; the motion passed unanimously. Dr. Gordon moved and Rev. Pruitt seconded that the request for suspension from the filing requirement for Timothy Longley, Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, be approved; the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Clemens will notify departments that the requests have been approved.

  4. Ethics Work Plan – April through June. Ms. Clemens briefed the board on the anticipated work plan for the second quarter of 2007, including an office move to the new county building in June.

  5. Multi-Lateral Statement of Principles. The board reviewed the March 19, 2007, draft in light of comments from Seattle Ethics and Elections' executive director Wayne Barnett. Following a minor edit, Rev. Pruitt moved to accept the new draft; Dr. Gordon seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. Ms. Clemens stated that the board will have the opportunity to present the revised statement to the SEEC at its next board meeting to be held Wednesday, May 2, 2007, 4:00 p.m. Ms. Clemens will provide additional details as they become available.

    Mr. Abrams recommended revoking the previous bi-lateral statement when the multi-lateral statement is signed, or state officially that in the event of a conflict or inconsistencies between the two statements, the multi-lateral statement would supersede. As a signer and interested party, the SEEC should be in agreement with this. The board and counsel discussed the range of categories of signers, including governments and student groups. It was agreed that signers of the statement should be government agencies, but student groups and others may in writing agree with or endorse the principles. It was agreed that in the future, the council of presidents should take the lead to facilitate endorsement of the statement by student groups. In addition, Mr. Abrams stated that the University of Washington has jurisdiction over student groups and the UW should be the contact with such student groups. Chair Price Spratlen will address the matter with Dean Archibald so that she, as a representative of the UW, will be the facilitator on the matter.

    Ms. Clemens presented the quarterly report from the Evans School; Ms. Fisher reviewed her work to date. The board reviewed the financial report relative to the $10,000 contributed to the statement of principles initiative by the county. As of March 31, 2007, a balance of $1,516.15 remained. The board agreed that it needed clarification on the status of the $10,000 contributed by the UW for the same initiative. Chair Price Spratlen commended Ms. Fisher for her work.

    Ms. Fisher left the meeting at 3:03 p.m.

    The board discussed the ethics conference to be held on June 4, 2007, at the Evans School of the UW, 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The conference will announce the newly established chair in ethics and honor Dr. Price Spratlen for her work in ethics. Mr. Abrams advised that the work of Ms. Fisher should stay within the framework of developing the statement of principles. He cautioned that all activities should be related to the development and implementation of the statement, and not extraneous activities. The board and its members must be able to show the nexus between Ms. Fisher's actions in the development of the statement and conference activities. This nexus should also be demonstrated by the UW. Ms. Clemens agreed and stated that, in particular, Ms. Fisher's work should be limited to the scope of work defined by the board since funding from the county was based on those anticipated activities. Ms. Clemens will distribute to all board members the originally identified scope of work for the research assistant related to the statement of principles initiative.

    Ms. Clemens distributed a letter from Chair Price Spratlen to all County Council members related to its March 26th presentation to the Committee of the Whole, and Rev. Pruitt's recognition. The letter also issued an invitation from the chair to council members to attend a mini-ethics conference co-sponsored by King County Executive Ron Sims and others. Ms. Clemens asked for clarification on whether the conference is being co-hosted by the Board of Ethics, as previously identified, or co-sponsored by Executive Sims and UW leadership, and discussion followed. The letter also stated that the conference will mark the collaborative relationship among these individuals, as well as honor Dr. Price Spratlen for her work on the Board of Ethics and as UW ombudsman. Mr. Abrams stated that honoring Dr. Price Spratlen at the event is fine as long as it is the university or Executive Sims who will be honoring her. However, it could be perceived as problematic should the board honor one of it's own at the event. He also stated that if Mr. Sims is to co-sponsor, a formal acknowledgment from the executive should be provided that states he plans to assume this role. In addition to clarifying sponsorship, Mr. Abrams also urged the board to clarify in writing the specific scope of activities at the conference. Dr. Price Spratlen stated that 1) the conference will include a signing ceremony for the multi-lateral statement of principles; 2) there is interest in having other jurisdictions also attend and sign (those signing on that date would be a part of the Circle of Leaders); and 3) she will clarify who will be honoring her and will notify the board in writing.

  6. Staff Report. Staff informational response summary. The executive director issued 12 written staff informational responses (SIR) between March 12, 2007, and April 9, 2007, as requested by employees and elected officials of King County. Ethics issues addressed by the responses include: use of county internet (3); outside employment; donated goods; post-employment' use of county meeting rooms; conflict with official position (2); personal line of county cell phones (2); and advisory opinion inquiry. Public disclosure request. Correspondence related to the request; no action required or taken. Response to request for advisory opinion and conflict issues re: post-employment. Correspondence related to the request; no action required or taken.

  7. Boards of Ethics. The chair drew the board's attention to an April 14-15, 2007, article in the Wall St. Journal, regarding the World Bank and recent issues related to its president, Paul Wolfowitz, specifically the ethics board's response and how they carried out their responsibilities. There was no discussion.

  8. King County Board of Ethics. Ms. Clemens announced the resignation of board member Jerry Saltzman due to increased professional and teaching responsibilities. Ms. Clemens promised to forward Mr. Saltzman's email message to all members.

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 3:37 p.m.

Approved this —21st day of May, 2007, by the King County Board of Ethics.

Signed for the Board: __________________________________________________

Dr. Lois Price Spratlen, Chair